Rare plastic-digesting microbes found in the Swiss Alps and the Arctic!

But fortunately, humans appreciate and recognize the good microbes capable of helping humanity solve global problems, one of which is plastic pollution.

Several microbes degrading and digesting plastic have already been identified and are currently used in industries. However, most of their enzymes (proteins that help microbes degrade complex compounds) require a fixed temperature (above 30°C) to function properly, making the process expensive for industries and the planet.

This problem could be solved if we had a set of microbes that would work equally well in colder temperatures. And guess what? Scientists have found the perfect candidates huddled in the snow-capped Swiss Alps and freezing Arctic regions!

The researchers sampled 19 bacterial strains and 15 fungal strains growing in the “plastisphere” of alpine and arctic soils across Switzerland, Greenland and Svalbard. The “plastisphere” forms from plastic waste that has been loose or intentionally buried in the ground for at least a year.

These microbes were then cultured under laboratory conditions, in total darkness and at 15°C. Finally, the researchers were able to identify more than 50% (17 to 19) of the bacterial and fungal strains capable of breaking down different biodegradable plastics at temperatures as low as 15°C.

The best performers were two fungal species belonging to the genera they won’t open And Lachnellulacapable of digesting all the plastics tested except those that are not biodegradable.

However, challenges remain. So far, scientists have only tested the plastic-eating abilities of microbial strains at 15°C. They only know the range in which their enzymes operate, but are unsure of the optimum temperature.

Therefore, the next step is to identify these enzymes, improve their stability and optimize their production process to obtain these proteins in larger quantities.

As for how these organisms acquired plastic-degrading characteristics, the researchers explain that their natural ability to digest plant polymers, which are quite similar to man-made plastic polymers, may have turned them into nature’s plastic warriors. .

This study was recently published in the journal Frontiers in microbiology and accessible here.

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