New bacterium can break down and metabolize PET

Because the ability to enzymatically degrade PET has been thought to be limited to a few fungal species, biodegradation is not yet a viable remediation or recycling strategy. By screening natural microbial communities exposed to PET in the environment, researchers at Kyoto University in Japan isolated a novel bacterium that is able to use PET as its major energy and carbon source.
When grown on PET, this strain produces two enzymes capable of hydrolyzing PET and the reaction intermediate, mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid. Both enzymes are required to enzymatically convert PET efficiently into its two environmentally benign monomers. An article about the research is published in Science.
Click here for an abstract of the article.

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