Lengtao Gu^1,2,3 , Zhengfei Yan^1,2,3 , Jing Wu^1,2,3 , Lingqia Su^1,2,3

1 State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 214122
2 School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology Ministry, Wuxi, 214122
3 International Joint Laboratory on Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122
Author    Correspondence author
Molecular Microbiology Research, 2020, Vol. 10, No. 1   
Received: 14 Apr., 2020    Accepted: 16 Apr., 2020    Published: 16 Apr., 2020

This article was first published in Genomics and Applied Biology in Chinese, and here was authorized to translate and publish the paper in English under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The aim was to obtain PET degradation strains, and elaborate its degradation mechanism. Based on “classification screening” strategy, enrichment cultivation was carried out by using plastic analogue dimethyl terephthalate (DET), and then spread onto separation plates of inorganic salt solid medium that PET particles as the sole nutrient source. Strain JWG-G2 was obtained from PET plastic samples in landfill, which has the ability to degrade PET particles. The strain was identified as Microbacterium by morphological observation, physiological, biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Optimum conditions for growth of strain JWG-G2 at pH 7.0 and 30 ℃. The ester groups on the surface of PET particles were significantly reduced under treatment with strain JWG-G2, and its weight loss rate reached 1%. The strain JWG-G2 was able to degrade the PET intermediates monohydroxyethyl terephthalate (MHET) and bishydroxyethyl terephthalate polymers (BHET), and the degradation rate was 4.5% and 11.2%. The strain JWG-G2 has good degradation effect on PET particles and its intermediates.It can provide a theoretical basis for the studies of degradation mechanism.

Classification screening; Biodegradation; PET; Microbacterium

(The advance publishing of the abstract of this manuscript does not mean final published, the end result whether or not published will depend on the comments of peer reviewers and decision of our editorial board.)