[Substrate preference, degradation mechanisms, and bioremediation applications of phthalate ester-degrading bacteria]

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are widely used as plasticizers to improve the flexibility and durability of plastics, while they have emerged as persistent environmental contaminants due to their widespread presence in environmental media and endocrine-disrupting effects. Microbial degradation is an effective remediation strategy for removing PAEs in the environment, among which bacteria have become the main research objects due to their excellent PAE tolerance and degradation ability. It is worth noting that some PAE-degrading bacteria have substrate preference, which may directly affect their repair efficiency in actual environmental pollution sites. We detail the degradation bacteria with PAE substrate preference reported in recent years and review the research progress in the metabolic pathways of PAE-degrading bacteria, the action mechanisms of esterases, the transport mechanisms of transporters, and the applications of the bacteria in the bioremediation of PAE pollution, aiming to provide more solutions for the governance of environmental pollution problems caused by PAEs.