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Review
. 2025 Apr 14;16(1):3538.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58492-0.

Engineering biology applications for environmental solutions: potential and challenges

David J Lea-Smith #  1 , Francis Hassard #  2 , Frederic Coulon  2 , Natalie Partridge  3 , Louise Horsfall  4 , Kyle D J Parker  4 , Robert D J Smith  4 , Ronan R McCarthy  5 , Boyd McKew  6 , Tony Gutierrez  7 , Vinod Kumar  2 , Gabriella Dotro  2 , Zhugen Yang  2 ; EBIC partners; Natalio Krasnogor  8   9
Collaborators, Affiliations
Review

Engineering biology applications for environmental solutions: potential and challenges

David J Lea-Smith et al. Nat Commun. .

Abstract

Engineering biology applies synthetic biology to address global environmental challenges like bioremediation, biosequestration, pollutant monitoring, and resource recovery. This perspective outlines innovations in engineering biology, its integration with other technologies (e.g., nanotechnology, IoT, AI), and commercial ventures leveraging these advancements. We also discuss commercialisation and scaling challenges, biosafety and biosecurity considerations including biocontainment strategies, social and political dimensions, and governance issues that must be addressed for successful real-world implementation. Finally, we highlight future perspectives and propose strategies to overcome existing hurdles, aiming to accelerate the adoption of engineering biology for environmental solutions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: N.P. & N.K. are affiliated with GitLife Biotech Ltd, a UK bio-traceability company. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overview of synthetic biology tools and techniques for environmental applications.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Integration of synthetic biology with emerging technologies for enhanced environmental monitoring and remediation.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Strategies for biosafety and biocontainment in environmental biotechnology.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Social and policy dimensions for synthetic biology for environmental applications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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