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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2025

Isolation of Native Soil Microorganisms with Potential for Breaking Down Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films Used in Agriculture

Isolation of Native Soil Microorganisms with Potential for Breaking Down Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films Used in Agriculture

Published on: May 10, 2013

Degradable living plastics programmed by engineered spores.

Chenwang Tang^1,2, Lin Wang¹, Jing Sun^2,3

¹Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.

Nature Chemical Biology

|August 21, 2024

Summary

Researchers created "living plastics" by embedding engineered Bacillus subtilis spores. These spores release enzymes to degrade plastic when activated, offering a sustainable solution for plastic waste management.

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Forming Micro-and Nano-Plastics from Agricultural Plastic Films for Employment in Fundamental Research Studies

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Published on: July 27, 2022

Area of Science:

Synthetic biology
Polymer engineering
Biomaterials science

Background:

Plastic waste presents a significant ecological challenge due to its persistence.
Enzymatic degradation of plastics is hindered by enzyme instability during material processing.
Novel approaches are needed to create biodegradable plastics.

Purpose of the Study:

To engineer degradable living plastics by integrating enzyme-producing microbial spores into polymer matrices.
To develop a sustainable method for plastic disposal using biologically active materials.

Main Methods:

Engineered Bacillus subtilis spores with a gene circuit for expressing Burkholderia cepacia lipase (BC-lipase).
Incorporated stress-resilient spores into poly(caprolactone) to create living plastic materials.
Triggered spore germination and enzyme release via surface erosion.

Main Results:

Spore incorporation did not negatively impact the physical properties of the poly(caprolactone) materials.
Germinated spores released BC-lipase, leading to near-complete depolymerization of the plastic.
Demonstrated a functional degradable plastic material controlled by biological activation.

Conclusions:

Developed a novel method for fabricating sustainable, degradable living plastics.
Showcased the potential of harnessing engineered microbial spores for on-demand plastic biodegradation.
Opened avenues for developing advanced materials for environmental sustainability.