Bioremediation of complex organic pollutants by engineered Vibrio natriegens

Cong Su, Haotian Cui, Weiwei Wang, Yong Liu, Zhenyu Cheng, Chen Wang, Mengqiao Yang, Liwen Qu, Ye Li, Yuejin Cai, Siyang He, Jiaxin Zheng, Pingping Zhao, Ping Xu, Junbiao Dai () and Hongzhi Tang ()
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Cong Su: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Haotian Cui: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Weiwei Wang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Yong Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhenyu Cheng: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Chen Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Mengqiao Yang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Liwen Qu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ye Li: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Yuejin Cai: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Siyang He: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jiaxin Zheng: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Pingping Zhao: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Ping Xu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Junbiao Dai: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hongzhi Tang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Nature, 2025, vol. 642, issue 8069, 1024-1033

Abstract: Abstract Industrial wastewater, petroleum pollution and plastic contamination are significant threats to global marine biosecurity because of their toxic, mutagenic and persistent nature1. The use of microorganisms in bioremediation has been constrained by the complexity of organic pollutants and limited tolerance to saline stress2. In this study, we used synthetic biology to engineer Vibrio natriegens into a strain capable of bioremediating complex organic pollutants in saline wastewater and soils. The competence master regulator gene tfoX was inserted into chromosome 1 of the V. natriegens strain Vmax and overexpressed to enhance DNA uptake and integration. Degradation gene clusters were chemically synthesized and assembled in yeast. We developed a genome engineering method (iterative natural transformation based on Vmax with amplified tfoX effect) to transfer five gene clusters (43 kb total) into Vmax. The engineered strain has the ability to bioremediate five organic pollutants (biphenyl, phenol, naphthalene, dibenzofuran and toluene) covering a broad substrate range, from monocyclic to multicyclic compounds, in industrial wastewater samples from a chlor–alkali plant and a petroleum refinery.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08947-7

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