Bioremediation articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Perspective
  03 June 2024 | Open Access

  Bottlenecks in biobased approaches to plastic degradation

  The way we generate and treat plastic waste is a key consideration in the transition from a take-make-waste model to a truly circular economy. Here, authors discuss their views on how biotechnology could contribute to solving the plastic problem, and the barriers we need to overcome to make such approaches a reality.

  • Amelia R. Bergeson
  • , Ashli J. Silvera
  •  & Hal S. Alper

• Perspective
  30 May 2024 | Open Access

  The link between ancient microbial fluoride resistance mechanisms and bioengineering organofluorine degradation or synthesis

  Microbial degradation and biosynthesis of fluorinated compounds is a field of increasing importance, but is hampered by the significant toxicity of fluoride. Here authors discuss emerging ideas on microbial defluorination/fluorination and fluoride resistance mechanisms, providing guidance on how this knowledge can guide future bioengineering approaches.

  • Randy B. Stockbridge
  •  & Lawrence P. Wackett

• Article
  07 August 2023 | Open Access

  Phenotypically complex living materials containing engineered cyanobacteria

  Engineered living materials (ELMs) are emerging as a field at the intersection of materials science and synthetic biology. Here, the authors describe a photosynthetic ELM composed of genetically engineered cyanobacteria in a hydrogel matrix, capable of bioremediation and inducible cell death.

  • Debika Datta
  • , Elliot L. Weiss
  •  & Jonathan K. Pokorski

• Article
  04 October 2022 | Open Access

  Wax worm saliva and the enzymes therein are the key to polyethylene degradation by Galleria mellonella

  The crucial first step in the biodegradation of polyethylene plastic is oxidation of the polymer. This has traditionally required abiotic pre-treatment, but now Bertocchini and colleagues report two wax worm enzymes capable of catalyzing this oxidation and subsequent degradation at room temperature.

  • A. Sanluis-Verdes
  • , P. Colomer-Vidal
  •  & F. Bertocchini

• Comment
  21 April 2022 | Open Access

  Bottlenecks and opportunities for synthetic biology biosafety standards

  The lack of innovative standards for biosafety in synthetic biology is an unresolved policy gap that limits many potential applications in synthetic biology. We argue that a massive support for standardization in biosafety is required for synthetic biology to flourish.

  • Lei Pei
  • , Michele Garfinkel
  •  & Markus Schmidt

• Article
  08 November 2019 | Open Access

  Designing yeast as plant-like hyperaccumulators for heavy metals

  Existing heavy metal bioremediation systems are mainly based on plants, which require long growing time in specific conditions. Here, the authors mimic the characteristics of plant hyperaccumulators to engineer more tractable baker’s yeast and achieve 10–100-fold higher accumulation of chromium, arsenic, or cadmium.

  • George L. Sun
  • , Erin. E. Reynolds
  •  & Angela M. Belcher

• Article
  13 March 2017 | Open Access

  Global metabolic rewiring for improved CO₂ fixation and chemical production in cyanobacteria

  Cyanobacteria are promising biofactories to reduce atmospheric CO₂ and convert it into chemicals. Here the authors engineer Synechococcus elongatus carbon metabolism to increase 2,3-butanediol production from glucose and CO₂under light and dark conditions.

  • Masahiro Kanno
  • , Austin L. Carroll
  •  & Shota Atsumi

• Article | 13 December 2011

  Competitive and cooperative metabolic interactions in bacterial communities

  Genome-scale metabolic models for bacterial species allow a systematic study of inter-species interactions. Here, competitive and cooperative potential is predicted between 6,903 pairs of species, to explore the role of these interactions in shaping coexistence patterns in natural communities.

  • Shiri Freilich
  • , Raphy Zarecki
  •  & Eytan Ruppin