How bacteria can help solve the plastic pollution crisis

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time

Petroleum-based plastics, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), are widely used in everyday products such as disposable plastic bottles, textiles, and food packaging

Although reducing the manufacture of unnecessary disposable plastic products and improving waste management systems will help alleviate the pollution crisis, our reliance on convenient plastic products is unlikely to decrease in the short term

"Certain bacteria contain enzymes needed to degrade PET, which is the plastic with the greatest environmental impact," explained senior author Aksuke Yoshida

This discovery is particularly promising because it solves the two problems of the sustainability of plastics: the most durable petroleum-based plastics that degrade, and the sustainable production of biodegradable plastics

Yoshida said: "We believe that this discovery is of great significance for solving plastic pollution, because we have proved that pet degradation and phb synthesis pathways in Sakai bacteria are functionally related

Considering the huge challenge of dealing with global plastic pollution, this new bacterial method may be an important part of the solution

Title: Direct fermentative conversion of poly(ethylene terephthalate) into poly(hydroxyalkanoate) by Ideonella sakaiensis

10.

Authors: Ryoga Fujiwara, Rikako Sanuki, Hiroharu Ajiro, Toshiaki Fukui & Shosuke Yoshida

Information about Yoshida Laboratories can be found on the following website: https://bsw3.