Biodesulfurization: Back on-stage through synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches

Persistent organosulfur compounds in mid‑distillate fuels sturdily resist hydrodesulfurization (HDS), prompting for biological routes that cleave C–S bonds while retaining the hydrocarbon backbone. This review surveys aerobic biodesulfurization with emphasis on the 4S pathway, integrating the latest advances across Rhodococcus (wild‑type performance, regulation, systems biology, and genetic engineering) and Gram‑negative platforms (especially Pseudomonas ) where operon refactoring and chassis design have converged with process‑level constraints. We discuss regulatory logic (sulfur source repression, genetic regulators), operon architecture (gene order, translational tuning, chromosomal integration), cofactor logistics, transport and product inhibition (2-hydroxybiphenyl), and biphasic reactor operation (interfacial area, oxygen transfer, kinetics). We conclude with integration strategies with HDS and research priorities required to close the gap toward commercial deployment. • Biodesulfurization selectively cleaves C-S bonds, preserving fuel hydrocarbons. • Key limits: sulfur repression of dsz genes, cofactor supply, and mass transfer. • Rhodococcus metabolic engineering and Pseudomonas synthetic refactoring boost BDS. • For scale-up: continuous biphasic systems, in situ product removal, hybrid HDS–BDS.