From candidate genes to field deployment: Engineering microbial consortia for degradation of persistent industrial chemicals

Persistent industrial chemicals such as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chlorinated solvents, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), synthetic dyes, and plasticizers pose a risk to ecosystems and human health. The chemical degradation resistance, high mobility, and global dispersal, combined with the drawbacks of conventional single-strain bioremediation approaches, have resulted in limited and inconsistent efficacy in field applications. This narrative review evaluates recent advances in microbial consortia engineering aimed at improving the biodegradation of persistent pollutants, tracing progress from candidate gene and pathway discovery to real-world scalability and deployment. This review examines conceptual trends, technological innovations, and unresolved issues across multiple pollution categories. Selected case studies aided in extracting general design principles for functional microbial consortia. Important advances include the utilization of genome-resolved metagenomics and multi-omics for revealing previously unrecognized degradation pathways, the use of synthetic ecology techniques to accelerate metabolic handoffs and reduce competitive exclusion, and the progress in systems-level modeling for predicting community function and performance. Despite the advancements made, there are challenges in achieving reliable predictability, ecological robustness, and regulatory approvals. Laboratory successes often fail to translate linearly when applied in the field due to context-dependent microbial interactions and environmental heterogeneity. However, the field is gradually moving from reductionist biodegradation paradigms to ecology-informed, deployable microbial systems with future progress relying on the integration of evolutionary stability, site-specific environmental complexity, and policy-aware engineering frameworks.