The presence of dye in wastewater causes substantial threats to the environment, and has negative impacts not only on human health but also on the health of other organisms that are part of the ecosystem. Because of the increase in textile manufacturing, the inhabitants of the area, along with other species, are subjected to the potentially hazardous consequences of wastewater discharge from textile and industrial manufacturing. Different types of dyes emanating from textile wastewater have adverse effects on the aquatic environment. Various methods including physical, chemical, and biological strategies are applied in order to reduce the amount of dye pollution in the environment. The development of economical, ecologically acceptable, and efficient strategies for treating dye-containing wastewater is necessary. It has been shown that microbial communities have significant potential for the remediation of hazardous dyes in an environmentally friendly manner. In order to improve the efficacy of dye remediation, numerous cutting-edge strategies, including those based on nanotechnology, microbial biosorbents, bioreactor technology, microbial fuel cells, and genetic engineering, have been utilized. This article addresses the latest developments in physical, chemical, eco-friendly biological and advanced strategies for the efficient mitigation of dye pollution in the environment, along with the related challenges.

Toxic wastes like heavy metals and dyes are released into the environment as a direct result of industrialization and technological progress. The biosorption of contaminants utilizes a variety of biomaterials. Biosorbents can adsorb toxic pollutants on their surface through various mechanisms like complexation, precipitation, etc. The quantity of sorption sites that are accessible on the surface of the biosorbent affects its effectiveness. Biosorption’s low cost, high efficiency, lack of nutrient requirements, and ability to regenerate the biosorbent are its main advantages over other treatment methods. Optimization of environmental conditions like temperature, pH, nutrient availability, and other factors is a prerequisite to achieving optimal biosorbent performance. Recent strategies include nanomaterials, genetic engineering, and biofilm-based remediation for various types of pollutants. The removal of hazardous dyes and heavy metals from wastewater using biosorbents is a strategy that is both efficient and sustainable. This review provides a perspective on the existing literature and brings it up-to-date by including the latest research and findings in the field.

Anthropogenic activities and increasing human population has led to one of the major global problems of heavy metal contamination in ecosystems and to the generation of a huge amount of waste material biomass. Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is the major contaminant introduced by various industrial effluents and activities into the ecosystem. Cr(VI) is a known mutagen and carcinogen with numerous detrimental effects on the health of humans, plants, and animals, jeopardizing the balance of ecosystems. Therefore, the remediation of such a hazardous toxic metal pollutant from the environment is necessary. Various physical and chemical methods are available for the sequestration of toxic metals. However, adsorption is recognized as a more efficient technology for Cr(VI) remediation. Adsorption by utilizing waste material biomass as adsorbents is a sustainable approach in remediating hazardous pollutants, thus serving the dual purpose of remediating Cr(VI) and exploiting waste material biomass in an eco- friendly manner. Agricultural biomass, industrial residues, forest residues, and food waste are the primary waste material biomass that could be employed, with different strategies, for the efficient sequestration of toxic Cr(VI). This review focuses on the use of diverse waste biomass, such as industrial and agricultural by-products, for the effective remediation of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. The review also focuses on the operational conditions that improve Cr(VI) remediation, describes the efficacy of various biomass materials and modifications, and assesses the general sustainability of these approaches to reducing Cr(VI) pollution.

Tremendous increase in anthropogenic activities and natural disasters have created long term negative impacts to the crop productivity as well as on our ecosystem. In the debate regarding the ongoing ecosystem fluctuations, there is a need to explore an efficient, cost-effective, target-oriented and less manpower-based technologies for sustainable development. Microbial engineering provides a better solution for the growth of a healthy environment and higher agricultural productivity over the existing methods and resolved the challenges worldwide related to development of sustainable agriculture and greener ecosystems. In recent years, researchers are working on the development of different advanced microbial engineering strategies such as gene editing, CRISPR/Cas9, and RNAi to enhance the potential of microorganisms towards higher plant productivity and degradation of pollutants. The present review focused on the potential applications of genetically engineered microbial inoculants for sustainable agriculture and greener ecosystem development.

Organic acids are key platform chemicals widely applied in food preservation, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, biodegradable polymers, and other industrial sectors. Sustainable production of these acids has gained increasing attention due to environmental concerns associated with chemical synthesis. Fungi represent efficient biofactories for organic acid production owing to their robust metabolism, substrate flexibility, and ability to secrete high levels of extracellular enzymes. This review focuses on fungal enzyme-mediated pathways involved in the biosynthesis of major organic acids, including citric acid, gluconic acid, oxalic acid, itaconic acid, lactic acid, and fumaric acid. Key enzymes, including glucose oxidase, citrate synthase, isocitrate lyase, oxaloacetate acetyl hydrolase, lactate dehydrogenase, and fumarase, play central roles in regulating metabolic flux toward organic acid accumulation. The review discusses metabolic pathways, regulatory mechanisms, strain improvement strategies, fermentation technologies, and the use of low-cost agro-industrial substrates. Major challenges such as product inhibition, by-product formation, downstream processing costs, and scale-up limitations are critically analysed. Furthermore, techno-economic considerations, including substrate cost, enzyme efficiency, fermentation optimisation, and industrial feasibility, are highlighted. Advances in metabolic engineering, omics tools, and biorefinery integration are also explored to enhance production efficiency and sustainability. This review provides comprehensive insights into fungal enzymatic systems driving organic acid biosynthesis and outlines future perspectives for economically viable and environmentally friendly industrial applications.