Montira Leelakriangsak

pp. 647 - 657

Abstract

Azo dyes are the dominant types of synthetic dyes, widely used in textiles, foods, leather, printing, tattooing, cosmetics,
and pharmaceutical industries. Many microorganisms are able to decolorize azo dyes, and there is increasing interest in
biological waste treatment methods. Bacterial azoreductases can cleave azo linkages (-N=N-) in azo dyes, forming aromatic
amines. This review mainly focuses on employing molecular approaches, including gene manipulation and recombinant
strains, to study bacterial azoreductases. The construction of the recombinant protein by cloning and the overexpression of
azoreductase is described. The mechanisms and function of bacterial azoreductases can be studied by other molecular
techniques discussed in this review, such as RT-PCR, southern blot analysis, western blot analysis, zymography, and mutagenesis in order to understand bacterial azoreductase properties, function and application. In addition, understanding the
regulation of azoreductase gene expression will lead to the systematic use of gene manipulation in bacterial strains for new
strategies in future waste remediation technologies.