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Biodegradation of Microplastic Derived from Poly(ethylene terephthalate) with Bacterial Whole-Cell Biocatalysts
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Engineered bacterial whole-cell biocatalysts were used to biodegrade PET microplastics under alkaline conditions, with the strain using PET as a sole carbon source and producing monomers that did not accumulate due to continuous cellular metabolism. The study demonstrates a combined enzymatic-microbial approach that overcomes product inhibition in enzymatic PET degradation.
At present, the pollution of microplastic directly threatens ecology, food safety and even human health. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most common of microplastics. In this study, the micro-size PET particles were employed as analog of microplastic. The engineered strain, which can growth with PET as sole carbon source, was used as biocatalyst for biodegradation of PET particles. A combinatorial processing based on whole-cell biocatalysts was constructed for biodegradation of PET. Compared with enzymes, the products can be used by strain growth and do not accumulated in culture solution. Thus, feedback inhibition of products can be avoided. When PET was treated with the alkaline strain under high pH conditions, the product concentration was higher and the size of PET particles decreased dramatically than that of the biocatalyst under neutral conditions. This shows that the method of combined processing of alkali and organisms is more efficient for biodegradation of PET. The novel approach of combinatorial processing of PET based on whole-cell biocatalysis provides an attractive avenue for the biodegradation of micplastics.
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