ABSTRACT
Pesticides have become a necessary evil in the modern world. Although these chemicals offer enormous advantages, their indiscriminate and inappropriate use is causing various problems in the environment. Pesticides contribute to the contamination of air, water and soil. Various non-target organisms including humans are deleteriously affected by these toxic chemicals. To reduce the negative impact of pesticides in the environment, researchers are in search of efficient methods that will minimize the harmful effects of pesticides to some extent. In this context, biodegradation is gaining more importance over the other physico-chemical methods. Researchers are exploring the potential of different microorganisms capable of degrading pesticides. Microorganisms can be used in an effective way to remediate the contaminated site. Among the various microorganisms, cyanobacteria-mediated biodegradation received significant attention in recent years because of its various additional advantages. The widespread appearance of these phototrophic organisms in the polluted areas make them an emerging candidate in the field of bioremediation. The chapter discusses the general facts about pesticides and its biodegradation. The main focus will be on the significant role of cyanobacteria in biodegradation by highlighting research reports on cyanobacterial degradation of pesticides.
