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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Green Biodegradation: Analysis of Potential Polyurethane-degrading Enzymes and Their Secretion in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
ClearEfficient secretion of a plastic degrading enzyme from the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Scientists engineered green algae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) to produce and secrete PHL7, an enzyme capable of breaking down PET plastic. The algae successfully secreted active enzyme that degraded both PET and polyurethane plastics in laboratory tests. This approach suggests that photosynthetic microorganisms could potentially be deployed as a biological tool to help break down plastic pollution in the environment.
Efficient secretion of a plastic degrading enzyme from the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was engineered to secrete the PHL7 plastic-degrading enzyme and selected on polyurethane-containing agar plates, with robust strains demonstrating efficient PET plastic breakdown, offering a photosynthetic platform for biological plastic degradation.
Functional expression of polyethylene terephthalate-degrading enzyme (PETase) in green microalgae
The PET-degrading enzyme PETase was successfully expressed and shown to be catalytically active in the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, representing the first reported expression of PETase in a photosynthetic eukaryote. This proof-of-concept suggests the possibility of developing algae-based bioremediation strategies for PET plastic waste.
Environmental impact and mitigation of micro(nano)plastics pollution using green catalytic tools and green analytical methods
Researchers reviewed the growing problem of microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment, then assessed enzyme-based strategies for breaking them down, finding that enzymes specifically targeting plastic polymer structures offer a promising, sustainable approach to degradation, especially when stabilized on nanomaterials to extend their activity.
Microbial enzyme power: Breaking down microplastics for a cleaner planet
This review examines how microbial enzymes produced by bacteria, fungi, and algae can break down and degrade microplastic polymers. The study suggests that enzymatic biodegradation represents a promising and more sustainable alternative to conventional microplastic removal methods, though further research is needed to improve enzyme efficiency and scalability.
Using a marine microalga as a chassis for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degradation
Researchers genetically engineered a marine microalgae to produce enzymes that break down PET plastic (the kind used in bottles and synthetic fibers), demonstrating for the first time that a saltwater microalgae can be used as a biological platform for PET degradation. This proof-of-concept points toward eco-friendly, ocean-based solutions for tackling plastic pollution at its source.
Role of Various Microbes and Their Enzymatic Mechanisms for Biodegradation of Microplastics
This review examines the microbial enzymes and degradation mechanisms responsible for biodegrading microplastic polymers, covering bacterial, fungal, and algal systems that have evolved plastic-degrading capabilities over the past 150 years of plastic production. The authors survey the most promising enzymatic pathways and organisms for biotechnological application in microplastic remediation.
Aquatic Plastics Waste Biodegradation Using Plastic Degrading Microbes
This review covers how microorganisms — including algae, bacteria, and fungi — produce enzymes that can break down plastic polymers through a multi-step biodegradation process. While biological plastic degradation is promising as an environmentally friendly approach, the efficiency and scalability of microbial plastic breakdown still requires significant improvement.
Harnessing photosynthetic microorganisms for enhanced bioremediation of microplastics: A comprehensive review
This review examines how photosynthetic microorganisms like algae and cyanobacteria can break down microplastics using sunlight as their energy source. These organisms naturally colonize plastic surfaces and some can produce enzymes that degrade common plastics like PET. The research highlights a promising biological approach to cleaning up microplastic pollution in water and soil, which could ultimately reduce the amount of plastic entering the food chain and human bodies.
Harnessing Microorganisms for Microplastic Degradation: A Sustainable Approach to Mitigating Environmental Pollution
This review surveys microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, and other taxa—capable of degrading microplastics, examining the enzymes, metabolic pathways, and environmental conditions involved, and assessing the practical potential of harnessing these organisms for bioremediation of plastic pollution.
Recent trends in microbial and enzymatic plastic degradation: a solution for plastic pollution predicaments
This review covers recent advances in using microorganisms and their enzymes to break down plastics including polyethylene, PVC, polystyrene, and PET, with techniques like protein engineering being used to boost enzyme efficiency. Microbial degradation offers a sustainable approach to reducing the persistent plastic pollution that generates the microplastics found throughout the environment and human body.
Biodegradation of different types of microplastics: Molecular mechanism and degradation efficiency
This review examines how bacteria, fungi, and algae can break down different types of microplastics through their enzymes, and compares the degradation efficiency of various microbial strains. Understanding these biological breakdown pathways is important because they could be developed into practical solutions for reducing the persistent microplastic pollution that threatens ecosystems and human health.
A minireview on the bioremediative potential of microbial enzymes as solution to emerging microplastic pollution
This mini review explores the potential of microbial enzymes as a sustainable solution for degrading microplastics, discussing recent advances in identifying plastic-degrading enzymes and the challenges remaining for practical bioremediation applications.
Characterization and engineering of a plastic-degrading aromatic polyesterase
Researchers characterized and engineered an aromatic polyesterase enzyme capable of degrading plastic polymers, improving its activity through protein engineering and demonstrating its potential as a tool for biodegradation-based plastic cleanup.
A Review of Cross-Disciplinary Approaches for the Identification of Novel Industrially Relevant Plastic-Degrading Enzymes
This review surveys cross-disciplinary research identifying microbial enzymes capable of degrading synthetic plastics, highlighting promising candidates from bacteria and fungi that could be engineered for industrial-scale plastic biodegradation.
Degradation of polystyrene plastics by alkane monooxygenase and alcohol dehydrogenase
Researchers investigated the ability of alkane monooxygenase and alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes to degrade polystyrene plastics, identifying a microbial enzymatic pathway capable of breaking down this highly persistent polymer that ranks among the six most commercially important plastics worldwide.
Application of green microbiology for microplastic remediation: Current progress and future perspectives
This review explores how microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, can be harnessed to break down microplastic pollution through environmentally friendly biodegradation approaches. Researchers summarized current progress in identifying plastic-degrading microbes and the enzymes they use. The study highlights the promise of green microbiology as a sustainable strategy for tackling microplastic contamination, while noting that significant technical challenges remain.
Microbial plastic degradation: enzymes, pathways, challenges, and perspectives.
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.
Harnessing the Plastic-degrading Potential of Pseudomonas Species for Environmental Sustainability
This review examines Pseudomonas bacteria and their enzymes as candidates for breaking down plastics in the environment, noting that while these bacteria show promise, the catalytic efficiency of known plastic-degrading enzymes is too low and the mechanisms too poorly understood to achieve complete degradation. Incomplete biodegradation is itself a concern because partial breakdown of plastics generates microplastic fragments rather than eliminating them.
Breakthrough in polyurethane bio-recycling: An efficient laccase-mediated system for the degradation of different types of polyurethanes
A laccase-mediated enzymatic system efficiently degraded multiple types of polyurethane plastics in aqueous solution at mild conditions, breaking polymer chains and reducing molecular weight within days, offering a green biotechnology approach to managing polyurethane waste that conventional recycling and chemical degradation struggle to address.
Genetic Enhancement of Plastic Degrading Bacteria: The Way to a Sustainable and Healthy Environment
Researchers review how genetic engineering of plastic-degrading bacteria could accelerate the biological breakdown of plastic waste, highlighting promising enzymes and metabolic pathways. Engineering microbes with enhanced plastic-digesting capabilities could become an important tool for reducing the global accumulation of microplastics in the environment.
Microalgae for Plastic Biodegradation and Bioplastics Production
This review examines how microalgae biodegrade plastics through enzyme and toxin production while also serving as feedstocks for bioplastic manufacture, exploring both the mechanisms of algal stress from microplastic exposure and the potential of algae-derived biodegradable polymers.
Screening putative polyester polyurethane degrading enzymes with semi-automated cell-free expression and nitrophenyl probes
Researchers used a rapid lab technique called cell-free expression to screen enzymes that might break down polyester polyurethane plastics, sourcing the enzymes from bacteria found growing on aircraft and vehicle surfaces. They identified 10 enzymes with measurable plastic-degrading activity, though none performed as well as an established plastic-eating enzyme. This work advances the search for biological tools that could help break down microplastic pollution in the environment.
Recent advances in biodegradation of emerging contaminants - microplastics (MPs): Feasibility, mechanism, and future prospects
This review explores biological approaches to breaking down microplastics, including using bacteria, fungi, and enzymes. While some organisms can partially degrade certain plastic types, the process is slow and incomplete compared to the scale of pollution. The research is promising for future cleanup efforts but shows that biodegradation alone cannot yet solve the microplastic contamination problem.