Team:Baltimore Bio-Crew/Design


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BALTIMORE BIO-CREW

Bio-Engineering E.Coli To Degrade Plastic and Save The Baltimore Inner Harbor

Design

This project started with only a few things in mind. Our team members knew they wanted to find a solution to an environmental issue that is prevalent in Baltimore City, and they wanted to develop a solution that could be created using the tools in the lab.
While researching solutions to the issue of plastic pollution, we found a paper describing a bacteria that could degrade PET plastic. This bacteria is known as Ideonella sakaiensis.
Found in Yoshida Sasuke's Lab, the bacterium Ideonella s. degraded the surface of a thin PET film at a rate of 0.13 mg/cm2/day at an incubation temperature of 30°C.
Two enzymes that were secreted onto film were believed to have aided in the almost complete degradation of the PET film. These enzymes are:
PETase (Esterase) :
  • catalyzes PET hydrolysis
  • Turns PET into MHET (Mono (2-hydroxyethyl) Terephthalate acid)
MHETase (Lipase) :
  • Breaks down MHET
  • Turns MHET into ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid.
Ethylene glycol and Terephthalic acid are used as energy source for I. sakaiensis.