Polyethylene biodegradation: A multifaceted approachShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Biotechnology Advances, ISSN 0734-9750, E-ISSN 1873-1899, Vol. 82, article id 108577Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The inert nature, durability, low cost, and wide applicability of plastics have made this material indispensable in our lives. This dependency has resulted in a growing number of plastic items, of which a substantial part is disposed in landfills or dumped in the environment, thereby affecting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Among plastic materials, polyolefins are the most abundant and are impervious to biodegradation, owing to the presence of strong C C and C H bonds. Nevertheless, naturally occurring biodegradation of polyolefins, albeit limited, has been reported. This observation has sparked research on microbial polyolefin degradation. More efficient and targeted versions of this process could be developed also in the laboratory by designing synthetic microbial consortia with engineered enzymes. In this review, we discuss strategies for the development of such microbial consortia and identification of novel polyolefin-degrading microorganisms, as well as the engineering of polyethylene-oxidizing enzymes with greater catalytic efficacy. Finally, different techniques for the design of synthetic microbial consortia capable of successful polyolefin bioremediation will be outlined.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Inc. , 2025. Vol. 82, article id 108577
Keywords [en]
Polyethylene, Metabolomics, Bioaugmentation, Synthetic and engineered microbial consortia
National Category
Microbiology Molecular Biology
Research subject
Biochemical Process Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-112555DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2025.108577Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105002745473OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-112555DiVA, id: diva2:1955313
Projects
Bioholistic: Developing integrated bioprocesses for a holistic chemical recycling of plastics
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas, 2022–00853
Note
Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-04-29 (u8);
Funder: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR);
Full text license: CC BY
2025-04-292025-04-292025-04-30Bibliographically approved