Using a marine microalga as a chassis for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degradation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The biological degradation of plastics is a promising method to counter the increasing pollution of our planet with artificial polymers and to develop eco-friendly recycling strategies. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a thermoplast industrially produced from fossil feedstocks since the 1940s, nowadays prevalently used in bottle packaging and textiles. Although established industrial processes for PET recycling exist, large amounts of PET still end up in the environment-a significant portion thereof in the world's oceans. In 2016, Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacterium possessing the ability to degrade PET and use the degradation products as a sole carbon source for growth, was isolated. I. sakaiensis expresses a key enzyme responsible for the breakdown of PET into monomer

SUBMITTER: Moog D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6786278 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature