Authors: Vivek Kumar Ghosh, Kusum Singh
Abstract: Electronic waste (e-waste) bioremediation has emerged as a sustainable approach to manage the growing burden of discarded electronics. This study investigates microbial communities in e-waste bioreactors using metagenomic techniques to identify key species and functional pathways involved in metal recovery and detoxification. By deploying next-generation sequencing (NGS) and shotgun metagenomic approaches, we uncovered taxonomic diversity and biochemical functions encoded in the resident microbiota. Our results revealed a predominance of metal-resistant bacteria, including Pseudomonas, Cupriavidus, and Desulfovibrio species, which possess genes for metal reduction, transport, and biofilm formation. Functional annotation indicated the prevalence of resistance-nodulation-division (RND) transporters, metallothioneins, and oxidoreductases crucial for heavy metal sequestration. This study underscores the utility of metagenomics in unraveling complex microbial interactions and their adaptive strategies in hostile e-waste environments. Insights from this research can facilitate the engineering of microbial consortia tailored for enhanced metal recovery and minimal ecological impact. The findings also establish a foundational knowledge base for bioaugmentation practices in electronic waste treatment systems. Ultimately, the integration of omics-based techniques into environmental biotechnology can accelerate the development of efficient and eco-friendly waste valorization platforms.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16871064
