Since the 1940s, when the mass production of polymers began, plastics have become a ubiquitous part of society. Most plastics in use today are derived from petrochemicals. It is estimated that approximately 8% of the world’s total oil is used to manufacture plastic products, causing considerable carbon emissions. The growing amount of microplastic waste in the oceans is a critical issue that concerns environmental policymakers worldwide. With the increasing use of plastics in both developed and developing economies, the problem is spiraling out of control. However, mother nature always has a history of evolving and serving humanity. The microbes have now found a way to degrade the plastics from the environment, which is a good sign.
According to a new study by Chalmers University in Sweden, microbes evolve worldwide to eat plastic pollution. The study, recently published in the scientific journal mBIO, analyzed samples of environmental DNA from hundreds of locations around the world.
The researchers used computer modeling to search for microbial enzymes with plastic-degrading potential, then cross-referenced with the official numbers for plastic waste pollution across countries and oceans.
In total, over 30,000 enzymes ‘ homologs’ were found with the potential to degrade ten different types of commonly used plastic. Homologs are members of protein sequences sharing similar properties. Some of the locations that contained the highest amounts were notoriously highly polluted areas, for example, those from the Mediterranean Sea and South Pacific Ocean.
Jan Zrimec, a researcher at the National Institute of Biology in Slovenia, said, “Currently, very little is known about these plastic-degrading enzymes, and we did not expect to find such a large number of them across so many different microbes and environmental habitats. This is a surprising discovery that really illustrates the scale of the issue. The next step would be to test the most promising enzyme candidates in the lab to closely investigate their properties and the rate of plastic degradation they can achieve. From there, you could engineer microbial communities with targeted degrading functions for specific polymer types.”
One of the major concerns for the textile sector is microfiber pollution from polyester fibers. However, with such a piece of good news from mother nature, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
