An Overview into Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Hydrolases and Efforts in Tailoring Enzymes for Improved Plastic Degradation

Plastic or microplastic pollution is a global threat affecting ecosystems, with the current generation reaching as much as 400 metric tons per/year. Soil ecosystems comprising agricultural lands act as microplastics sinks, though the impact could be unexpectedly more far-reaching. This is troubling...

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Published in:International journal of molecular sciences 2022-10, Vol.23 (20), p.12644
Main Authors: Khairul Anuar, Nurul Fatin Syamimi, Huyop, Fahrul, Ur-Rehman, Ghani, Abdullah, Faizuan, Normi, Yahaya M, Sabullah, Mohd Khalizan, Abdul Wahab, Roswanira
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acids
Agricultural ecosystems
Biodegradability
Biodegradation, Environmental
By products
Climate change
Ecosystem
Environmental Pollutants
Enzymes
Esters
Ethylene Glycols
Heat resistance
High density polyethylenes
Hydrolases - metabolism
Microorganisms
Microplastics
Plastic pollution
Plastics
Plastics - chemistry
Pollutants
Polyethylene terephthalate
Polyethylene Terephthalates - chemistry
Polymers
Recycling
Review
Soil
Terephthalic acid
Terrestrial environments
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Summary:Plastic or microplastic pollution is a global threat affecting ecosystems, with the current generation reaching as much as 400 metric tons per/year. Soil ecosystems comprising agricultural lands act as microplastics sinks, though the impact could be unexpectedly more far-reaching. This is troubling as most plastic forms, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), formed from polymerized terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG) monomers, are non-biodegradable environmental pollutants. The current approach to use mechanical, thermal, and chemical-based treatments to reduce PET waste remains cost-prohibitive and could potentially produce toxic secondary pollutants. Thus, better remediation methods must be developed to deal with plastic pollutants in marine and terrestrial environments. Enzymatic treatments could be a plausible avenue to overcome plastic pollutants, given the near-ambient conditions under which enzymes function without the need for chemicals. The discovery of several PET hydrolases, along with further modification of the enzymes, has considerably aided efforts to improve their ability to degrade the ester bond of PET. Hence, this review emphasizes PET-degrading microbial hydrolases and their contribution to alleviating environmental microplastics. Information on the molecular and degradation mechanisms of PET is also highlighted in this review, which might be useful in the future rational engineering of PET-hydrolyzing enzymes.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms232012644