the researchers Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee have discovered a 3D structure of bacteria that can aid in the rapid breakdown of plastics. The institute said the team identified all of the bacterial enzymes that would help in the rapid degradation of plastics, which are known to be non-biodegradable.
“Toxic phthalates are harmful to the environment. These results provide insight into a pollutant-degrading enzyme. The results facilitate the engineering of this enzyme for bioremediation and biocatalytic applications,” said Professor Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director IIT Roorkee . Phthalate is a substance that disrupts the endocrine system in living beings and is a potential carcinogen found in plastics. It is degraded by various bacteria.
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“Global plastic pollution has become the most pressing environmental issue. And recent studies on enzymes that convert polyethylene terephthalate type plastics to terephthalate (tPA) show some potential in tackling it. In addition, research from the past decade have discovered terephthalate dioxygenase (TPDO), which is responsible for initiating the enzymatic degradation of tPA in some Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, building on this, the team members developed Comamonas testosteronei Kf1. determined the crystal structure of TPDO and revealed that this enzyme can help degrade non-biodegradables,” said Prof Pravindra Kumar, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Roorkee.
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The research was led by Professor Pravindra Kumar along with five colleagues from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Roorkee. The main author of this work is Jai Krishna Mahato. Other scientists, Neetu, Monika Sharma, Bhairavnath Waghmode, Monika Dubey, Prof. BP Velanki, Prof. Debabrata Sarkar, Prof. AK Sharma and Professor Shaily Tomar were part of the team that contributed greatly to this work. The study on phthalate dioxygenase is published in the “Journal of Biological Chemistry,” while those on terephthalate dioxygenase will be published in the February edition of the “Journal of Bacteriology.”
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