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Omics Strategies Targeting Microbes with Microplastic Detection and Biodegradation Properties
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This review examines how omics approaches — genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics — are being applied to identify and engineer microorganisms capable of detecting and degrading microplastics. The authors map progress in plastic-degrading microbial pathways and discuss how synthetic biology could accelerate the development of bioremediation solutions.
Plastic-based products are ubiquitous in ecosystems due to their widespread use and utility in everyday life. Water matrices and winds are the primary means of plastic dispersal, which poses a threat to water consumption due to the presence of invisible contaminants. Microplastics (MPs) are the result of the physical, chemical, and biological degradation of bulky plastics, becoming a health hazard to living organisms. Microorganisms play a crucial role in the recycling and decomposition of harmful compounds. Studies have explored the properties of microorganisms in biodegradation and genetic manipulation to improve their metabolic properties. However, new strategies for detecting and understanding MPs’ metabolic versatility are needed. Various techniques have been developed to detect microbes and their biomolecules in various environments, including those not detectable using traditional culturing techniques. Omics approaches based on massive sequencing technologies (next generation sequencing) provide a better understanding of microbial cells and their characteristics. Strategies such as genomics, transcriptomics, metagenomics, proteomics, and metabolomics allow for precise molecular analysis, generating information about the genes a microorganism can harbor and the pattern of gene expression and protein synthesis under different conditions. This chapter aims to address the main omics strategies for detecting and identifying MPs and their biomolecules, including recent studies in humans.
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