Engineered polyketide synthases enable a microbial chassis for recyclable plastics with tunable properties

Plastics derived from fossil feedstocks pose major recycling challenges, particularly crosslinked thermosets used in electronics, construction and composites. Polydiketoenamines (PDKs) are recyclable alternatives; however, monomers such as dimedone are petrochemical-derived and offer limited tunability. We computationally screened 144 β-keto-δ-lactones (BKDLs), identifying solvation free energy as the primary determinant of depolymerization temperature across a 20-60 °C range. We engineered hybrid type I polyketide synthases (PKSs) in Escherichia coli and Streptomyces hosts to biosynthesize BKDLs with diverse substituents and defined stereochemistry, reaching titers of 1.84 g L^-1 in bioreactors. Polymerization of chemically synthesized BKDLs identical to PKS products confirmed tunable glass transition temperatures (53-98 °C) and temperature-gated depolymerization. Different BKDLs yielded PDKs with thermal, mechanical, solvent-resistance and optical properties governed by substituent and chirality. Technoeconomic and life-cycle analyses indicate that corn-stover-derived BKDLs can outperform petrochemical dimedone on cost and greenhouse gas emissions. This study demonstrates that engineered PKSs can produce monomers for recyclable plastics with programmable depolymerization behavior.