Inducible Bacterial Adhesion to Plastic Surfaces for Enhanced Biodegradation.
Schneier A, Armijo-Galdames BO, Lau ECHT, Sadler JC
Bioremediation
Plastic fragments accumulating in garden soil suppress seed germination, disrupt earthworm behavior, and leach compounds into the root zone of vegetables — engineered microbes that eat plastic where it sits could begin reversing that quiet contamination.
Researchers took a harmless strain of bacteria and gave it two upgrades: sticky proteins that let it grip plastic surfaces, and a tiny molecular tool that breaks plastic apart. When these bacteria were placed on a common plastic (the kind in water bottles), they broke it down more than five times better than bacteria that couldn't stick. The idea is to eventually use living microbes to clean up plastic pollution directly where it accumulates — in soil, waterways, and compost streams.
Key Findings
Bacteria expressing curli fibers or Ag43 surface proteins adhered effectively to multiple types of plastic, with curli producing higher total biomass and Ag43 producing more uniform coverage.
Co-expressing curli fibers with the PET-degrading enzyme PHL7 yielded a 5.6-fold increase in terephthalic acid release compared to non-adherent control bacteria.
The system is modular and inducible, meaning adhesion and enzyme secretion can be switched on deliberately, offering a controllable platform for plastic bioremediation applications.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists engineered common gut bacteria (E. coli) to cling to plastic surfaces and simultaneously release a plastic-dissolving enzyme, achieving a 5.6-fold increase in the breakdown of PET — the plastic used in water bottles and food packaging. This offers a scalable biological route to degrading persistent plastic waste in the environment.
Abstract Preview
Colonization of plastic surfaces by microbial biofilms offers a promising starting point for engineering efficient biodegradation systems. However, most studies to date focus on characterization or...
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