ArticleNPJ biofilms and microbiomes2023
Modulating biofilm can potentiate activity of novel plastic-degrading enzymes.
Article in NPJ biofilms and microbiomes, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antibiotic resistance genes are more abundant in microplastic textile biofilms than natural cotton biofilms in freshwater.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Global Hotspots and Trends in Microbial Plastic Biodegradation for Plastic Waste Management: A Mini-Review and Bibliometric Analysis.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Biofilm Formation and Plastic Degradation in Bacteria from Different Environments: Evidence for Phenotypic Acclimation and Metabolic Exaptation.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Harnessing bacterial power and omics technologies for sustainable plastic waste biodegradation.Biodegradation · 2026Review
- A theoretical systems-biology framework for the degradation of mixed plastics and conversion into fertilizer-grade compounds via engineered microbial consortia.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Potential of Compost-DerivedPolymers · 2025Article
- Biochar pre-conditioning reduces nanoplastic toxicity to plant growth-promoting bacteria.RSC advances · 2025Article
- Synergistic biodegradation of polyethylene by experimentally evolved bacterial biofilms.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Effects of microplastics on Daphnia-associated microbiomes in situ and in vitro.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Self-driving laboratories, advanced immunotherapies and five more technologies to watch in 2025.Nature · 2025Article
- Impact and applications of cyclic di-GMP second messenger signaling in biotechnology and medicine.Sustainable microbiology · 2025Review
- Efficient biodegradation and upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate mediated by cell-factories.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- Biomolecular Analysis of Arctic Microorganisms Capable of Psychrophilic Growth on Biodegradable and Compostable Plastic.Journal of biomolecular techniques : JBT · 2024Article
- Plastic-eating bacteria boost growing business of bioremediation.Nature biotechnology · 2024Article
- Different Roles of Dioxin-Catabolic Plasmids in Growth, Biofilm Formation, and Metabolism ofMicroorganisms · 2024Article
- Engineered plastic-associated bacteria for biodegradation and bioremediation.Biotechnology for the environment · 2024Review
- Strategies for biofilm optimization of plastic-degrading microorganisms and isolating biofilm formers from plastic-contaminated environments.Sustainable microbiology · 2024Article
- Assessment ofCurrent research in structural biology · 2024Article
- Sustainable production and degradation of plastics using microbes.Nature microbiology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Plastic pollution is an increasing global issue desperately requiring a solution. Only 9% of all plastic waste has been recycled, and whilst recycling gives a second life to plastic, it is costly and there are limited downstream uses of recycled plastic, therefore an alternative is urgently needed. Biodegradation of plastic by microorganisms is a developing field of interest with the potential for bioreactors to be used alongside recycling to degrade plastic that may otherwise be sent to landfill. Here, we have identified two novel polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degrading enzymes through genomic mining and characterised their activity, including their ability to degrade PET. One of the main roadblocks facing the development of microbial enzymes as a plastic biodegradation solution, is that their efficiency is too low to facilitate development as bioremediation tools. In an innovative approach to tackle this roadblock, we hypothesised that enhancing a bacteria's ability to attach to and form a biofilm on plastic could maximise the local concentration of the enzyme around the target substrate, therefore increasing the overall rate of plastic degradation. We found that increasing biofilm levels, by manipulating the levels of the second messenger, Cyclic-di-GMP, led to increased levels of polyester degradation in cells expressing novel and well characterised polyester-degrading enzymes. This indicates that modulating biofilm formation is a viable mechanism to fast track the development of bacterial plastic bioremediation solutions.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.