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Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic

Plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from water bottles, are polluting our oceans, cities, and soils. While a number of Pseudomonas species have been described that degrade aliphatic polyesters, such as polyethylene (PE) and polyurethane (PUR), few from this genus that degrade the semi...

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Autores principales: Roberts, Cameron, Edwards, Sabrina, Vague, Morgan, León-Zayas, Rosa, Scheffer, Henry, Chan, Gayle, Swartz, Natasja A., Mellies, Jay L.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society for Microbiology 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7763552/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33361127
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.01151-20
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author Roberts, Cameron
Edwards, Sabrina
Vague, Morgan
León-Zayas, Rosa
Scheffer, Henry
Chan, Gayle
Swartz, Natasja A.
Mellies, Jay L.
author_facet Roberts, Cameron
Edwards, Sabrina
Vague, Morgan
León-Zayas, Rosa
Scheffer, Henry
Chan, Gayle
Swartz, Natasja A.
Mellies, Jay L.
author_sort Roberts, Cameron
collection PubMed
description Plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from water bottles, are polluting our oceans, cities, and soils. While a number of Pseudomonas species have been described that degrade aliphatic polyesters, such as polyethylene (PE) and polyurethane (PUR), few from this genus that degrade the semiaromatic polymer PET have been reported. In this study, plastic-degrading bacteria were isolated from petroleum-polluted soils and screened for lipase activity that has been associated with PET degradation. Strains and consortia of bacteria were grown in a liquid carbon-free basal medium (LCFBM) with PET as the sole carbon source. We monitored several key physical and chemical properties, including bacterial growth and modification of the plastic surface, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. We detected by-products of hydrolysis of PET using (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) analysis, consistent with the ATR-FTIR data. The full consortium of five strains containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus species grew synergistically in the presence of PET and the cleavage product bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid (BHET) as sole sources of carbon. Secreted enzymes extracted from the full consortium were capable of fully converting BHET to the metabolically usable monomers terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol. Draft genomes provided evidence for mixed enzymatic capabilities between the strains for metabolic degradation of TPA and ethylene glycol, the building blocks of PET polymers, indicating cooperation and ability to cross-feed in a limited nutrient environment with PET as the sole carbon source. The use of bacterial consortia for the biodegradation of PET may provide a partial solution to widespread planetary plastic accumulation. IMPORTANCE While several research groups are utilizing purified enzymes to break down postconsumer PET to the monomers TPA and ethylene glycol to produce new PET products, here, we present a group of five soil bacteria in culture that are able to partially degrade this polymer. To date, mixed Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. biodegradation of PET has not been described, and this work highlights the possibility of using bacterial consortia to biodegrade or potentially to biorecycle PET plastic waste.
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spelling pubmed-77635522020-12-29 Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Roberts, Cameron Edwards, Sabrina Vague, Morgan León-Zayas, Rosa Scheffer, Henry Chan, Gayle Swartz, Natasja A. Mellies, Jay L. mSphere Research Article Plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from water bottles, are polluting our oceans, cities, and soils. While a number of Pseudomonas species have been described that degrade aliphatic polyesters, such as polyethylene (PE) and polyurethane (PUR), few from this genus that degrade the semiaromatic polymer PET have been reported. In this study, plastic-degrading bacteria were isolated from petroleum-polluted soils and screened for lipase activity that has been associated with PET degradation. Strains and consortia of bacteria were grown in a liquid carbon-free basal medium (LCFBM) with PET as the sole carbon source. We monitored several key physical and chemical properties, including bacterial growth and modification of the plastic surface, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. We detected by-products of hydrolysis of PET using (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) analysis, consistent with the ATR-FTIR data. The full consortium of five strains containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus species grew synergistically in the presence of PET and the cleavage product bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid (BHET) as sole sources of carbon. Secreted enzymes extracted from the full consortium were capable of fully converting BHET to the metabolically usable monomers terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol. Draft genomes provided evidence for mixed enzymatic capabilities between the strains for metabolic degradation of TPA and ethylene glycol, the building blocks of PET polymers, indicating cooperation and ability to cross-feed in a limited nutrient environment with PET as the sole carbon source. The use of bacterial consortia for the biodegradation of PET may provide a partial solution to widespread planetary plastic accumulation. IMPORTANCE While several research groups are utilizing purified enzymes to break down postconsumer PET to the monomers TPA and ethylene glycol to produce new PET products, here, we present a group of five soil bacteria in culture that are able to partially degrade this polymer. To date, mixed Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. biodegradation of PET has not been described, and this work highlights the possibility of using bacterial consortia to biodegrade or potentially to biorecycle PET plastic waste. American Society for Microbiology 2020-12-23 /pmc/articles/PMC7763552/ /pubmed/33361127 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.01151-20 Text en Copyright © 2020 Roberts et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Research Article
Roberts, Cameron
Edwards, Sabrina
Vague, Morgan
León-Zayas, Rosa
Scheffer, Henry
Chan, Gayle
Swartz, Natasja A.
Mellies, Jay L.
Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic
title Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic
title_full Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic
title_fullStr Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic
title_full_unstemmed Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic
title_short Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic
title_sort environmental consortium containing pseudomonas and bacillus species synergistically degrades polyethylene terephthalate plastic
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7763552/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33361127
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.01151-20
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