Enhancing Microbial Pollutant Degradation by Integrating Eco-Evolutionary Principles with Environmental Biotechnology

Trends Microbiol. 2021 Mar 31:S0966-842X(21)00061-5. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.03.002. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEnvironmental accumulation of anthropogenic pollutants is a pressing global issue. The biodegradation of these pollutants by microbes is an emerging field but is hampered by inefficient degradation rates and a limited knowledge of potential enzymes and pathways. Here, we advocate the view that significant progress can be achieved by harnessing artificial community selection for a desired biological process, an approach that makes use of eco-evolutionary principles. The selected communities can either be directly used in bioremediation applications or further be analyzed and modified, for instance through a combination of systems biology, synthetic biology, and genetic engineering. This knowledge can then inform machine learning and enhance the discovery of novel biodegradation pathways.PMID:33812769 | DOI:10.1016/j.tim.2021.03.002
Source: Trends in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research