Design and regulation of engineered bacteria for environmental release
Abstract
Emerging products of biotechnology involve the release of living genetically modified microbes (GMMs) into the environment. However, regulatory challenges limit their use. So far, GMMs have mainly been tested in agriculture and environmental cleanup, with few approved for commercial purposes. Current government regulations do not sufficiently address modern genetic engineering and limit the potential of new applications, including living therapeutics, engineered living materials, self-healing infrastructure, anticorrosion coatings and consumer products. Here, based on 47 global studies on soil-released GMMs and laboratory microcosm experiments, we discuss the environmental behaviour of released bacteria and offer engineering strategies to help improve performance, control persistence and reduce risk. Furthermore, advanced technologies that improve GMM function and control, but lead to increases in regulatory scrutiny, are reviewed. Finally, we propose a new regulatory framework informed by recent data to maximize the benefits of GMMs and address risks.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Horizontal gene transfer could lead to unforeseen ecological consequences, such as the spread of antibiotic resistance genes or disruption of natural microbial processes.
“This could lead to unforeseen ecological consequences, such as the spread of antibiotic resistance genes or the disruption of natural microbial processes [64].”
From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [64]
Engineered or synthetic genes from introduced bacteria could transfer to native microbial populations via horizontal gene transfer.
“One of the major concerns is the risk of horizontal gene transfer (HGT), where engineered or synthetic genes from introduced bacteria could transfer to native microbial populations.”
From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [64]
Cites
Rizzo, L., Manaia, C., Merlin, C., Schwartz, T., Dagot, C., Ploy, M. C., Michael, I., & Fatta-Kassinos, D. (2013) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.01.032 · Cited by 2,493 · see citing works
Interdependence of Cell Growth and Gene Expression: Origins and Consequences
Scott, M., Gunderson, C. W., Mateescu, E. M., Zhang, Z., & Hwa, T. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1192588 · Cited by 1,470 · see citing works
Mirror-image T7 transcription of chirally inverted ribosomal and functional RNAs
Xu, Y., & Zhu, T. F. (2022) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.abm0646 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Qattan, S. Y. A. (2025) · Environmental Sciences Europe · doi:10.1186/s12302-025-01103-y · Cited by 109 · see citing works
- Authors
- Chemla, Y., Sweeney, C. J., Wozniak, C. A., & Voigt, C. A.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Environmental Protection Agency (US)
- Corresponding author
- Voigt, Christopher A.
- Venue
- Nature Microbiology
- Published
- 2025-02-04
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 281-300
- ISSN
- 2058-5276 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4407143712
- Cited by
- 142
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 101 · 2025: 41
- FWCI
- 11.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2025-02-24)
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Microbiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Defense (W911NF2220210)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Genetically Modified Organisms Research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- Keywords
- genetically modified microorganisms, environmental release, biosafety regulation, engineered bacteria, risk assessment, regulatory framework, living therapeutics, engineered living materials, self-healing infrastructure, bioremediation
- MeSH terms
- Microorganisms, Genetically-Modified, Bacteria, Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Soil Microbiology
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
