 This study identifies genes that increase or decrease biosorption of rare earth elements, i.e., insurinella-onidensis mista-1, a known i.e. biosorbing microorganism. The findings suggest that genetic engineering could improve IE separations by leaping over existing technologies. The study also identifies key systems and genes that affect biosorption, including disruptions of the arc system and capsular polysaccharide synthesis genes. The results show that small changes to lanthanide biosorption selectivity could reduce the length of repeated enrichment processes by up to 27%. This article was offered by Sean Medin, Alexa M. Schmitz, Brooke Peein, and others.