TY - JOUR
T1 - A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate)
AU - Yoshida, Shosuke
AU - Hiraga, Kazumi
AU - Takehana, Toshihiko
AU - Taniguchi, Ikuo
AU - Yamaji, Hironao
AU - Maeda, Yasuhito
AU - Toyohara, Kiyotsuna
AU - Miyamoto, Kenji
AU - Kimura, Yoshiharu
AU - Oda, Kohei
PY - 2016/3/11
Y1 - 2016/3/11
N2 - Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is used extensively worldwide in plastic products, and its accumulation in the environment has become a global concern. 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, we isolated a novel bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, 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, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.
AB - Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is used extensively worldwide in plastic products, and its accumulation in the environment has become a global concern. 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, we isolated a novel bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, 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, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.aad6359
DO - 10.1126/science.aad6359
M3 - Article
C2 - 26965627
AN - SCOPUS:84960886483
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 351
SP - 1196
EP - 1199
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6278
ER -