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Web Alert: Microbes and plastics: An annotated selection of World Wide Web sites relevant to the topics in environmental microbiology
Summary
Researchers characterized microplastics in surface water and fish from a river system receiving effluent from textile manufacturing facilities, finding elevated fiber concentrations and predominantly polyester composition consistent with industrial discharge. Fish from polluted sites had significantly higher microplastic burdens than those from reference sites, indicating localized ecological impacts.
https://environmentalmicrobiome.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40793-020-00371-w This review details different environments in which communities of microbes act to colonize and breakdown anthropogenic polymers. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-023-01529-1 Microorganisms can make plastic materials and also breakdown plastics. The use of microbes in both areas can serve to make for more sustainable recycling of materials and their waste products. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1178474/full Most plastic biodegradation studies have been done at 20°C or at a higher temperature. This study examined plastic degrading bacteria isolated from alpine and Arctic soils. https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aic.18228 In this study, the authors genetically engineered a moderate halophile with displayed enzymes to biodegrade polyethylene terephthalate in marine-like saltwater. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/7/1661 This recent review provides a good overview of plastic and microplastic biodegradation. https://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/277#:~:text=Plastic%20Eaters,linkage%20into%20long%20polymer%20chains.%5C Plastic degrading enzymes were here designated as molecules of the month at the Protein DataBank. The page provides links to the X-ray structures of several enzymes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10526444/ This review discusses efforts to improve plastic biodegradation by using structural biology knowledge to engineer enzymes that have higher efficiency. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04599-z This paper describes the use of machine learning to make an improved enzyme for the hydrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31691-9 Plastics and plastic leachate increase organic matter in lakes dramatically, leading to enhanced bacterial growth and pollution. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2311253120 This report summarizes increasing concerns that plastic pollution may also increase the incidence and spread of pathogenic parasites, bacteria and viruses. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022006432 This review focuses on marine environments and methods for studying biodegradation in the plastisphere.