Researchers have developed bacteria that turn plastic bottles into raw materials

Researchers have developed a bacterium that feeds on plastic and turns it into raw materials for other products, the scientific journal ACS Central Science reported Wednesday.

The discovery is presented as a possible solution to the plastic problem, with mountains of used plastic bottles thrown away every day, a problem that microbes could potentially solve.

The novelty, the researchers point out, involves modifying E.coli (Escherichia coli) bacteria to feed on plastic and effectively convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste, common plastic bottles, into adipic acid, used to make “nylon” materials and also to make flavor more sour, manifesting itself in fruit juices or sweets. It also finds use in perfumes, paints and medicines.

Prior to this discovery, a team of researchers, including Edinburgh University professor Stephen Wallace, had already developed a strain of E. coli bacteria capable of converting the main component of PET bottles, terephthalic acid, into something more delicious and valuable, with a vanilla flavor. compound vanillin is a substance used to create artificial flavors.

At the same time, other researchers engineered microbes to metabolize terephthalic acid into a variety of small molecules, including acids.

So Stephen Wallace and a new team from the University of Edinburgh experimented with E. coli to turn on the metabolism of terephthalic acid into adipic acid, a raw material for many everyday foods that is typically produced from fossil fuels through energy-intensive processes.

A new strain of E. coli bacteria produces enzymes that can convert terephthalic acid into compounds such as muconic acid (used, for example, in the production of cola) and adipic acid.

To convert muconic acid into adipic acid, the researchers used a second type of E. coli, forcing the modified bacteria to efficiently produce adipic acid.

Now researchers want to develop other products that are more valuable than adipic acid.