From 1950 to 2015, approximately 83 billion tons of plastic were produced worldwide, among which 79% of the discarded plastic accumulated in landfills or leaked into the environment. These large plastic materials gradually break down into microplastics, tiny particles ranging from 100 nm to 5 mm in diameter. Microplastic have now infiltrated nearly every aspect of our daily lives.
Once microplastics enter the human body through the food chain, they can penetrate critical biological barriers such as cell membranes, the blood-brain barrier, and the placenta. This could lead to severe consequences like DNA damage, tissue necrosis, and potentially an increased risk of malignant tumors. These invisible threats lurk in the crops we consume, entering our bodies with every bite. And the source of these microplastics could be the contaminated soils of the farmland where these crops are grown.
Organic fertilizers, plastic mulches, and irrigation water are the inevitable and primary culprits behind the presence of microplastics in agricultural soils. Irrigation water, in particular, is often sourced from rivers, lakes, and other surface water bodies, where the presence of microplastics is already widespread. The continued use of microplastic-contaminated irrigation water only worsens the problem, increasing microplastic accumulation in farmland, which in turn threatens crop yields and poses serious health risks to humans.
E.coli BL21 is capable of efficiently expressing proteins. We have genetically engineered it to express high levels of PET-degrading dual-enzymes system for degrading PET and to break down ethylene glycol(EG), a byproduct of PET degradation. This process helps reduce the amount of microplastics in irrigation water, ultimately decreasing soil contamination and mitigating the potential health risks to humans.
Pseudomonas putida KT2440 possesses a unique set of pathways for phenol and lipid metabolism. It has been further modified by us to absorb and metabolize TPA, another byproduct of PET degradation, producing rhamnolipids in the process. These biosurfactants not only help further eliminate microplastics from the soil but also enhance the soil’s physical structure and chemical properties.
By harnessing the synergistic power of these two strains, we aim to significantly reduce PET microplastic accumulation in soils, restore soil health, and effectively tackle the growing threat of soil microplastic pollution—a danger that looms large over our environment and human well-being.
Want to know more? Click here!
