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John McGeehan is a British research scientist and professor of structural biology. He is director of the Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI) at the University of Portsmouth and leads a research team on enzyme engineering.
PETases are an esterase class of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic to monomeric mono-2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (MHET). The idealized chemical reaction is (where n is the number of monomers in the polymer chain):
Cynthia B. Whitchurch is an Australian microbiologist. Whitchurch is a research group leader at the Quadram Institute on the Norwich Research Park in the United Kingdom and was previously the founding director of the Microbial Imaging Facility and a Research Group Leader in the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Innovation at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in New South Wales.
Plastic degradation in marine bacteria describes when certain pelagic bacteria break down polymers and use them as a primary source of carbon for energy. Polymers such as polyethylene(PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are incredibly useful for their durability and relatively low cost of production, however it is their persistence and difficulty to be properly disposed of that is leading to pollution of the environment and disruption of natural processes. It is estimated that each year there are 9-14 million metric tons of plastic that are entering the ocean due to inefficient solutions for their disposal. The biochemical pathways that allow for certain microbes to break down these polymers into less harmful byproducts has been a topic of study to develop a suitable anti-pollutant.
References
- ↑ Cames Pomeroy (2016-08-19). "Material Innovation". Innovation Expositor. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
- ↑ Yoshida, Shosuke; Hiraga, Kazumi; Takehana, Toshihiko; Taniguchi, Ikuo; Yamaji, Hironao; Maeda, Yasuhito; Toyohara, Kiyotsuna; Miyamoto, Kenji; Kimura, Yoshiharu (2016-03-11). "A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate)". Science. 351 (6278): 1196–1199. doi:10.1126/science.aad6359. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 26965627.
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