Bioaccumulation and degradation of common pollutants by human gut bacteria

The environmental contamination by manufactured chemicals has by some estimates exceeded the safe planetary boundary. Due to the widespread contamination of water and agricultural systems, a vast number of chemical pollutants make it into the food and hence into the human body. The gut microbiota is particularly susceptible to exposure and adverse interactions therein could cause systemic effects on the host due to the critical role of the microbiota in host physiology. Here we investigate the potential of human gut bacteria to bioaccumulate or degrade common environmental pollutants.