AUTHOR=Chen Jinjin , Liu Yilan , Diep Patrick , Mahadevan Radhakrishnan 

TITLE=Harnessing synthetic biology for sustainable biomining with Fe/S-oxidizing microbes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.920639

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.920639

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>Biomining is a biotechnological approach where microorganisms are used to recover metals from ores and waste materials. While biomining applications are motivated by critical issues related to the climate crisis (<italic>e.g.</italic>, habitat destruction due to mine effluent pollution, metal supply chains, increasing demands for cleantech-critical metals), its drawbacks hinder its widespread commercial applications: lengthy processing times, low recovery, and metal selectivity. Advances in synthetic biology provide an opportunity to engineer iron/sulfur-oxidizing microbes to address these limitations. In this forum, we review recent progress in synthetic biology-enhanced biomining with iron/sulfur-oxidizing microbes and delineate future research avenues.</p>