BioE Team harness Microbial Consortia to Tackle Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution is increasing rapidly. Every year, the world produces 390 tons of plastic, with a staggering 91% destined for incineration or landfill disposal. Plastic pollution is increasing rapidly. Every year, the world produces 390 tons of plastic, with a staggering 91% destined for incineration or landfill disposal. Consequently, plastic pollution has led to a growing array of adverse effects on the environment, wildlife, and human health.

Addressing global problems like this require innovative solutions. In a recent article in Nature Communications, bioengineering professor Ting Lu and his team members, Drs. Teng Bao, Yuanchao Qian and Yongping Xin, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) demonstrate the potential of designer microbial communities for plastic upcycling. Their engineered system not only breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic commonly found in water bottles, but also transforms it to valuable chemicals.

“Biological conversion of end-of-life plastics is tempting because of the programmability of living organisms,” Lu said. “Our study shows the utility of engineered microbial consortia in plastic upcycling, shedding light on the biological mitigation of the growing threat.” Read more at: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Source: ENN