[Potential of viable but non-culturable bacteria in polychlorinated biphenyls degradation--a review]

The state of "viable but non-culturable" (VBNC) is a survival strategy adopted by microorganisms when exposed to environmental stress. With the increasingly serious problem of xenobiotics pollution, enhanced microbial processes that exploit the potential of microbes to remediate polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated environments have been developed. Microorganisms represent a significant advance with respect to the transformation and degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in the environment. It is of great importance to study the potential function of VBNC bacteria in polluted environment. In this paper, current research status of VBNC bacteria is summarized, and resuscitation of VBNC bacteria to potentially stimulate microbial degradation of pollutants is discussed in detail. Furthermore, we put forward a novel approach to explore the potential of VBNC bacteria for polychlorinated biphenyls degradation using resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf) of Micrococcus luteus. The novel efficient method is helpful for excavating and obtaining highly desirable polychlorinated biphenyls degrading microorganisms. Moreover, the prospect of VBNC bacteria to other environmental remediation fields, such as flocculation and nitrification deodorant, is addressed.