Embedded Files
Synopsis of the news report:
"Ting Lu and team harness microbial consortia to tackle plastic pollution"
The escalating issue of plastic pollution, with 390 tons produced annually and 91% not recycled, poses severe environmental, wildlife, and health threats. Addressing this challenge, a research team from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), led by bioengineering professor Ting Lu, has made a significant breakthrough. Published in Nature Communications, their work explores the use of designer microbial communities for the upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic in water bottles, into valuable chemicals.
The research utilizes engineered microbial consortia to break down and transform PET. By employing a division of labor among microbial strains, each strain specializes in degrading different components of PET, enhancing the efficiency of conversion compared to single-strain methods. The result is the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate, a biodegradable polymer, and muconic acid, a chemical with wide applications, demonstrating an effective and sustainable method of plastic upcycling.
The implications of this study are promising for the future of sustainable materials management, providing a foundation for expanding the biological upcycling methods to other types of plastics. The project received support from the Future Insight Prize from Merck KGaA and the ReSource Program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Google Sites
Report abuse