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Pollution Solution: Scientists Develop Living Plastics That Degrade in Compost or Erosion

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Saturday, August 31, 2024

Plastics are widely used but difficult to degrade, posing an ecological challenge. A team from SIAT developed degradable “living plastics” using synthetic biology and polymer engineering. They engineered Bacillus subtilis spores to produce Burkholderia cepacia lipase (BC-lipase), an enzyme that breaks down plastic. These spores were mixed with poly(caprolactone) (PCL) to create the plastics, maintaining the material’s physical properties. When the plastic surface is eroded, the spores release the enzyme, leading to a nearly complete breakdown of the plastic. Credit: Dai ZhuojunScientists developed engineered spores embedded in plastics that remain stable during use but degrade rapidly when exposed to specific environmental triggers. This innovative approach could significantly mitigate plastic pollution. The findings, led by Dr. Dai Zhuojun’s research group at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), were recently published in Nature Chemical Biology. The study leverages the natural resilience of spores, which can endure extreme environmental conditions, by programming them to secrete plastic-degrading enzymes under specific circumstances. These spores are embedded into plastic matrices through standard plastic processing methods, such as high temperature, high pressure, or the use of organic solvents. In normal conditions, the spores remain dormant, ensuring the plastic’s stable performance. However, when exposed to specific triggers like surface erosion or composting, the spores activate and initiate the degradation process, leading to the plastic’s complete breakdown. Research Background The invention of plastics has improved our daily lives, but the massive production and improper disposal of plastic waste have made plastic pollution a major environmental issue. In 2016, Yoshida et al. discovered a bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis, in poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET)-contaminated soil near a recycling facility in Japan. This bacterium can grow using PET as its main carbon source by producing two key enzymes: PETase and MHETase. Since then, numerous synthetic biology research has been focused on discovering, designing, and evolving the relevant plastic-degrading enzymes, but there has been little exploration of innovative methods for creating degradable plastics. Dormant Spores and Living Plastics Microorganisms have developed intrinsic mechanisms to defend against harsh conditions over billions of years. One classical example is the formation of spores that are resilient to dryness, high temperatures, and high pressure (similar conditions in plastics processing). Using synthetic biology, the research team engineered Bacillus subtilis with a genetic circuit to control the secretion of a plastic-degrading enzyme (lipase BC from Burkholderia cepacia). Under stress from heavy metal ions, Bacillus subtilis forms spores. The team mixed these engineered spores with poly (caprolactone) (PCL) plastic granules and produced spore-containing plastics through high-temperature extrusion or solvent dissolution. Tests showed that these “living plastics” had similar physical properties to regular PCL plastics. During daily use, the spores remain dormant, ensuring the plastic’s stable performance. Spore Release and Degradation Initiation The first key step in plastic degradation is to release the spores embedded in the living plastic for cell revival. Researchers have first demonstrated two methods of spore release. One method uses an enzyme (lipase CA) to erode the plastic surface. These released spores then germinated and expressed the lipase BC, which bound to the ends of PCL polymer chains and near-completely degraded the PCL molecules (final molecular weight <500 g/mol). The results showed that living plastic could degrade efficiently within 6-7 days, while ordinary PCL plastic subjected only to surface damage (lipase CA) still had a large amount of plastic debris after 21 days. Another method for spores release is composting. In the absence of any additional exogenous agents, living plastics in soil could completely degrade within 25-30 days, while traditional PCL plastic took about 55 days to degrade to a level that was invisible to the naked eye. Beyond PCL Plastics As mentioned earlier, PCL’s processing conditions are relatively ‘mild’ among plastics. To verify the system’s general applicability, the team continued to test other commercial plastic systems. They mixed spores carrying GFP expression plasmids with PBS (polybutylene succinate), PBAT (polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate), PLA (polylactic acid), PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates), and even PET (poly (ethylene terephthalate)) and processed the mixture at temperatures as high as 300oC. By releasing the spores through physical grinding, they surprisingly found that the spores could still revive and expressed the GFP. These results have laid a solid foundation for extending the method with other types of plastics. To validate the potential for scaling up the system, the research team also conducted a small-scale industrial test on PCL system using a single-screw extruder. The generated living PCL still exhibited rapid and efficient degradation property (degrade within 7 days). In the absence of external factors, the living PCL maintained a stable shape, demonstrating its robustness during the service (stable in Sprite for two months). This study provides a novel method for fabricating green plastics that can function steadily when the spores are latent and decay when the spores are aroused and shed light on the development of materials for sustainability. Reference: “Degradable living plastics programmed by engineered spores” by Chenwang Tang, Lin Wang, Jing Sun, Guangda Chen, Junfeng Shen, Liang Wang, Ying Han, Jiren Luo, Zhiying Li, Pei Zhang, Simin Zeng, Dianpeng Qi, Jin Geng, Ji Liu and Zhuojun Dai, 21 August 2024, Nature Chemical Biology.DOI: 10.1038/s41589-024-01713-2

Scientists developed engineered spores embedded in plastics that remain stable during use but degrade rapidly when exposed to specific environmental triggers. This innovative approach could significantly mitigate plastic pollution. The findings, led by Dr. Dai Zhuojun’s research group at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), were recently published in [...]

Living Plastics Degradation
Plastics are widely used but difficult to degrade, posing an ecological challenge. A team from SIAT developed degradable “living plastics” using synthetic biology and polymer engineering. They engineered Bacillus subtilis spores to produce Burkholderia cepacia lipase (BC-lipase), an enzyme that breaks down plastic. These spores were mixed with poly(caprolactone) (PCL) to create the plastics, maintaining the material’s physical properties. When the plastic surface is eroded, the spores release the enzyme, leading to a nearly complete breakdown of the plastic. Credit: Dai Zhuojun

Scientists developed engineered spores embedded in plastics that remain stable during use but degrade rapidly when exposed to specific environmental triggers. This innovative approach could significantly mitigate plastic pollution.

The findings, led by Dr. Dai Zhuojun’s research group at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), were recently published in Nature Chemical Biology.

The study leverages the natural resilience of spores, which can endure extreme environmental conditions, by programming them to secrete plastic-degrading enzymes under specific circumstances. These spores are embedded into plastic matrices through standard plastic processing methods, such as high temperature, high pressure, or the use of organic solvents.

In normal conditions, the spores remain dormant, ensuring the plastic’s stable performance. However, when exposed to specific triggers like surface erosion or composting, the spores activate and initiate the degradation process, leading to the plastic’s complete breakdown.

Research Background

The invention of plastics has improved our daily lives, but the massive production and improper disposal of plastic waste have made plastic pollution a major environmental issue. In 2016, Yoshida et al. discovered a bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis, in poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET)-contaminated soil near a recycling facility in Japan.

This bacterium can grow using PET as its main carbon source by producing two key enzymes: PETase and MHETase. Since then, numerous synthetic biology research has been focused on discovering, designing, and evolving the relevant plastic-degrading enzymes, but there has been little exploration of innovative methods for creating degradable plastics.

Dormant Spores and Living Plastics

Microorganisms have developed intrinsic mechanisms to defend against harsh conditions over billions of years. One classical example is the formation of spores that are resilient to dryness, high temperatures, and high pressure (similar conditions in plastics processing).

Using synthetic biology, the research team engineered Bacillus subtilis with a genetic circuit to control the secretion of a plastic-degrading enzyme (lipase BC from Burkholderia cepacia). Under stress from heavy metal ions, Bacillus subtilis forms spores. The team mixed these engineered spores with poly (caprolactone) (PCL) plastic granules and produced spore-containing plastics through high-temperature extrusion or solvent dissolution. Tests showed that these “living plastics” had similar physical properties to regular PCL plastics. During daily use, the spores remain dormant, ensuring the plastic’s stable performance.

Spore Release and Degradation Initiation

The first key step in plastic degradation is to release the spores embedded in the living plastic for cell revival. Researchers have first demonstrated two methods of spore release. One method uses an enzyme (lipase CA) to erode the plastic surface.

These released spores then germinated and expressed the lipase BC, which bound to the ends of PCL polymer chains and near-completely degraded the PCL molecules (final molecular weight <500 g/mol). The results showed that living plastic could degrade efficiently within 6-7 days, while ordinary PCL plastic subjected only to surface damage (lipase CA) still had a large amount of plastic debris after 21 days.

Another method for spores release is composting. In the absence of any additional exogenous agents, living plastics in soil could completely degrade within 25-30 days, while traditional PCL plastic took about 55 days to degrade to a level that was invisible to the naked eye.

Beyond PCL Plastics

As mentioned earlier, PCL’s processing conditions are relatively ‘mild’ among plastics. To verify the system’s general applicability, the team continued to test other commercial plastic systems. They mixed spores carrying GFP expression plasmids with PBS (polybutylene succinate), PBAT (polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate), PLA (polylactic acid), PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates), and even PET (poly (ethylene terephthalate)) and processed the mixture at temperatures as high as 300oC.

By releasing the spores through physical grinding, they surprisingly found that the spores could still revive and expressed the GFP. These results have laid a solid foundation for extending the method with other types of plastics.

To validate the potential for scaling up the system, the research team also conducted a small-scale industrial test on PCL system using a single-screw extruder. The generated living PCL still exhibited rapid and efficient degradation property (degrade within 7 days). In the absence of external factors, the living PCL maintained a stable shape, demonstrating its robustness during the service (stable in Sprite for two months). This study provides a novel method for fabricating green plastics that can function steadily when the spores are latent and decay when the spores are aroused and shed light on the development of materials for sustainability.

Reference: “Degradable living plastics programmed by engineered spores” by Chenwang Tang, Lin Wang, Jing Sun, Guangda Chen, Junfeng Shen, Liang Wang, Ying Han, Jiren Luo, Zhiying Li, Pei Zhang, Simin Zeng, Dianpeng Qi, Jin Geng, Ji Liu and Zhuojun Dai, 21 August 2024, Nature Chemical Biology.
DOI: 10.1038/s41589-024-01713-2

Read the full story here.
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‘Live sick or flee’: pollution fears for El Salvador’s rivers as mining ban lifted

The landmark prohibition on mining in 2017, a world first, has been reversed by authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele but the move has met fierce resistance from environmentalistsVidalina Morales realised that something was wrong with the water where she lived in 2004. A toxic red stain spreading through the San Sebastián River in the department of Cabañas in El Salvador seemed to contaminate the environment and worried residents.As part of a campaign to protect her home and the environment, Morales, 54, visited mining projects near the river to learn about the risks the extractive sector posed. “I was shocked by the extent of the destruction of their environment,” she says. Continue reading...

Vidalina Morales realised that something was wrong with the water where she lived in 2004. A toxic red stain spreading through the San Sebastián River in the department of Cabañas in El Salvador seemed to contaminate the environment and worried residents.As part of a campaign to protect her home and the environment, Morales, 54, visited mining projects near the river to learn about the risks the extractive sector posed. “I was shocked by the extent of the destruction of their environment,” she says.Vidalina Morales has become the face of the fight against mining in El Salvador. Photograph: Rodrigo Sura/EPA-EFESince then, Morales has become the face of the fight against mining in El Salvador. Perhaps because she knew the power of the pro-mining lobby, she and her fellow resistance members celebrated only briefly when their country became the first in the world to ban metal mining in 2017. Deep down, she says, she knew the fight was far from over.Seven years later, her fears have been realised as mining has been reintroduced in El Salvador. On 23 December, its congress voted to overturn the ban on metals mining, a move championed by the hardline president, Nayib Bukele, who is prioritising economic growth over environmental concerns.The new legislation grants the government exclusive control over mining activities and prohibits the use of toxic mercury in gold extraction.However, despite the regulations, environmentalists have promised strong opposition, citing potential irreversible damage to ecosystems and public health. Other minerals released into the environment by gold-mining include arsenic, for instance.A protest outside congress in San Salvador, El Salvador, where the mining ban was overturned on 23 December. Photograph: Aphotografia/GettyCidia Cortes, an environmental biologist, says: “In the San Sebastián River, arsenic levels are 300 times higher than international safety standards. Acid drainage turns the water a poisonous red, contaminating water, air and land.”Despite El Salvador’s history of violence against human rights and environmental activists, as well as lawsuits brought by the state against them, Luis Parada, a 64-year-old former army officer who spoke out against the military’s notorious murder of Jesuit priests in 1989, headed the legal defence for the Salvadoran government when it was sued by mining corporations in 2009.The two lawsuits were filed by Commerce Group Corp and San Sebastián Gold Mines and by the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim, later bought by OceanaGold. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, a World Bank tribunal, settled the first in the state’s favour in 2011 and dismissed Pacific Rim’s $250m claim in 2016.Parada says: “Winning both arbitrations was key for the mining ban. We won the last one in October 2016, and shortly after, in March 2017, the country had passed the law thanks to the momentum that the communities created after more than a decade fighting the mining industry.”Salvadoran protesters at congress in March 2017, when the mining ban was passed. Photograph: Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty ImagesBy that time, almost 80% of the population supported the mining ban. Luis González, director of an environmental pressure group, the Salvadoran Ecological Unit, believes the public still supports the ban.“Although there has been a political shift, I believe people still have clarity that mining is bad,” he says. “We can still pull together nationwide support to reject this measure.”Nayib Bukele calls El Salvador’s mining ban ‘absurd’. Photograph: José Cabezas/ReutersAlthough the metal mining ban was a landmark victory for the Central American environmental movement, the threat of “extractivism” was far from over. Just four years later, the government under the Bukele administration moved towards reversing the ban by joining the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, and eventually publicly embraced the idea.“We are the only country in the world with a total ban on metal mining, something that no other country applies. Absurd!” Bukele said on his X account last month. “This God-given wealth can be harnessed responsibly to bring unprecedented economic and social development to our people.”Early last year, the authoritarian Bukele’s administration targeted five environmental activists by accusing them of a crime committed in 1989 during the brutal civil war and of “illicit association”, a charge used in the government’s crackdown on organised crime. The detentions have been widely condemned as politically motivated.Bukele’s pro-mining rhetoric did not come as a surprise. “We have been warning since 2021 that mining interests were preying upon El Salvador, and this was confirmed when they jailed five of our environmental leaders back in January 2023,” says Morales.MPs of the ruling New Ideas party celebrate the ban’s repeal. Photograph: Rodrigo Sura/EPAAccording to Parada, the repeal of the mining law means that the two lawsuits and similar cases could be reopened. “Since the mining ban is reversed, the country could be lining up to receive lawsuits from defeated mining corporations, as they would claim what they think is theirs,” he says.Environmental pollution of watercourses is literally a matter of life and death for El Salvador. The Lempa is the country’s most significant river, supplying about 70% of drinking water for the San Salvador metropolitan area.Cortes fears that industrial mining could have a devastating effect on El Salvador’s water. “The Lempa River could disappear as we know it,” she says. “This river needs intensive care to survive agrochemicals, mining and stone extraction, as well as the four hydroelectric plants located within the watershed.”González also believes opening mining projects could lead to dire consequences. “People who already receive contaminated water will have even more polluted water,” he says. “Heavy metals will reach everything, from tap water to crops, meaning crops will either dry up or absorb these chemicals, causing health consequences.”A polluted river in Santa Rosa de Lima, El Salvador. Photograph: Camilo Freedman/The GuardianIn a recent press conference, Bukele queried whether people could drink water from the Lempa. “Who can drink water from a river here?” he asked, arguing that his government needed new revenue sources to provide people with clean tap water. “What we need is money to clean our rivers.”In October, El Salvador successfully completed the world’s largest debt conversion for river conservation, repurchasing $1bn (£800m) of its bonds at a discount and saving more than $352m. These savings will fund the Rio Lempa Conservation and Restoration Program over the next 20 years.There is a need to turn to protest … it is the only way they’ll listenThe initiative, supported by the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), includes $200m to fund the programme directly, while $150m will fund an endowment to finance it beyond 2044.“Those $200m would amount to a $9m yearly investment on the Lempa River for the next 20 years and could work to do conservation work of the body of water,” he says. “But it would be nowhere close to compensating the damage done by mining.”The costs to the environment from mining can be astronomical. According to a 2022 study by the Mexican Institute of Statistics and Geography, cleaning a tonne of soil contaminated with cyanide costs almost $200,000.“A water leak containing cyanide can cost millions to clean, and acid drainage would cost El Salvador millions of dollars for eternity,” says Andres McKinley, a researcher at El Salvador’s José Simeón Cañas Central American University. “This is a battle for water, the heart of the mining industry.”The river in Santa Rosa de Lima, with runoff from a mine. Photograph: Camilo Freedman/GuardianEnvironmentalists warn that mining poses an even greater risk in El Salvador because of the country’s small size. But Bukele does not agree. “Countries such as Qatar, with half our size, are rich because of extractivism,” he says.González says it is not only the size that puts the country at risk but “the fact that El Salvador is the most densely populated country in the Americas”. He points to the vastly different amounts of water available to Salvadorans compared with Canadians, for example, with the latter enjoying more than 40 times as much.Environmental activists such as Morales worry that the government-controlled congress and courts (after Bukele dismissed the country’s supreme court judges and attorney general) will make resisting the return of mining an uphill struggle but they believe it is a battle that needs to be fought.Parada says: “It’s highly unlikely that a Bukele-controlled court will rule against the government, so there is a need to turn to protest because it is the only way they’ll listen. People are speaking out on social media, and there will be street protests soon.”González fears that El Salvador will suffer an exodus of people caused by growing environmental pollution – aggravating the migratory crisis already under way in Central America.“Mining generates a huge social and environmental impact,” he says. “Many will risk being poisoned [and] living sick or having to flee their communities because of the heavy metals used by this industry.”

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What should we eat to give us better, healthier skin

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Exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased risk of hospital admission for mental illness, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.The research, involving more than 200,000 people in Scotland, found an increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide in particular was associated with a higher number of people being admitted to hospital for behaviour disorders and mental illnesses.Previously published research on the health effects of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution has tended to emphasise deaths rather than hospital admissions, and physical, rather than mental, ill health, the researchers said.The study found that air pollution was linked to increased risks of hospital admission for mental health, as well as physical illness.Stricter environmental restrictions would benefit millions of people and curb the impact on secondary care, the researchers said.Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad of the University of St Andrews, who led the study, said policies to tackle air pollution and a shift to renewable energy could help ease the burden on hospitals of people with both physical and mental illnesses in the long term.“Policies and interventions targeting air pollution emissions such as zero-emission zones or incentives for renewable energy in transportation and energy production sectors could help ease the hospital-care burden in the long term both locally and globally.”The analysis of data tracked from Public Health Scotland examined four key pollutants between 2002 and 2017 and the impact of ambient air pollution.Researchers drew on individual level data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, which represents 5% of the Scottish population and includes demographic information from linked censuses.In all, 202,237 people aged 17 and above were included in the research, which was published in the open access journal BMJ Open.Their health and hospital admissions for cardiovascular, respiratory, infectious diseases, mental illnesses or behaviour disorders were tracked from Public Health Scotland data.They were linked to levels of four pollutants from road traffic and industry: nitrogen dioxide (NO2); sulphur dioxide (SO2); particulate matter diameter of at least 10μm (PM10); and small particulate matter of 2.5μm or less (PM2.5) per 1km2 in each person’s residential postcode.skip past newsletter promotionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionAverage cumulative exposure to air pollution was strongly associated with higher rates of hospital admissions, both for mental and physical illnesses. Higher cumulative exposure to NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 was associated with a higher incidence of hospital admissions for all causes.Ioannis Bakolis, a professor of public mental health and statistics at King’s College London who was not involved with the study, said the “large-scale” data was “appropriately analysed” and provided further evidence on the link between air pollution and mental health.Research has previously shown how people who spend their childhood in areas with high levels of air pollution may be more likely to later develop mental disorders.But a study by researchers in the US and Denmark has suggested a link between air pollution and an increased risk of mental health problems, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and personality disorders.Between 1% and 2% of the UK population have bipolar disorder in their lifetime, with similar figures for schizophrenia. It is estimated that about 5% of people in the UK have a personality disorder at any one time.

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Supreme Court dismisses constitutional claim in California air pollution case

Supreme Court dismisses a red-state constitutional claim that targeted California's power to fight air pollution.

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Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution May Hurt Baby's Brain

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Dec. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Air pollution could be harming the brain development of children...

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Dec. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Air pollution could be harming the brain development of children before they are even born, a new study warns.A 10 parts-per-billion increase in ozone exposure during the second trimester of pregnancy was associated with a 55% increased risk of intellectual disability among children compared to their siblings, researchers found.“Ozone exposure during pregnancy is a clear risk factor for intellectual disability,” said lead researcher Sara Grineski, a professor of sociology with the University of Utah.“We were particularly struck by the consistency of the findings across all trimesters and the strength of the sibling-based analysis,” Grineski added in a university news release.For the study, researchers analyzed data drawn from the Utah Population Database, a long-term research project into genetics and health among Utah residents. The team linked data on children with intellectual disabilities born between 2003 and 2013 to county-level daily estimates of ozone exposure gathered from the U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyIn particular, the data allowed researchers to compare siblings born with different levels of exposure to ozone pollution, researchers said.“Sibling designs allow us to control for some of these population factors that just would be really challenging to do,” said researcher Amanda Bakian, a research associate professor of psychiatry with the University of Utah’s Huntsman Mental Health Institute. “It just gives another layer of robustness of rigor to this study.”Ozone is a harmful air pollutant caused when sunshine prompts a chemical reaction in airborne nitrogen and volatile organic compounds emitted from cars, power plants, refineries and other sources, researchers explained in background notes.Ozone pollution is an increasing summertime hazard, particularly in the face of global warming, researchers said.The second trimester showed the strongest associations between ozone exposure in the womb and a child’s future brain development.During the second trimester, the fetal brain undergoes rapid growth, with neurons developing at a rate of 250,000 per minute, researchers said.Federal health standards for ozone exposure is 70 parts per billion, researchers noted.A 10 parts-per-billion increase in average ozone levels was associated with a 23% increased risk of intellectual disability when kids were compared to the population at large, and 55% higher when compared to their siblings, results show.“When it comes to intellectual disability, we have a prevalence estimate of about 1.3% or so, and that has been pretty consistent over time,” Bakian said.“That’s 1.3% of the kids that are born in any one year, and we still don’t have a great understanding of all the risk factors that are involved,” Bakian added. “What are the underlying mechanisms that drive this risk? Having intellectual disability has lifelong implications.”Given these findings, places with lots of ozone pollution have a higher risk of kids with intellectual disabilities, researchers said.“Salt Lake City ranks 10th for the most polluted cities in the U.S. in terms of ozone, and 2023 ozone levels were higher than 2022 levels,” Grineski noted.Reducing ozone levels will be critical to protecting the brains of children, researchers said. Clean car standards, transitioning to electric vehicles and improving manufacturing and agricultural processes will help lower air pollution.“We don’t want to neglect these issues related to ozone and cognitive health moving forward," Grineski said. "Our findings here for Utah suggest a troubling association. This is just one study in a sea of papers documenting the harmful effects of air pollution on health.”SOURCE: University of Utah, news release, Dec. 11, 2024Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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