Microbial Genes for a Circular and Sustainable Bio-PET Economy
by
Manuel Salvador 1, Umar Abdulmutalib 1, Jaime Gonzalez 1, Juhyun Kim 1, Alex A. Smith 1, Jean-Loup Faulon 2,3,4
, Ren Wei 5, Wolfgang Zimmermann 5 and Jose I. Jimenez 1,*
Manuel Salvador 1, Umar Abdulmutalib 1, Jaime Gonzalez 1, Juhyun Kim 1, Alex A. Smith 1, Jean-Loup Faulon 2,3,4, Ren Wei 5, Wolfgang Zimmermann 5 and Jose I. Jimenez 1,*
1
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
2
Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
3
SYNBIOCHEM Centre, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
4
CNRS-UMR8030/Laboratoire iSSB, Université Paris-Saclay, 91000 Évry, France
5
Department of Microbiology and Bioprocess Technology, Institute of Biochemistry, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Genes 2019, 10(5), 373; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10050373
Received: 23 April 2019 / Revised: 10 May 2019 / Accepted: 13 May 2019 / Published: 16 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Biodegradation and Bioremediation)
Plastics have become an important environmental concern due to their durability and resistance to degradation. Out of all plastic materials, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are amenable to biological degradation due to the action of microbial polyester hydrolases. The hydrolysis products obtained from PET can thereby be used for the synthesis of novel PET as well as become a potential carbon source for microorganisms. In addition, microorganisms and biomass can be used for the synthesis of the constituent monomers of PET from renewable sources. The combination of both biodegradation and biosynthesis would enable a completely circular bio-PET economy beyond the conventional recycling processes. Circular strategies like this could contribute to significantly decreasing the environmental impact of our dependence on this polymer. Here we review the efforts made towards turning PET into a viable feedstock for microbial transformations. We highlight current bottlenecks in degradation of the polymer and metabolism of the monomers, and we showcase fully biological or semisynthetic processes leading to the synthesis of PET from sustainable substrates.
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Keywords:
plastics; biodegradation; sustainability; upcycling; biotransformations; polyethylene terephthalate; terephthalate; ethylene glycol
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MDPI and ACS Style
Salvador, M.; Abdulmutalib, U.; Gonzalez, J.; Kim, J.; Smith, A.A.; Faulon, J.-L.; Wei, R.; Zimmermann, W.; Jimenez, J.I. Microbial Genes for a Circular and Sustainable Bio-PET Economy. Genes 2019, 10, 373.
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