Enriched microbial consortia from natural environments reveal core groups of microbial taxa able to degrade terephthalate and terphthalamide.

ABSTRACT: Millions of tons of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are produced each year, however only ~30% of PET is currently recycled in the United States. Improvement of PET recycling and upcycling practices is an area of ongoing research. One method for PET upcycling is chemical depolymerization (through hydrolysis or aminolysis) into aromatic monomers and subsequent biodegradation. Hydrolysis depolymerizes PET into terephthalate, while aminolysis yields terephthalamide. Aminolysis, which is catalyzed with strong bases, yields products with high osmolality, which is inhibitory to optimal microbial growth. Additionally, terephthalamide, may be antimicrobial and its biodegradability is presently unknown. In this study, microbial communities were enriched from sediments collected from five unique env

SUBMITTER: Schaerer LG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11676569 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature