Widespread distribution of bacteria containing PETases with a functional motif across global oceans.

ABSTRACT: Accumulating evidence indicates that microorganisms respond to the ubiquitous plastic pollution by evolving plastic-degrading enzymes. However, the functional diversity of these enzymes and their distribution across the ocean, including the deep sea, remain poorly understood. By integrating bioinformatics and artificial intelligence-based structure prediction, we developed a structure- and function-informed algorithm to computationally distinguish functional polyethylene terephthalate-degrading enzymes (PETases) from variants lacking PETase activity (pseudo-PETase), either due to alternative substrate specificity or pseudogene origin. Through in vitro functional screening and in vivo microcosm experiments, we verified that this algorithm identified a high-confidence, searchable sequence mo

SUBMITTER: Alam I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12224614 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature