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Green Biotechnology for Sustainable Development and Climate Change
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This paper is not about microplastics. It is a broad review of green biotechnology for sustainable development, covering biofuels, genetically modified crops, climate-smart agriculture, and bioluminescent plants. While it briefly mentions plants engineered with microplastic-degrading enzymes as a future possibility, this is a minor point in a wide-ranging biotechnology overview with no substantive focus on microplastic pollution or health effects.
The world population has reached 8 billion on 15th of November 2022. With the exploding human population on, the crisis of energy sources, global warming and accumulation of environmental pollutants is gradually leading towards extinction of life on earth. Policymakers envision biofuels to replace fossil fuels, to resolve the aforesaid concerns. Biotechnology along with next generation sequencing (NGS), omics and nano technologies is actualising the policymakers’ vision by creating high-performance GM oil plants, resistant to biotic/abiotic stress, through genetic engineering of genes affecting triacylglycerols (TAGs) and ligno-cellulose metabolic pathways. Modern plant biotechnology employing Agrobacterium-mediated site-specific integration (Agro-SSI), RNAi and CRISPR-Cas genome editing has introduced climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approaches that sustainably increase productivity by biofortification, enhance adaptation to climate change, mitigate greenhouse effects, as well as preserve soil health by carbon and nitrogen assimilation. Herbicide tolerant (HT) crops tolerate exposure to broad-spectrum herbicides like glyphosate and glufosinate, thereby promoting conservation tillage and carbon sequestration in soil. Transgenic/transplastomic autoluminescent flora engineered with multi-cassette lux-luciferase constructs addressing substrate-reliance, timing and intensity of bioluminescence, are going to be the eco-friendly future street-lights, extinguishing combustion of coal. Phyto-remedial crops equipped with microplastic-degrading enzymes, heavy-metal absorbing proteins and xenobiotic degradation abilities are further advancements to sustainable development goals.
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Microplastics, tiny plastic particles now found in our soil, water, and air, are building up in ecosystems and food chains, which matters for human health since we're likely ingesting them through food and water too. This review pulls together existing research on using living organisms like bacteria and enzymes (some genetically enhanced) to break down these plastics, offering a promising, nature-based cleanup approach rather than proposing new experiments of its own. The takeaway: while scientists are making real progress on biological solutions, more research is needed to scale these methods up for widespread real-world use.
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Researchers reviewed the growing problem of microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment, then assessed enzyme-based strategies for breaking them down, finding that enzymes specifically targeting plastic polymer structures offer a promising, sustainable approach to degradation, especially when stabilized on nanomaterials to extend their activity.
Bio-Based Degradation of Plastics and Microplastic for Sustainable Environment
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This review summarizes research on special bacteria, enzymes, and plant-based plastics that can break down plastic waste into harmless substances like water and CO2. Since plastic and microplastic pollution can enter our food, water, and bodies, these biological cleanup tools could help reduce our long-term exposure while also easing environmental damage.
Emerging Frontiers in Environmental Biotechnology
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This chapter examines how biotechnology can address microplastic pollution generated by industrialization, reviewing bio-based degradation pathways, nanobiotechnology applications, and the role of engineered organisms in reducing plastic use and waste. The authors assess the future potential of environmental biotechnology as a sustainable tool for managing hazardous microplastic contamination across industries.
Microbial Bioremediation of Microplastic Pollution for a Sustainable Ecosystem and Greener Future: A Review
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Microplastics—tiny plastic particles now found in our water, soil, and air—are hard to clean up with traditional methods and may pose risks to our health. This review rounds up the latest science on using bacteria, fungi, and their enzymes to break down these stubborn plastics, highlighting promising lab tools (like gene-editing and specially designed enzymes) that could make cleanup more effective. While these microbial solutions aren't yet ready for widespread real-world use, they represent a hopeful, more sustainable path toward reducing microplastic pollution in the future.
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