Editorial: Harnessing synthetic biology for ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity conservation

resistance genes, suggesting that high Fe and metal concentrations may favor facultative bacteria that carry ARGs, by providing an electron donor for anaerobic respiration. This study suggests that phytoextraction of metals, including Fe, may play a significant role in reducing ARG abundance in treated water columns. Stanley et al. [2025aStanley et al. [ , 2025b] ] investigated the use of Engineered Floating Wetlands (EFWs) for phytoremediation and biodegradation of bitumen and heavy crude oil containing Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PACs) in a freshwater lake. Metagenomics was used to assess the impacts of a controlled conventional heavy crude oil spill on changes in the microbial community of the EFW plant roots. Taxonomic profiles of the top 40 ASVs included the presence of organisms previously identified to have PAC/hydrocarbon degrading potential. These studies indicate that the dominant taxa of EFW microbial communities can shift drastically in response to oil or environmental conditions, which may be valuable for the secondary remediation of oil spills.Although SynBio was originally developed as a set of tools for engineering of microbes and their enzymes, it is now possible to engineer expression of heterologous proteins in specific plant tissues and subcellular compartments [Chartrand-Pleau et al., 2025], and engineer microbial communities, creating a new discipline that may be called 'synthetic microbial ecology'. The contribution by San Román et al. [2025] provides an overview of strategies for the design of microbial communities and the optimization of their functions, which could include engineering microorganisms for bioremediation, developing metabolic models to understand microbial interactions, and creating renewable biocatalysts for water reclamation. The prospect of engineering microbial communities (as opposed to single organisms) has emerged as a promising approach to applied microbial ecology [Großkopf and Soyer, 2014;McCarty and Ledesma-Amaro, 2019;Shong et al., 2012]. Communities enable stable functional compartmentalization and division of labor [Beck et al., 2022;Wang M. et al., 2022;Roell et al., 2019]. Communities are often able to resist invasions by invasive species, as exemplified by the stability of human intestinal and vaginal microbial communities [Pagar et al., 2024;Maciel-Fiuza et al., 2023] DNA [Berg et al., 1975;Berg, 2008] was a landmark event in the history of science and bioethics.Synthetic microbial ecology now faces the same kinds of questions.The contribution of Keiper and Atanassova [2025] outlines a strategic plan to support the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), proposed at the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), in December 2022. The CBD is a multilateral treaty with three main objectives: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. The KMGBF proposal includes a "biosafety" target, that reflects the CBD obligations for Parties to implement biosafety measures, and measures for handling biotechnology and distributing its benefits. The KMGBF proposal explicitly recognizes the benefits of biotechnology/synthetic biology and recommends them as tools that can be used to develop "…solutions for implementation and mainstreaming" for ecosystems. However, biosafety and defining risk are key issues that remain to be established. The inclusion of a biosafety target in the KMGBF protocol has ignited hope for renewed recognition of the potential for biotechnology to contribute to global environmental goals. Further discussions about biosafety and risk mitigation will impact the application of biotechnology/synthetic biology tools for ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity conservation in the coming years.The applications of SynBio to ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity conservation can, and should be, extended to challenges in environmental sustainability in developing countries, where there are significant gaps in the accessibility of these technologies. Baluku et al. [2026] assessed the awareness, perceptions and barriers of SynBio among 140 students, lecturers and researchers from 17 countries in Africa. They highlight the need to strengthen academic curricula, expand access to affordable training platforms, invest in laboratory infrastructure and promote a biosecurity and biosafety regulations framework to support the growth of synthetic biology research in Africa.Synthe,c biology combines natural and ar,ficial components of life and applies interdisciplinary engineering principles to advance biotechnology and enable a deeper understanding of complex interac,ons in ecosystems. Metagenomics has significantly improved our understanding of how microorganisms' collec,ve func,ons emerge from the intricate interac,ons between their gene,c and metabolic poten,als and the environment, and has enabled valuable applica,ons in environmental sustainability, such as analyzing an,microbial resistance in waste management, bioremedia,on of oil spills, and the degrada,on of plas,cs.(1,106 words)