Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
PROVIDER: PRJNA1272082 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:Several environmental bacteria encode plastic-degrading enzymes, a potential evolutionary response to the rapid introduction of plastic across global ecosystems. Given the widespread use of plastic in healthcare, we hypothesised that clinical bacterial isolates may also degrade plastic, rendering plastic-containing medical devices susceptible to degradation and failure and potentially offering these pathogens a carbon source that could be used to persist in the hospital-built environment. Here, we mined the genomes of prevalent pathogens and identified several enzymes in different pathogens with homology to known plastic-degrading enzymes. Synthesising and expressing a potential plastic-degrading enzyme derived from a Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound isolate in a heterologous host, we were able to demonstrate potent plastic degrading activity. We subsequently found that the original P. aeruginosa clinical isolate could reduce the weight of a medically relevant plastic, polycaprolactone (PCL), by 78% in 7 days, and critically could use it as a sole carbon source to grow. We uncovered a direct link to virulence, demonstrating that encoding a plastic degrading enzyme can significantly enhance biofilm formation and pathogenicity in vivo. We also demonstrate that this augmented biofilm phenotype is conserved in another P. aeruginosa PCL-degrading clinical isolate we identified in a screening. We reveal that the mechanism underpinning this enhanced biofilm formation is the incorporation of the plastic breakdown products into the extracellular matrix, leading to enhanced biofilm levels. The level of PCL degradation we show by a clinical isolate and its ability to promote a key virulence and persistence determinant such as biofilm formation indicates that the integrity of any PCL containing medical device, such as sutures or implants, and the condition of patients receiving such devices could be severely compromised by pathogens with this capacity. Given the central role of plastic in healthcare, this should be considered in the future of medical interventions and practice and hospital designs implementing this material
2025-10-14 | GSE275972 | GEO
Project description:Compost Soil Introduced with Plastic Metagenome Metagenome
| PRJNA803316 | ENA
Project description:<p>Wide contamination of MPs including polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been reported in remote regions such as Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Microbial degradation of plastics is frequently coupled with lignocellulose-degrading enzymatic machinery. Given its status as a widespread biological sampler in QTP, the Tibetan herbivore plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), which harbors lignocellulose-degrading enzymes, represent a promising reservoir for novel PVC-degrading enzymes. In this study, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-feeding trial of Tibetan plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) revealed gut microbiota recruitment of plastic degraders. Subsequent enrichment experiment yielded a PVC-degrading consortium that depolymerized PVC into long-chain alkanes, with Rhodococcus and Leifsonia identified as PVC-response specialist and generalist, respectively. Multi-omics analysis supported a putative degradation pathway initiated by haloalkane dehalogenase (HLD) and involving oxidases. Furthermore, novel haloalkane dehalogenase RhHLD (from Rhodococcus MAG) released 11.5 mg/L chloride ions from PVC films, whereas dye-decolorizing peroxidase LeDyP from Leifsonia MAG generated PVC degrading intermediates. Further analysis of 39 metagenomic datasets confirmed that haloalkane dehalogenase and dye-decolorizing peroxidase are prevalent in wild pikas gut. This study elucidates the PVC-degrading potential of herbivore gut microbiota and expands the catalytic toolkit for plastic bioremediation, opens new avenues for enzyme discovery in natural ecosystems.</p>
2026-02-20 | MTBLS13916 | MetaboLights