Department of Biotechnology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
Microb Biotechnol. 2024 Oct;17(10):e70024. doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.70024.
Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are synthetic diesters derived from o-phthalic acid, commonly used as plasticizers. These compounds pose significant environmental and health risks due to their ability to leach into the environment and act as endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, and mutagens. Consequently, PAEs are now considered major emerging contaminants and priority pollutants. Microbial degradation, primarily by bacteria and fungi, offers a promising method for PAEs bioremediation. This article highlights the current state of microbial PAEs degradation, focusing on the major bottlenecks and associated challenges. These include the identification of novel and more efficient PAE hydrolases to address the complexity of PAE mixtures in the environment, understanding PAEs uptake mechanisms, characterizing novel o-phthalate degradation pathways, and studying the regulatory network that controls the expression of PAE degradation genes. Future research directions include mitigating the impact of PAEs on health and ecosystems, developing biosensors for monitoring and measuring bioavailable PAEs concentrations, and valorizing these residues into other products of industrial interest, among others.
邻苯二甲酸酯（PAEs）是邻苯二甲酸衍生的合成二酯，通常用作增塑剂。由于它们能够浸出到环境中并作为内分泌干扰物、致癌物质和致突变物质，这些化合物对环境和健康构成了重大威胁。因此，邻苯二甲酸酯现在被认为是主要的新兴污染物和优先污染物。微生物降解，主要由细菌和真菌完成，为 PAEs 的生物修复提供了一种有前途的方法。本文重点介绍了微生物 PAEs 降解的现状，重点关注主要的瓶颈和相关挑战。这些挑战包括鉴定新型、更有效的 PAE 水解酶，以解决环境中 PAE 混合物的复杂性，理解 PAEs 的摄取机制，描述新型邻苯二甲酸降解途径，以及研究控制 PAE 降解基因表达的调控网络。未来的研究方向包括减轻 PAEs 对健康和生态系统的影响，开发用于监测和测量生物可利用 PAEs 浓度的生物传感器，以及将这些残留物转化为其他具有工业价值的产品等。
