干旱对微塑料生物降解的影响及优化策略

Impact of drought on the biodegradation of microplastics and optimization strategies

摘要

塑料的广泛使用和不当处置导致了严重的土壤微塑料污染，其通过食物链在人体内持续积累威胁人类健康。微生物具有生态友好性和降解专一性，及优异的微塑料污染修复潜力。微塑料生物降解过程易受土壤湿度影响。当前，全球干旱事件发生的频率和强度正逐年递增，对土壤污染的生物修复过程构成新的挑战。极端干旱条件显著抑制微生物代谢和酶的扩散，从而降低微塑料的生物降解效能。有研究表明，一定条件下的适度干旱会通过选择性富集耐旱微生物、诱导特定降解酶的表达等方式形成独特的降解机制。阐明干旱条件下微塑料生物降解过程的差异性及其作用机制，并提出针对性的优化调控策略，对于应对全球气候变化加剧背景下的土壤污染治理具有重要意义。本文围绕干旱条件下微塑料微生物降解过程，系统阐述了干旱胁迫对其影响机制的研究进展，重点解析了微生物群落结构与功能响应特征，以及耐旱微生物资源的挖掘与利用现状，归纳并评述了提升干旱条件下微塑料生物降解效率的主要策略，包括天然耐旱微生物资源筛选、耐旱工程菌株构建及合成微生物群落设计等。同时，总结了当前技术的局限性，并提出了未来的改进方向，以期为干旱环境中微塑料污染的生物修复提供理论支撑与技术参考，也为其他有机污染物在干旱胁迫下的生物降解研究提供借鉴。

Abstract

The widespread use and improper disposal of plastics led to severe soil microplastic pollution, which poses a threat to human health through continuous accumulation in the human body via the food chain. Microorganisms, with their eco-friendliness and degradation specificity, exhibited excellent potential for microplastic pollution remediation. The biodegradation process of microplastics was susceptible to soil moisture conditions. Currently, the frequency and intensity of global drought events increased annually, posing new challenges to the bioremediation of soil pollution. Extreme drought conditions significantly inhibited microbial metabolism and enzyme diffusion, thereby reducing the biodegradation efficiency of microplastics. Studies have shown that moderate drought under certain conditions can form unique degradation mechanisms by selectively enriching drought-tolerant microorganisms and inducing the expression of specific degrading enzymes. Clarifying the differences in microplastic biodegradation processes under drought conditions and their mechanisms, and proposing targeted optimization strategies, are of great significance for addressing soil pollution control in the context of intensifying global climate change. This article focuses on the microbial degradation process of microplastics under drought conditions, systematically reviews the research progress on the impact mechanisms of drought stress, analyzes the characteristics of microbial community structure and functional responses, and the current status of excavation and utilization of drought-tolerant microbial resources, summarizes and reviews the main strategies to improve the biodegradation efficiency of microplastics under drought conditions, including screening of natural drought-tolerant microbial resources, construction of drought-tolerant engineered strains, and design of synthetic microbial communities. At the same time, it summarizes the limitations of current technologies and proposes future improvement directions, aiming to provide theoretical support and technical reference for the bioremediation of microplastic pollution in arid environments, and offer insights for the biodegradation research of other organic pollutants under drought stress.

关键词

微塑料 / 微生物降解 / 干旱 / 耐旱微生物 / 工程菌株

Key words

microplastics / microbial degradation / drought / drought-tolerant microorganisms / engineered strains

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基金资助

国家自然科学基金项目(42507036, U22A20590, 42430703)

中国博士后科学基金面上资助项目(2024M761444)

江苏省卓越博士后计划项目(2025ZB619)