Microbes are trying to correct the mistakes of humanity: more and more microorganisms develop the ability to decompose plastic

Scientists have studied microbial DNA samples taken from 236 locations on the planet. It turned out that 30 thousand enzymes are encoded in their genes that can decompose 10 types of plastic, reports FOCUS.

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The more debris, the higher the concentration of such microorganisms.

Scientists from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have found that the number of microbial enzymes that can degrade plastic is increasing, and this directly correlates with the increasing level of pollution on the Earth.

Areas that are most affected by plastic pollution have more microbes that eat up plastic in soil and seas.

“At the moment, we know little about these plastic-degrading enzymes. We did not expect to find such a large number of them in different microbes and in different habitats,” said lead author of the study Jan Zrimek.

The researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing genes found in DNA samples taken from 236 locations around the world.
They looked for genes that code for enzymes that break down plastic.

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In total, scientists have found 30 enzymes - 000 in the oceanic microbiome and 12 in soil - capable of degrading 000 different types of plastics.

“Our study clearly demonstrates how the environment responds to human intervention,” the scientists noted.

According to the latest data, 8 million tons of plastic waste - bags, bottles, packaging, containers, etc., fall into the waters of the World Ocean annually.

There are many countries littering the ocean.

The leaders are China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In these countries, all plastic waste is thrown into the streets, landfills, rivers, canals and the ocean.

Plastic and other debris constantly dangles in a dense layer in coastal water, causing irreparable harm to nature and wildlife.

And then, from the coast, floating debris is carried by winds and currents to the seas and oceans, where it floats for many years.

Pollution of the planet began at the same time as the appearance of plastic dishes, about sixty years ago.

Convenient, inexpensive, disposable tableware facilitated housekeeping, then it was easy to get rid of it.

And since plastic products did not decompose, and did not disappear anywhere from landfills, in comparison with other waste, its accumulation went faster and more as technology developed and production volumes increased.

For example, a plastic straw can take up to 200 years to decompose.

Currently, waste in general, and plastic waste in particular, cause serious damage to nature.

From the Antarctic ice to the depths of the Mariana Trench, there is practically no natural environment on Earth that is not affected by plastic pollution.

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Despite the magnitude of the problem, the researchers believe that their discovery could be used to discover new enzymes and use them in plastic recycling processes, which will bring humanity one step closer to solving a global problem.

“The next step will be to test the most promising enzymes in the laboratory to better understand their properties and assess the rate of plastic breakdown they may cause. We could then create ecosystems of microorganisms aimed at destroying specific types of polymers,” explained Alexey Zheleznyak, a researcher at Chalmers University who took part in the study.

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