Ideonella sakaiensis (Plastic-degrading microbe)

Why in News?

Recently, Scientists are exploring microbial degradation as a solution to plastic pollution, utilizing bacteria and fungi to break down plastics.

• Ideonella sakaiensis is a bacterium with a unique ability to break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common type of plastic.
• It is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, non-sporing, non-pigment-producing, monotrichous bacterium.
• Genus – Ideonella.
• Family – Comamonadaceae / Sphaerotilaceae
• Discovered by – A group of Japanese researchers led by Kohei Oda and Kenji Miyamoto of Kyoto Institute of Technology and Keio University.
• Characteristics – It was discovered from PET contaminated soil, suggesting its main habitat to be the environment, mainly soil with enriched plastic wastes.
• They are found in oxygen-rich rich moist soil and sewage sludge.
• Advantages - It can completely degrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
• It breaks PET into its environmentally benign building blocks and it can be used as food by I. sakaiensis and other organisms.
• Other microbes that decompose natural polymers - Cellulose (plant fibres), Chitin (found in fungi and insects) and Cutin (found on the surfaces of leaves).
• Plastic-degrading microbes– Gordonia and Arthrobacter, that degraded polypropylene and polystyrene by nearly 23 % and 19.5 % respectively.
• Waxworms (Galleria mellonella) – It can eat plastic bags.
• It does not naturally consume plastic, they are common pests in beehives where they feed on honeycomb.
• Honeycomb is similar to polyethylene, the main component of plastic bags.

Quick facts

References

1. Down to earth| Ideonella sakaiensis
2. Microbe Notes| A Guide to Ideonella sakaiensis                                                    Related News – Import of Polyethylene terephthalate