Microcystinase (MlrA) was first described in 1996. Since then MlrA peptidase activity has proven to be both the most efficient enzymatic process and the most specific catalyst of all known microcystins detoxification pathways. Furthermore, MlrA and the MlrABC degradation pathway are presently the only enzymatic processes with clear genetic and biochemical descriptions available for microcystins degradation, greatly facilitating modern applied genetics for any relevant technological development. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the potential of sustainable, biologically inspired alternatives to current industrial practice, with note that biological microcystins degradation is the primary detoxification process found in nature. While previous reviews have broadly discussed microbial biodegradation processes, here we present a review focused specifically on MlrA. Following a general overview, we briefly highlight the initial discovery and present understanding of the MlrABC degradation pathway, before discussing the genetic and biochemical aspects of MlrA. We then review the potential biotechnology applications of MlrA in the context of available literature with emphasis on the optimization of MlrA for in situ applications including (i) direct modulation of Mlr activity within naturally existing populations, (ii) bioaugmentation of systems with introduced biodegradative capacity via whole cell biocatalysts, and (iii) bioremediation via direct MlrA application.

微囊藻毒素酶（MlrA）于1996年首次被描述。从那时起，MlrA肽酶活性已被证明是所有已知微囊藻毒素解毒途径中最有效的酶促过程和最特异性的催化剂。此外，MlrA和MlrABC降解途径是目前唯一可用于微囊藻毒素降解的具有明确的遗传和生化描述的酶促过程，极大地促进了任何相关技术发展的现代应用遗传学。近来，人们对可持续的，受生物学启发的替代方法对当前工业实践的潜力越来越感兴趣，并注意到生物微囊藻毒素的降解是自然界中发现的主要排毒过程。虽然先前的评论广泛讨论了微生物的生物降解过程，在这里，我们提出专门针对MlrA的评论。在概述之后，在讨论MlrA的遗传和生化方面之前，我们将简要介绍MlrABC降解途径的最初发现和当前了解。然后，我们在现有文献的背景下回顾了MlrA的潜在生物技术应用，重点是针对原位应用的MlrA的优化，包括（i）直接调节自然存在种群内的Mlr活性，（ii）具有增强的生物降解能力的系统的生物增强通过全细胞生物催化剂，以及（iii）通过直接MlrA应用进行生物修复。在讨论MlrA的遗传和生化方面之前。然后，我们在现有文献的背景下回顾了MlrA的潜在生物技术应用，重点是针对原位应用的MlrA的优化，包括（i）直接调节自然存在种群内的Mlr活性，（ii）具有增强的生物降解能力的系统的生物增强通过全细胞生物催化剂，以及（iii）通过直接MlrA应用进行生物修复。在讨论MlrA的遗传和生化方面之前。然后，我们在现有文献的背景下回顾了MlrA的潜在生物技术应用，重点是针对原位应用的MlrA的优化，包括（i）直接调节自然存在种群内的Mlr活性，（ii）具有增强的生物降解能力的系统的生物增强通过全细胞生物催化剂，以及（iii）通过直接MlrA应用进行生物修复。