This plastic-gobbling enzyme just got an upgrade
Scientists’ tweak led to more breakdown of plastics found in polyester and plastic bottles
by Laurel Hamers
7:00am, April 19, 2018
Just a few tweaks to a bacterial enzyme make it a lean, mean plastic-destroying machine.
One type of plastic, polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, is widely used in polyester clothing and disposable bottles and is notoriously persistent in landfills. In 2016, Japanese scientists identified a new species of bacteria, Ideonella sakaiensis, which has a specialized enzyme that can naturally break down PET.
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/plastic-gobbling-enzyme-just-got-upgrade?tgt=nr
