Sustainable, Targeted, and Cost-Effective Laccase-Based Bioremediation Technologies for Antibiotic Residues in the Ecosystem: A Comprehensive Review.

Widespread antibiotic residues are accumulating in the environment, potentially causing adverse effects for humans, animals, and the ecosystem, including an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, resulting in worldwide concern. There are various commonly used physical, chemical, and biological treatments for the degradation of antibiotics. However, the elimination of toxic end products generated by physicochemical methods and the need for industrial applications pose significant challenges. Hence, environmentally sustainable, green, and readily available approaches for the transformation and degradation of these antibiotic compounds are being sought. Herein, we review the impact of sustainable fungal laccase-based bioremediation strategies. Fungal laccase enzyme is considered one of the most active enzymes for biotransformation and biodegradation of antibiotic residue in vitro. For industrial applications, the low laccase yields in natural and genetically modified hosts may constitute a bottleneck. Methods to screen for high-laccase-producing sources, optimizing cultivation conditions, and identifying key genes and metabolites involved in extracellular laccase activity are reviewed. These include advanced transcriptomics, proteomics, and metagenomics technologies, as well as diverse laccase-immobilization technologies with different inert carrier/support materials improving enzyme performance whilst shifting from experimental assays to in situ monitoring of residual toxicity. Still, more basic and applied research on laccase-mediated bioremediation of pharmaceuticals, especially antibiotics that are recalcitrant and prevalent, is needed.