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MicrobialDegradationof Plastics: Mechanisms, Pathways,and Multiomics Insights
Summary
This review pulls together decades of research on how bacteria and fungi break down plastic waste, examining the specific steps microbes use to attach to, digest, and ultimately destroy plastic materials. The big takeaway: while microbial plastic-eating is a promising tool against plastic pollution (which matters for human health since microplastics have been found throughout our bodies), the science is still too inconsistent across studies to know which methods will actually work at scale in the real world. The authors offer a roadmap for making this research more useful and comparable, which could eventually help turn lab discoveries into practical solutions for cleaning up plastic waste.
Plastic pollution is a major environmental challenge, given its widespread presence and potential risks to both ecosystems and human health. Microbial biodegradation offers a promising solution for managing plastic waste. However, research in this area remains fragmented, with varying reports on degradation efficiency, mechanisms, and practical applications. This review synthesizes recent developments in microbial taxonomy, enzymatic depolymerization, and multiomics functional analysis, highlighting the connections between microbial traits and the four key stages of plastic degradation: colonization, depolymerization, assimilation, and mineralization. It critically evaluates the robustness and comparability of reported degradation metrics, demonstrating that variability in polymer properties, experimental conditions and assessment methods severely hinders meaningful comparisons across studies and limits the translation of laboratory findings to real-world applications. Additionally, this review elaborates on emerging bioaugmentation strategies such as genetic modification, enzyme engineering and synthetic microbial consortia design, while identifying key translational bottlenecks involving scalability, environmental relevance and long-term stability. By integrating insights from multiomics research and synthetic biology, this work proposes a framework to bridge the gap between laboratory-based discoveries and practical biodegradation strategies. It aims to advance microbial plastic remediation research by identifying key knowledge gaps and offering actionable recommendations for future developments.