By Marissa Cruz
The versatility and low cost of synthetic plastic has made it an essential item in our everyday lives. However, the overuse of plastic coupled with its long lifetime has led to pollution in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. One of the most commonly manufactured plastics is called poly(ethylene terephthalate), or PET. Because of PET’s resistance to degradation, it has the potential to remain in landfills, marine ecosystems, or the environment for hundreds of years. Luckily, scientists have recently discovered a bacterium called Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 which is unique because it is able to digest PET. This bacteria is able to use PET as a major carbon and energy source in order to grow. The study found that the action of PETase - a PET-digesting enzyme secreted by this bacteria - is improved by narrowing the binding site, shown in the figure below.
Figure 1. The structure of PETase is shown with the active site circled in red.
However, this method of plastic degradation is in its infancy. PETase still needs to be investigated to determine what improvements can be made. Moreover, the binding of PET to PETase needs to be understood before the biodegradation performance is improved. In an effort to combat the widespread threat of pollution, researchers can continue protein engineering to further develop methods of polymer biodegradation.
Reference
Austin, H.P., Allen M.D., Donohoe, B.S., Rorrer, N.A., Kearns, F.L., Silveira, R.L. et al. 2018. Characterization and engineering of a plastic-degrading aromatic polyesterase. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718804115
Comments
Post a Comment