Microbial degradation of polyethylene terephthalate: a systematic review

Abstract

Plastic pollution levels have increased rapidly in recent years, due to the accumulation of plastic waste, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Both high production and the lack of efficient methods for disposal and recycling affect diverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems owing to the high accumulation rates of plastics. Traditional chemical and physical degradation techniques have caused adverse effects on the environment; hence, the use of microorganisms for plastic degradation has gained importance recently. This systematic review was conducted for evaluating the reported findings about PET degradation by wild and genetically modified microorganisms to make them available for future work and to contribute to the eventual implementation of an alternative, an effective, and environmentally friendly method for the management of plastic waste such as PET. Both wild and genetically modified microorganisms with the metabolic potential to degrade this polymer were identified, in addition to the enzymes and genes used for genetic modification. The most prevalent wild-type PET-degrading microorganisms were bacteria (56.3%, 36 genera), followed by fungi (32.4%, 30 genera), microalgae (1.4%; 1 genus, namely Spirulina sp.), and invertebrate associated microbiota (2.8%). Among fungi and bacteria, the most prevalent genera were Aspergillus sp. and Bacillus sp., respectively. About genetically modified microorganisms, 50 strains of Escherichia coli, most of them expressing PETase enzyme, have been used. We emphasize the pressing need for implementing biological techniques for PET waste management on a commercial scale, using consortia of microorganisms. We present this work in five sections: an Introduction that highlights the importance of PET biodegradation as an effective and sustainable alternative, a section on Materials and methods that summarizes how the search for articles and manuscripts in different databases was done, and another Results section where we present the works found on the subject, a final part of Discussion and analysis of the literature found and finally we present a Conclusion and prospects.

Exploring the infiltrative and degradative ability of Fusarium oxysporum on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using correlative microscopy and deep learning

“…1 c). According to the literature, the presence of cracks, holes, or fractures could be the indication of the biodegrading action of the fungus 40 , 41 .

Figure 1 SEM imaging of PET reference sample and biodegraded fragment.

…”

Harnessing photosynthetic microorganisms for enhanced bioremediation of microplastics: A comprehensive review

“…According to a systematic review published in 2022, the most prevalent wild-type PET-degrading microorganisms were bacteria (56.3%, 36 genera), fungi (32.4%, 30 genera), microalgae (1.4%, the genus of Spirulina sp. ), and invertebrate associated microbiota (2.8%) [ 134 ]. Among fungi and bacteria, the most prevalent genera were Aspergillus sp.…”

“…Among the publications analysed by Benavides Fernández et al. [ 134 ], 51.8% (71 articles) applied wild microorganisms, and 32.8% (45 articles) exploited genetically modified microorganisms. Regarding the percentage of PET degradation, Ideonella sakaiensis still corresponds to the most efficient wild-type microorganism to degrade PET [ 134 ].…”

“…According to the systematic review by Benavides Fernández et al. [ 134 ] Bacillus cereus and Bacillus gottheilii are two species belonging to the genus Bacillus that can degrade PET more efficiently than other microorganisms. Still within this genus, A recent study published in 2023 reports the biodegradation of PET by Bacillus safensis YX8 [ 214 ].…”

Synthesis and characterization of polyurethane flexible foams provided from PET derivatives, fly ash, and glass wastes

“…During the pandemic of COVID 19, many consumers switched to online shopping which created a massive demand for packaging in many commercial sectors that finally led to a global PET market size of $44.30 billion in 2022 [ 3 , 4 ] Although there is a continuous demand for PET-based products for reprocessing PET waste or other fossil-based plastics, there is still a gap in the loop of the recycling process that must be REACH compliant according to the European Union requirements [ 3 ].…”