Aims: The present study investigated the biodegradation and removal of dye mixture (Remazol Brilliant Violet 5R and Reactive Red 120) using a new bacterial consortium isolated from dye-contaminated soil. Methodology and results: Among the total 15 isolates screened, the two most efficient bacterial species (SS07 and SS09) were selected and identified as Enterobacter cloacae (MT573884) and Achromobacter pulmonis (MT573885). The removal efficiency of dye mixture by E. cloacae and A. pulmonis at an initial concentration of 100 mg/L was 82.78 and 84.96%, discretely. The bacterial consortium was developed using selected isolates and the optimum conditions for removing dyes were investigated. The maximum decolorization efficiency was achieved at pH 7; 35 °C; dye concentration, 100 mg/L; and initial inoculum concentration, 0.5 mL with mannitol and ammonium sulfate as carbon and nitrogen sources. The maximum removal efficiency of 91.3 ± 3.35% was achieved at the optimal conditions after 72 h of incubation. Conclusion, significance and impact of study Decolorization of azo dyestuff by the developed microbial consortia conforms to the zero-order reaction kinetics model. Consortia of E. cloacae and A. pulmonis was established as an effective decolorizer for the Remazol Brilliant violet 5R and Reactive Red 120 dye mixture with >90% color removal.
Azo Compounds ; Microbial Consortia

Along with the increasingly serious environmental pollution, dealing with the "white pollution" issue, which is caused by the worldwide use of not readily-degradable or non-degradable synthetic plastics, has become a great challenge. It is an environmentally friendly strategy to degrade synthetic plastics using microorganisms that exist in nature or evolved under selection pressure. Based on the NSFC-EU International Cooperation and Exchanges Project "Bio Innovation of a Circular Economy for Plastics", this review summarized the screening of bacteria, fungi and microbial consortia capable of degrading synthetic plastics such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PUR), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). We also analyzed the role of various microorganisms played in the degradation of petroleum-based plastics. Moreover, we discussed the pros and cons of using microorganisms and enzymes for degradation of synthetic plastics.
Biodegradation, Environmental ; Microbial Consortia ; Petroleum ; Plastics ; Polyurethanes

Polyethylene (PE) is the most abundantly used synthetic resin and one of the most resistant to degradation, and its massive accumulation in the environment has caused serious pollution. Traditional landfill, composting and incineration technologies can hardly meet the requirements of environmental protection. Biodegradation is an eco-friendly, low-cost and promising method to solve the plastic pollution problem. This review summarizes the chemical structure of PE, the species of PE degrading microorganisms, degrading enzymes and metabolic pathways. Future research is suggested to focus on the screening of high-efficiency PE degrading strains, the construction of synthetic microbial consortia, the screening and modification of degrading enzymes, so as to provide selectable pathways and theoretical references for PE biodegradation research.
Polyethylene/metabolism* ; Bacteria/metabolism* ; Plastics/metabolism* ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Microbial Consortia

There are a large number of natural microbial communities in nature. Different populations inside the consortia expand the performance boundary of a single microbial population through communication and division of labor, reducing the overall metabolic burden and increasing the environmental adaptability. Based on engineering principles, synthetic biology designs or modifies basic functional components, gene circuits, and chassis cells to purposefully reprogram the operational processes of the living cells, achieving rich and controllable biological functions. Introducing this engineering design principle to obtain structurally well-defined synthetic microbial communities can provide ideas for theoretical studies and shed light on versatile applications. This review discussed recent progresses on synthetic microbial consortia with regard to design principles, construction methods and applications, and prospected future perspectives.
Microbial Consortia/genetics* ; Synthetic Biology ; Microbiota ; Models, Theoretical

This article summarizes the reviews and original research papers published in Chinese Journaol of Biotechnology in the area of biomanufacturing driven by engineered organisms in the year of 2022. The enabling technologies including DNA sequencing, DNA synthesis, and DNA editing as well as regulation of gene expression and in silico cell modeling were highlighted. This was followed by discussing the biomanufacturing of biocatalytics products, amino acids and its derivatives, organic acids, natural products, antibiotics and active peptides, functional polysaccharides, and functional proteins. Lastly, the technologies for utilizing C1 compounds and biomass as well as synthetic microbial consortia were discussed. The aim of this article was to help the readers to gain insights into this rapidly developing field from the journal point of view.
Biotechnology ; Microbial Consortia ; DNA ; Biological Products ; Publications ; Synthetic Biology

Synthetic electroactive microbial consortia, which include exoelectrogenic and electrotrophic communities, catalyze the exchange of chemical and electrical energy in cascade metabolic reactions among different microbial strains. In comparison to a single strain, a community-based organisation that assigns tasks to multiple strains enables a broader feedstock spectrum, faster bi-directional electron transfer, and greater robustness. Therefore, the electroactive microbial consortia held great promise for a variety of applications such as bioelectricity and biohydrogen production, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, carbon and nitrogen fixation, and synthesis of biofuels, inorganic nanomaterials, and polymers. This review firstly summarized the mechanisms of biotic-abiotic interfacial electron transfer as well as biotic-biotic interspecific electron transfer in synthetic electroactive microbial consortia. This was followed by introducing the network of substance and energy metabolism in a synthetic electroactive microbial consortia designed by using the "division-of-labor" principle. Then, the strategies for engineering synthetic electroactive microbial consortiums were explored, which included intercellular communications optimization and ecological niche optimization. We further discussed the specific applications of synthetic electroactive microbial consortia. For instance, the synthetic exoelectrogenic communities were applied to biomass generation power technology, biophotovoltaics for the generation of renewable energy and the fixation of CO₂. Moreover, the synthetic electrotrophic communities were applied to light-driven N₂ fixation. Finally, this review prospected future research of the synthetic electroactive microbial consortia.
Microbial Consortia ; Synthetic Biology ; Electron Transport ; Electricity ; Biodegradation, Environmental

In order to clarify dynamic change of microbial community composition and to identify key functional bacteria in the cellulose degradation consortium, we studied several aspects of the biodegradation of filter papers and rice straws by the microbial consortium, the change of substrate degradation, microbial biomass and pH of fermentation broth. We extracted total DNA of the microbial consortium in different degradation stages for high-throughput sequencing of amplicons of bacterial 16 S rRNA genes. Based on the decomposition characteristics test, we defined the 12th, 72nd and 168th hours after inoculation as the initial stage, peak stage and end stage of degradation, respectively. The microbial consortium was mainly composed of 1 phylum, 2 classes, 2 orders, 7 families and 11 genera. With cellulose degradation, bacteria in the consortium showed different growth trends. The relative abundance of Brevibacillus and Caloramator decreased gradually. The relative abundance of Clostridium, Bacillus, Geobacillus and Cohnella increased gradually. The relative abundance of Ureibacillus, Tissierella, Epulopiscium was the highest in peak stage. The relative abundance of Paenibacillus and Ruminococcus did not change obviously in each stage. Above-mentioned 11 main genera all belonged to Firmicutes, which are thermophilic, broad pH adaptable and cellulose or hemicellulose degradable. During cellulose degradation by the microbial consortium, aerobic bacteria were dominant functional bacteria in the initial stage. However, the relative abundance of anaerobic bacteria increased gradually in middle and end stage, and replaced aerobic bacteria to become main bacteria to degrade cellulose.
Bacteria ; classification ; metabolism ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Cellulose ; metabolism ; DNA, Bacterial ; genetics ; Microbial Consortia ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; genetics

The recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass makes its hydrolysis by cellulases less effective, and the consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) strategy that combines enzyme production, cellulose hydrolysis and fermentation, particularly the synergetic role of different microbes in attacking cellulose component could be a solution. In this article, a facultative anaerobe microbial consortium named H was isolated, which exhibited high stability even after 30 subcultures, with pH ranging from 6 to 9. Within three days, 0.5 g filter paper immerged in 100 mL PCS buffer was completely degraded, and 1.54 g/L ethanol was produced, correspondingly. Further analysis on the component of the microbe consortium was carried out though 16S rDNA and DGGE, and Clostridium thermosuccinogene, Clostridium straminisolvens and Clostridium isatidis that can directly convert cellulose to ethanol were identified, indicating that Clostridium spp. played important role in cellulose degradation through the synergistic coordination of different species, and the characterization of the consortium will benefit the analysis of the underlying mechanisms as well as the optimization of the CBP process for more efficient cellulose degradation and ethanol production.
Bacteria, Anaerobic ; metabolism ; Cellulase ; metabolism ; Cellulose ; metabolism ; Clostridium ; classification ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Clostridium thermocellum ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Culture Techniques ; methods ; Ethanol ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Hydrolysis ; Industrial Microbiology ; methods ; Microbial Consortia ; physiology ; Microbial Interactions

Direct observation of a wide range of natural microorganisms has revealed the fact that the majority of microbes persist as surface-attached communities surrounded by matrix materials, called biofilms. Biofilms can be formed by a single bacterial strain. However, most natural biofilms are actually formed by multiple bacterial species. Conventional methods for bacterial cleaning, such as applications of antibiotics and/or disinfectants are often ineffective for biofilm populations due to their special physiology and physical matrix barrier. It has been estimated that billions of dollars are spent every year worldwide to deal with damage to equipment, contaminations of products, energy losses, and infections in human beings resulted from microbial biofilms. Microorganisms compete, cooperate, and communicate with each other in multi-species biofilms. Understanding the mechanisms of multi-species biofilm formation will facilitate the development of methods for combating bacterial biofilms in clinical, environmental, industrial, and agricultural areas. The most recent advances in the understanding of multi-species biofilms are summarized and discussed in the review.
Animals ; Bacterial Adhesion ; physiology ; Bacterial Typing Techniques ; Biofilms ; growth & development ; Environmental Restoration and Remediation ; Equipment Contamination ; Humans ; Microbial Consortia ; genetics ; physiology ; Microbial Interactions ; physiology ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Models, Biological ; Nucleic Acid Hybridization ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial ; chemistry

Bacteria survive in nature by forming biofilms on surfaces and probably most, if not all, bacteria (and fungi) are capable of forming biofilms. A biofilm is a structured consortium of bacteria embedded in a self-produced polymer matrix consisting of polysaccharide, protein and extracellular DNA. Bacterial biofilms are resistant to antibiotics, disinfectant chemicals and to phagocytosis and other components of the innate and adaptive inflammatory defense system of the body. It is known, for example, that persistence of staphylococcal infections related to foreign bodies is due to biofilm formation. Likewise, chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients are caused by biofilm growing mucoid strains. Gradients of nutrients and oxygen exist from the top to the bottom of biofilms and the bacterial cells located in nutrient poor areas have decreased metabolic activity and increased doubling times. These more or less dormant cells are therefore responsible for some of the tolerance to antibiotics. Biofilm growth is associated with an increased level of mutations. Bacteria in biofilms communicate by means of molecules, which activates certain genes responsible for production of virulence factors and, to some extent, biofilm structure. This phenomenon is called quorum sensing and depends upon the concentration of the quorum sensing molecules in a certain niche, which depends on the number of the bacteria. Biofilms can be prevented by antibiotic prophylaxis or early aggressive antibiotic therapy and they can be treated by chronic suppressive antibiotic therapy. Promising strategies may include the use of compounds which can dissolve the biofilm matrix and quorum sensing inhibitors, which increases biofilm susceptibility to antibiotics and phagocytosis.
Animals ; Antibiotic Prophylaxis ; Biofilms ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Chronic Disease ; Cystic Fibrosis ; microbiology ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; physiology ; Foreign Bodies ; microbiology ; Humans ; Microbial Consortia ; drug effects ; genetics ; immunology ; Phagocytosis ; Pseudomonas Infections ; microbiology ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; drug effects ; genetics ; physiology ; Quorum Sensing ; drug effects ; genetics