The pollution of soil due to chemical compounds released by different human activities is a problem of major concern, worldwide. Unlike the naturally-occurring organic compounds that are easily decomposable upon introduction into the environment some of these synthetic chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides are hardly degradable by native soil micro-organisms.
About the Author: Prof. Dr. Susana Rodríguez-Couto graduated in Chemistry at the University of Santiago de Compostela in 1992 and obtained her doctorate in Chemistry in 1999 from the University of Vigo. She worked at the University of Santiago de Compostela as a Research Associate, at the University of Vigo as an Associate Professor and at Rovira i Virgili University as a Ramón y Cajal Senior Researcher. She has also worked as an invited researcher at the Institute from Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology (Austria). Since January 2009, she holds a permanent position as an IKERBASQUE Research Professor at the Unit of Environmental Engineering of CEIT, where she is in charge of a new research line on Environmental Biotechnology. Her main achievements are the development of methods for enzymatic complex production by cultivation of different white-rot fungi under solid-state fermentation conditions and the efficient application of these enzymatic complexes to the decomposition of xenobiotic compounds, the design of different solid-state bioreactors and the design of enzymatic bioreactors. On the whole, she has participated in 14 research projects and supervised 6 master theses and 2 doctoral theses. Non-confidential results have led to more than 110 international papers in outstanding journals (h index 31), 75 communications at both national and international conferences and 11 chapters in books. She is also editor and member of the editorial board of several international journals. Further Information on Dr. Rodriguez-Couto and her research can be found on the ikerbasque website (http: //www.ikerbasque.net/). Professor Mohammad Miransari, has studied and graduated from some of the most prestigious universities in the world including McGill, Canada, Tarbiat Modares and Isfahan University of Technology, Iran. He is the author of more than 17 authored and edited books, more than 38 book chapters and about 60 ISI papers. He has been the reviewer for more than 20 international journals and is the manager of AbtinBerkeh Ltd. Company, AbtinBerkeh.com. This contribution can be used by students, researchers and academicians in different disciplines including plant biology, plant physiology, microbiology, molecular biology, biotechnology, environment, agriculture, etc.