Microbial Bioremediation of Microplastic Pollution for a Sustainable Ecosystem and Greener Future: A Review

Microbial Bioremediation for Environmental Sustainability: Recent Developments

Microbial bioremediation has become an interesting and sustainable technique for dealing with pollution of the environment through microbial degradation, transformation, immobilization, and recovery of contaminants. This review looks into recent developments of microbial bioremediation with focus on pollutants such as wastewater, pharmaceuticals and antibiotics, heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, plastics, microplastics and other emerging pollutants. Mechanisms employed by microbes include biodegradation, biosorption, bioaccumulation and biotransformation together with advancements in the use of bioaugmentation, microbial consortia, microbial electrochemical systems, omics technology, and genetically modified microbes. The reviewed research shows that microbial technologies have the potential of providing efficient pollutant management as well as resource recovery in the form of biogas, microbial biomass, biopolymers, nutrients and metals, thus making circular economy possible. However, some limitations like slow degradation rate, incomplete mineralization, formation of toxic metabolites, instability of the microbes, antibiotic resistance, lack of field studies, scalability issues and biosafety concerns are evident. Future studies should focus on long-term field investigations, realistic environmental matrix, understanding of microbial community dynamics, transformation product identification and use of advanced biotechnology, life cycle assessment and process engineering. In general, microbial bioremediation holds great promise towards sustainable future but development of efficient, safe, scalable, resource recovery and human relevant technologies is crucial.

Microplastic pollution and microbial mitigation strategies: current knowledge, challenges, and future prospects

Graphical abstract showing the journey of microplastics from their sources and environmental distribution to ecological impacts, plastisphere formation, microbial degradation using plastic-degrading enzymes, biotechnological enhancement, and sustainable environmental remediation. Microplastic (MP) pollution has gained increasing attention as a critical environmental concern owing to the persistent accumulation of plastic debris and its ubiquitous presence in ecological systems. The small size, high penetration potential, and potential toxicity of MPs pose high risks to ecological integrity and biological systems, including humans. The majority of scientific research has been focused on the distribution, utilization, fate, behaviour, and influence of MPs, whereas remediation studies remain underexplored. Therefore, this review provides an extensive critical synthesis of current knowledge on MP pollution and recent advances in microbes-mediated MP mitigation approaches. The primary focus is on the role of bacteria, fungi, microalgae, and their enzymes in MP degradation through plastisphere/biofilm formation, depolymerization, and metabolic assimilation pathways. Microbial degradation potential has been assessed for major polymer types, including polyethylene, polypropylene5, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, and polyurethane. The MPs biodegradation section includes studies from 2021-2026, supplemented with previously curated literature addressing MP sources, fate, transport, and ecological impacts. The existing bottlenecks, including low degradation efficiencies, partial mineralization, and the lack of standardized protocols, are discussed. Through integration of ecological impacts, biodegradation mechanisms, and future technological developments, this review pinpoints critical knowledge gaps and proposes scalable and greener solutions formanaging MP pollution and advancing the circular plastic economy.

Microalgal Bioremediation of Microplastics: Current Advances, Challenges and Environmental Applications

The world is facing a triple global crisis: climate change, loss of biodiversity, and pollution. Plastics, man-made polymers from primary fossil fuel sources, have pervasively entered almost every sector and thereby caused huge environmental pollution. Microplastic (MPs) sizes range between 1 μm and 5 μm, and nanoplastics are less than 1 μm in size, respectively. Behaviour, accumulation and movement of plastics in soil, water and air depend on their size. Smaller sizes of microplastics and nannoplastics can easily enter cells, tissues, and finally, the food chain, and pose growing ecological and health concerns due to their persistence. It also acts as an adsorbent and has the ability to penetrate food webs. Their diverse shapes, especially fibres, increase their dispersal and bioavailability in aquatic ecosystems. Recent findings indicate that microalgae contribute to the mitigation of microplastic pollution. Microalgae, diverse photosynthetic microorganisms ranging from 0.5 to 200 μm, interact with microplastics through processes such as adsorption, aggregation, and potential biodegradation mechanisms, including toxin systems or enzymes produced by the microalgae, utilising plastic polymers as carbon sources. The filamentous morphology of some species, such as Spirulina sp., increases the entrapment and potential degradation of microplastic fibres. It is essential to understand these interactions to construct sustainable means of mitigating microplastic pollution and recovering the aquatic ecosystem health. Microalgae produce enzymes such as lipases, esterases, and cellulases, which facilitate the biodegradation of plastics. Microalgae form biofilm on the surface of microplastics. They also secrete sticky extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that cause the microplastic to sink to the bottom of the water body, which helps to remove microplastics from surfaces. This review summarises knowledge on microalgae–microplastic interactions, with a focus on their potential for bioremediation of microplastics and also sustainable conservation of the environment.

Bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Acinetobacter: recent progress, challenges and future directions

Bacteria–nanoplastic interactions: mechanisms, ecological consequences, and advances in biodegradation technologies

Microalgae from the Extremes: Unlocking Their Potential for Emerging Pollutant Removal and Sustainable Water Remediation

Anthropogenic pollution of aquatic ecosystems presents a significant global challenge, underscoring the urgent need for resilient, biologically mediated remediation strategies. In this context, microalgae have emerged as a compelling solution, owing to their inherent adaptability to diverse environments and their capacity for efficient contaminant mitigation through bioremediation. These organisms possess the potential to sequester and remove a broad spectrum of pollutants from wastewater streams, including excess nutrients, organic substrates, heavy metals, and various emerging contaminants. Specifically, their metabolic versatility allows these microorganisms to tolerate and degrade complex substances such as recalcitrant micropollutants and hydrocarbons even under fluctuating environmental conditions. This review evaluates extremophilic microalgae as specialized biological agents capable of functioning under harsh anthropogenic stressors that may constrain the performance of microalgal strains commonly investigated for wastewater treatment. Their distinctive stress tolerance may provide advantages for treating wastewater characterized by extreme physicochemical conditions. By examining the unique metabolic pathways of these extremophiles, this analysis addresses critical gaps in the current bioremediation literature regarding the practical scalability and economic viability of integrating such specialized biomass into large-scale treatment infrastructure.