ABSTRACT
Highly toxic compounds have been released into the environment by direct or indirect inputs over a long time. Pesticides are among the most widely used and released chemicals in the world. The disposal of obsolete pesticide stocks has resulted in many long-term contaminated sites in Latin America, many of which are currently illegal. The general scenario is to find a mixture of pollutants of both organic and inorganic nature, which are typical in industrial, urban and agricultural areas. With the scope of reducing the concentration and toxicity of these chemicals, eco-friendly techniques have emerged for cleaning up polluted sites using plants and/or microbial species. Among the organisms used in the bioremediation of polluted sites, actinobacteria are one of the most popular biological vectors for in situ bioremediation. These bacteria play an important role in recycling substances in natural world because they metabolize complex organic molecules and polymers. The ecological role performed by actinobacteria is demonstrated by their capability to breakdown and transform pesticides and metals, among other chemicals. This chapter focuses on how different techniques using actinobacteria can contribute to improve the bioremediation of pesticide- and metal-polluted environments.
