Canadian researchers are now engineering bacteria to help in the battle against the growing amount of microplastics that pervade our environment.
With alarming findings about the damaging effects of consuming microplastics becoming a topic of conversation within health and environmental circles globally, researchers Dr. Marc Aucoin and Dr. Brian Ingalls from the University of Waterloo and their team found that adding DNA to various species of bacteria helps them break down PET biologically—in other words, biodegrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
PET is commonly used and found in plastic bottles, food packaging, clothing, electronics, photo film, container jars, and a range of other products which can often be discarded as waste.
Now, a team of Canadian researchers is working to solve this ever-growing global issue. The researchers plan to begin with wastewater facilities, but they also aim to develop methods for cleaning up the plastic waste accumulating in our oceans.
“Think of these bacteria that already exist in water systems to clean up microplastics as biorobots that can be programmed to get the job done,” said Dr. Marc Aucoin, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. “Microplastics in water also enhance the spread of antibiotic resistance, so this breakthrough could also address that concern.”
The researchers utilize a natural process called bacterial conjugation, where bacteria exchange genetic material during reproduction. This allows them to introduce a new trait into the target bacteria, enabling them to break down microplastics.
“As next steps, we will use modeling to understand how well the bacteria transfer the new genetic information under different environmental conditions and thus how effectively they can break down the plastics,” said Dr. Brian Ingalls, a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics. “The long-term vision is to break down microplastics in wastewater treatment plants at scale.”
Due to their very low decomposition rate, PET plastics can take hundreds of years to disintegrate. Emerging economies often suffer from a lack of political structure around environmental and work regulation, and areas like Southeast Asia and countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand have greatly suffered from the ongoing collection of plastic pollution, which affects their drinking water and environment daily.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large area between Hawaii and California, is one of the most well-known and rapidly growing hot spots for PET plastics, including bottles and discarded packaging.
As next steps, the Canadian team says they plan to monitor the problem and any potential issues that may arise from the use of specially engineered bacteria to help combat the global PET issue.
“We will assess the risks of using engineered, plastic-eating bacteria in the natural environment,” said Aaron Yip, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering. “Right now, microplastic degradation in wastewater treatment plants is a safer application to target.”
“Many of these facilities are already designed to neutralize bacteria in wastewater,” Yip added, which he notes “would kill any engineered bacteria prior to discharging water back into the environment.”
The study was recently published in Microbial Biotechnology.
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on The Debrief’s YouTube Channel. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton and at chrissynewton.com.