Beyond Conventional Degradation: Microbial Bioremediation and Upcycling of Recalcitrant Pollutants

The global accumulation of recalcitrant emerging pollutants like non-biodegradable plastics, and persistent "forever chemicals" poses a dual crisis of environmental toxicity and linear resource waste. In the face of mounting plastic pollution and persistent chemical contamination, microbial metabolism and enzymes offer a powerful, and sustainable solution. Microbial communities, with their vast and often untapped metabolic prowess, offer a sustainable pathway to not only remediate these contaminants but also to reclaim their embedded value. This Research Topic will highlight the latest discoveries in microbial bioremediation. Moving the field beyond simple degradation, we aim to explore "microbial upcycling" the biological conversion of environmental waste, from pollutants into value-added products like bioplastics, biofuels, and other platform chemicals. This will comprise a comprehensive collection that distinguishes between bioremediation (the detoxification and complete mineralization of pollutants) and the frontier of microbial upcycling (the intentional conversion of waste components, such as plastic monomers, into high-value platform chemicals, specialty polymers, biofuels, and other bioproducts). It will bridge fundamental discovery with translational engineering, capturing the state-of-the-art in microbial solutions for a circular bioeconomy. We welcome diverse contributions that bridge fundamental discovery with translational applications, defining the next generation of environmental biotechnology.We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Methods, and Perspective articles that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:• Discovery and biochemical characterization of novel plastic-degrading enzymes (e.g., PETases, polyurethane-degrading enzymes) and microorganisms from diverse environments.• Exploration of microbial pathways for the degradation and defluorination of "forever chemicals" (PFAS) and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs).• Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches to design robust microbial chassis like bacteria (E. coli, P. putida, B. subtilis), and yeasts (S. cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris) and fungi (Aspergillus, Trichoderma) for enhanced degradation or upcycling pathways.• Systems biology studies of the microbial consortia and metabolic handoffs involved in complex pollutant degradation.• Development of "living materials" or "self-destructing" biocomposites embedded with microbial spores or enzymes.• Bioprospecting and enzyme discovery, including cultivation- and metagenomics-based discovery of novel enzymes and microorganisms (including extremophiles) for the catabolism of plastics (PET, polyurethane, polystyrene, etc.).• Microbial consortia and process engineering, including design, modeling, and application of synthetic or natural microbial consortia to achieve complex, multi-step degradation cascades.• Translational research on bioreactor design, process optimization, and pilot-scale applications for wastewater or solid waste treatment.• Circular bioeconomy and development of "living materials" or self-remediating biocomposites embedded with microbial spores or enzymes.• Techno-economic analyses (TEA) and life-cycle assessments (LCA) of microbial upcycling processes to evaluate their commercial and environmental viability.Please note that Microbiotechnology does not consider descriptive studies that are solely based on amplicon (e.g., 16S rRNA) profiles or comparisons of nucleic acid extracts (e.g., metagenomics), unless they are accompanied by a clear hypothesis and experimentation and provide insight into the microbiological system or process being studied. Topic editors: Michael Dare Asemoloye, Mario Andrea Marchisio, Olumayowa Mary Olowe Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76698/beyond-conventional-degradation-microbial-bioremediation-and-upcycling-of-recalcitrant-pollutants