The photo is sourced from Unsplash
The new microorganism was obtained by combining two types of bacteria: Vibrio natriegens, which multiplies quickly in salt water, and Ideonella sakaiensis, which produces enzymes allowing it to break down and eat PET. The scientists took Ideonella sakaiensis DNA and incorporated it into a plasmid – a genetic sequence that can be inserted into a foreign cell so as to make the cell carry out the instructions contained within the plasmid’s DNA. By introducing a plasmid containing Ideonella sakaiensis genes, the researchers managed to make Vibrio natriegens produce the desired enzymes on the surface of its cells. The scientists then conducted an experiment showing that Vibrio natriegens is capable of breaking down PET in salt water at room temperature.
The results of the study could be useful in the fight against marine pollution. However, the scientists have yet to incorporate Ideonella sakaiensis DNA into the genome of Vibrio natriegens so that the modified organisms could produce plastic-degrading enzymes on a more stable basis. The authors will also need to further modify Vibrio natriegens so that it could feed on the byproducts of PET breakdown. Finally, the scientists intend to modify Vibrio natriegens with a view to producing a PET-based product for the chemical industry.
Previously, scientists from the Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas found that a single-celled organism – the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina – cannot tell microplastic particles from its usual food, the cells of Isochrysis galbana microalgae. They came to this conclusion based on an experiment, in which Oxyrrhis marina was offered three diet options: Isochrysis galbana microalgae, microplastics or a mixture of both. The experiment showed that Oxyrrhis marina eats microplastics even in the presence of microalgae.
