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Engineering bacterial biocatalysts for the degradation of phthalic acid esters

Summary

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are chemicals used to make plastics flexible that can leak into the environment and harm human health. Scientists are engineering bacteria with improved enzymes to break down PAEs more efficiently through a process called bioremediation. The review discusses how bacteria naturally degrade these pollutants and outlines strategies to make this process faster and more practical for cleaning contaminated environments.

Background

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are synthetic plasticizers widely used in industrial and consumer applications, constituting 70% of global plasticizer use. PAEs pose significant environmental and health risks as endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, and mutagens that leach into drinking water, soil, and marine environments, making them priority pollutants.

Objective

This review highlights the current state of microbial PAE degradation and identifies major bottlenecks and challenges in bacterial bioremediation of these contaminants. Future research directions include developing novel PAE hydrolases, understanding uptake mechanisms, characterizing degradation pathways, and engineering efficient biocatalysts for PAE remediation.

Results

Over 80 PAE-degrading bacterial strains from 36 genera have been identified, with Pseudomonas, Comamonas, Sphingomonas, Gordonia, Rhodococcus, and Bacillus being predominant. PAE degradation involves four mechanisms: β-oxidation, transesterification, demethylation, and ester bond hydrolysis, with the latter being most efficient through Type I, II, and III hydrolases.

Conclusion

Addressing PAE pollution requires interdisciplinary efforts to identify novel hydrolases, engineer synthetic bacterial consortia, develop biosensors, and valorize PAEs into useful products. Future research must focus on understanding uptake mechanisms, regulatory circuits, and economic feasibility of scaling microbial degradation technologies.
  • Published in:Microbial Biotechnology,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 10.1111/1751-7915.70024
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