This NBT special issue contains 7 peer-reviewed research articles based on presentations made at the 6th European Bioremediation Conference held in Chania, Greece, in the period June 29 to July 2, 2015. The event was co-organized by the Technical University of Crete (TU-Crete) and the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Environmental Biotechnology section of the European Federation of biotechnology and hosted more than 300 delegates from 50 countries worldwide. The European Bioremediation Conferences started in 2001 organized by TU-Crete with the generous support of the Marie Curie High Level Conferences for the first two events (2001 and 2003). As the momentum continued, another four successful editions were organized (in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2015) and the conference series has been established as a European forum for scientists and engineers from all over the world to present and exchange information on recent advances in environmental biotechnology (especially on bioremediation and phytoremediation of contaminated sites including the marine environment). In the last conference, a special session was organized for a Scientific Farewell dedicated to Prof. Spiros Agathos. A total of seven research papers are published following a successful review process. In the current issue four of them focus on various aspects of phytoremediation, two of them on advances made in hydrocarbon biodegradation, and one paper on the biodegradation of polystyrene plastics. In particular in the phytoremediation area, Syranidou et al. [1] presented a critical review of the helophyte Juncus spp. focusing on a wide variety of phytoremediation applications where this helophyte has been successfully used. Cicero-Fernández et al. [2] investigated the long-term (i.e., two consecutive annual cycles) ability of Phragmites australis to remediate estuarine sediments contaminated with heavy metals (Co, Ni, Mo, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Hg) and further trace elements of concern (As, Se, Ba). This study demonstrated for the first time the long-term efficacy of P. australis for phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated estuarine sediments. Ancona et al. [3] applied a plant-assisted bioremediation strategy in an area located in Southern Italy, historically contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals. A specific poplar clone (Monviso) was used to promote PCB biodegradation through its root system. At about 1 year after planting, the overall results of the chemical analyses (PCBs and heavy metals) showed the effectiveness of this green technology at

中文翻译：

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生物修复进展

本 NBT 特刊包含 7 篇经过同行评审的研究文章，这些文章基于 2015 年 6 月 29 日至 7 月 2 日在希腊干尼亚举行的第 6 届欧洲生物修复会议上的演讲。该活动由克里特科技大学联合组织(TU-Crete) 和博洛尼亚大学与欧洲生物技术联合会的环境生物技术部门合作，接待了来自全球 50 个国家的 300 多名代表。欧洲生物修复会议始于 2001 年，由 TU-Crete 组织，前两次活动（2001 年和 2003 年）得到了居里夫人高级会议的慷慨支持。随着势头的持续，又组织了另外四个成功的版本（2005 年、2008 年、2011 年和 2015 年）和会议系列已成为欧洲论坛，供来自世界各地的科学家和工程师展示和交流环境生物技术（尤其是污染场地包括海洋环境的生物修复和植物修复）的最新进展的信息。在上次会议上，组织了一场特别会议，为 Spiros Agathos 教授举行科学告别会。经过成功的审查过程，共发表了七篇研究论文。在本期中，其中四篇重点关注植物修复的各个方面，其中两篇关于碳氢化合物生物降解的进展，以及一篇关于聚苯乙烯塑料生物降解的论文。特别是在植物修复领域，Syranidou 等人。[1] 提出了对日光植物 Juncus spp 的批判性评论。专注于各种植物修复应用，在这些应用中已经成功使用了这种植物。西塞罗-费尔南德斯等人。[2] 研究了芦苇对受重金属（Co、Ni、Mo、Cd、Pb、Cr、Cu、Fe、Mn、Zn 和 Hg）污染的河口沉积物的长期（即连续两个年度循环）能力) 和更多关注的微量元素（As、Se、Ba）。这项研究首次证明了澳大利亚松对重金属污染河口沉积物的植物修复的长期功效。安科纳等人。[3] 在意大利南部的一个地区应用了植物辅助生物修复策略，该地区历史上受到多氯联苯 (PCB) 和重金属的污染。一种特定的杨树克隆 (Monviso) 用于通过其根系促进 PCB 生物降解。