Engineering of Synthetic Microbial Consortia for Sustainable Management of Wastewater and Polyethylene Terephthalate: A Comprehensive Review
Yiqun Zhou, Muhammad Zeeshan Ul Haq
Abstract
Plastic pollution and wastewater have become the leading environmental concerns due to their harmful effects on human health and pose a severe threat to the biosphere. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most widely used plastics worldwide, but it is resistant to natural degradation. Additionally, the complex pollutants in wastewater demand advanced remediation strategies. Although physicochemical methods are commonly used for PET degradation and wastewater treatment, bioremediation with microorganisms offers a greener and more eco-friendly alternative. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms and engineering of synthetic microbial consortia (SMC) for the bioremediation of wastewater and PET plastics. It examines the rational design of SMCs, utilizing both bottom-up and top-down methods, and emphasizes the importance of quorum sensing and metabolite cross-feeding in maintaining the stability and functionality of the consortium. Furthermore, the review critically assesses how CRISPR-Cas9 enables precise genome editing for robust pathway engineering and stress resilience, while Machine Learning provides predictive models to optimize consortium composition and function, thereby advancing SMC capabilities for both applications. These developments highlight SMC as a promising, eco-friendly, and efficient biological platform to tackle wastewater challenges and plastic pollution simultaneously.