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Insights into Microbial Enzymatic Biodegradation of Plastics and Microplastics: Technological Updates
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This review covers the latest advances in using microbial enzymes and biotechnology to break down plastic and microplastic waste. While some bacteria and fungi can partially degrade certain plastics, the process is slow and limited by factors like the plastic's chemical structure and crystallinity. The research points toward genetic engineering and genome editing as potential tools to speed up plastic degradation, though practical large-scale solutions are still in development.
The massive usage of synthetic plastics in modern life has led to plastic waste generation, and its accumulation is a key concern for the environment and human health. Therefore, plastic is a growing environmental burden because of its small size, stability, and high recalcitrance, needing urgent advancements in plastic waste management. Plastics combined with cocontaminants, i.e., heavy metals, pharmaceutical toxicants, and other plasticizers, can cause serious environmental issues. Hence, an efficient and scalable method based on enzymes and biotechnological approaches is required for sustainable microplastic degradation. The present review focuses on the advanced and emerging biotechnological approaches for plastic and microplastic degradation, i.e., genetic engineering and genome editing tools. The review also discusses the challenges encountered in degradation viz. the depolymerization rate of microplastics and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as degrees of crystallinity, chemical structure, functional group, and molecular weight. Furthermore, the insight in this study is useful to the researchers and scientific communities investigating plastic degradation. Thus, future research can be focused on microbial metabolites and improving catalytic efficiency with extrinsic conditions involved in these processes.
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Microbial Biodegradation of Plastics and Microplastics: Enzymatic Mechanisms, Biotechnological Applications, and Ecotoxicological Perspectives
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This review examined the enzymatic mechanisms by which microorganisms degrade plastics and microplastics, covering biotechnological applications and ecotoxicological perspectives. Researchers found that certain bacterial and fungal enzymes can break down persistent plastic polymers, positioning microbial biodegradation as a promising sustainable remediation approach, though scalability and environmental deployment remain challenges.
Role of Various Microbes and Their Enzymatic Mechanisms for Biodegradation of Microplastics
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This review examines the microbial enzymes and degradation mechanisms responsible for biodegrading microplastic polymers, covering bacterial, fungal, and algal systems that have evolved plastic-degrading capabilities over the past 150 years of plastic production. The authors survey the most promising enzymatic pathways and organisms for biotechnological application in microplastic remediation.
Microplastic Accumulation and Degradation in Environment via Biotechnological Approaches
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This review examines how biotechnological approaches, including genetic engineering, genome editing, and synthetic biology, can enhance microbial degradation of plastics. Researchers found that while microplastics and nanoplastics are now found throughout the environment and even in food and the human body, improved methods for plastic biodegradation could help reduce their production. The study highlights the potential of engineered microorganisms as a strategy for addressing plastic waste accumulation.
Engineering a Solution: Recent Technological Advances in the Microbial Bioremediation of Microplastics
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This review examines recent advances in microbial bioremediation of microplastics, highlighting the limitations of conventional treatments and presenting biological alternatives using bacteria, fungi, and algae capable of degrading plastic polymers. The authors discuss key enzymatic mechanisms and the potential for scaling microbial approaches as sustainable remediation tools for plastic pollution.
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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