Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have found that there are marine bacteria living in all the world’s oceans that are able to consume and digest plastic – in particular polyethylene terephthalate (or PET) plastic – the plastic found in soda bottles, clothing, and many other things.
PET is considered to be non-biodegradable, but nearly a decade ago scientists discovered a bacterium thriving on plastic waste in a Japanese recycling plant. The particular bacterium had evolved a specific enzyme – dubbed a PETase – that was capable of breaking down plastic into its constituent parts.
Whether any bacteria in the sea had evolved similar enzymes was an open question. The Saudi Arabian team analyzed more than 400 ocean samples from around the world and found that plastic munching bacteria were found in nearly 80% of the waters tested. Bacteria with the genes that create plastic-eating enzymes are especially commonplace in waters that are riddled with plastic. From an ecological standpoint, this appears to be an evolutionary response to humanity’s planetary littering.
This natural cleanup crew works far too slowly to rescue the seas from plastic pollution.
However, the discovery of these plastic-consuming bacteria may provide a blueprint for developing industrial enzymes for recycling plastics on land. Scientists are studying the PET-degrading enzymes spontaneously evolved in the deep sea to develop new ones that can be used to degrade plastics in treatment plants and perhaps eventually in people’s homes.
