Bioremediation of organohalide pollutants: progress, microbial ecology, and emerging computational tools

Abstract

Organohalide chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are prevalent contaminants in the environment. Recent findings that certain microbes could attenuate these pollutants suggest the potential to develop bioremediation technologies using functional microorganisms to combat this pollution crisis. A timely review on bioremediation progress and emerging tools that can be used to facilitate bioremediation design is needed. Thus far, bioremediation of PCBs and PBDEs is at the developing stage from laboratory investigation to field application, whereas exploring potent microbes remains the central task for PFASs. Successful bioremediation is underpinned by a collection of interactive microbes; however, relevant microbial ecology questions affecting bioremediation performance are underexplored. Machine learning, quantum chemistry, and biomolecular modeling are prospective tools to optimize system operation, predict environmental fate of chemicals, and explore functional enzymes, but their application in bioremediation only emerged recently. This review summarizes recently discovered microbes and genes involved in biodegradation of organohalide pollutants, highlights practical and ecological questions, and discusses potential application of computational tools in bioremediation of organohalide pollutants.