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Call for biotechnological approach to degrade plastic in the era of COVID-19 pandemic.
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This commentary called for expanded biotechnological approaches to plastic degradation in the context of increased COVID-19 plastic waste, reviewing microbial genes, enzymes, and metabolic pathways capable of breaking down synthetic polymers and arguing that biotechnology offers a scalable solution to mounting plastic pollution.
Plastic pollution is a global issue and has become a major concern since Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19. In developing nations, landfilling and illegal waste disposal are typical ways to dispose of COVID-19-infected material. These technologies worsen plastic pollution and other human and animal health problems. Plastic degrades in light and heat, generating hazardous primary and secondary micro-plastic. Certain bacteria can degrade artificial polymers using genes, enzymes, and metabolic pathways. Microorganisms including bacteria degrade petrochemical plastics slowly. High molecular weight, strong chemical bonds, and excessive hydrophobicity reduce plastic biodegradation. There is not enough study on genes, enzymes, and bacteria-plastic interactions. Synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and bioinformatics methods have been created to biodegrade synthetic polymers. This review will focus on how microorganisms' degrading capacity can be increased using recent biotechnological techniques.
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Microbial plastic degradation: enzymes, pathways, challenges, and perspectives.
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This review synthesizes current knowledge on microbial plastic degradation, covering the enzymes and metabolic pathways involved in breaking down major synthetic polymers, the challenges limiting efficient biodegradation, and perspectives for engineering improved microbial solutions to plastic waste.
Plastic waste impact and biotechnology: Exploring polymer degradation, microbial role, and sustainable development implications
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Researchers reviewed how microorganisms and their enzymes can break down different types of plastic waste through both aerobic (oxygen-using) and anaerobic (oxygen-free) pathways. The review highlights biotechnological tools like genetic modification that could accelerate plastic biodegradation, supporting a shift toward a circular economy.
Innovative biotechnological approaches for plastic degradation: A pathway to sustainable waste management
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This review examines biotechnological approaches to plastic degradation, highlighting enzymes such as PETase, MHETase, laccases, and lipases as promising tools for breaking down recalcitrant synthetic polymers. The authors identify key challenges including degradation efficiency, economic scale-up, and regulatory barriers to using genetically modified organisms in industrial applications.
A concept for the biotechnological minimizing of emerging plastics, micro- and nano-plastics pollutants from the environment: A review.
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This review examined biotechnological strategies for remediating plastics, micro-, and nano-plastics from the environment, cataloguing microbial and enzymatic degradation approaches, discussing their mechanistic basis, and proposing an integrated biotechnology framework for minimizing plastic pollution across terrestrial and aquatic systems.
Microplastic Accumulation and Degradation in Environment via Biotechnological Approaches
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This review examines how biotechnological approaches, including genetic engineering, genome editing, and synthetic biology, can enhance microbial degradation of plastics. Researchers found that while microplastics and nanoplastics are now found throughout the environment and even in food and the human body, improved methods for plastic biodegradation could help reduce their production. The study highlights the potential of engineered microorganisms as a strategy for addressing plastic waste accumulation.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.