Cai Zeming, Li Minqian, Zhu Ziying, Wang Xiaocui, Huang Yuanyin, Li Tianmu, Gong Han, Yan Muting
College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510641, China.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Microorganisms. 2023 Jun 26;11(7):1661. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11071661.
Plastic and microplastic pollution has caused a great deal of ecological problems because of its persistence and potential adverse effects on human health. The degradation of plastics through biological processes is of great significance for ecological health, therefore, the feasibility of plastic degradation by microorganisms has attracted a lot of attention. This study comprises a preliminary discussion on the biodegradation mechanism and the advantages and roles of different bacterial enzymes, such as PET hydrolase and PCL-cutinase, in the degradation of different polymers, such as PET and PCL, respectively. With a particular focus on their modes of action and potential enzymatic mechanisms, this review sums up studies on the biological degradation of plastics and microplastics related to mechanisms and influencing factors, along with their enzymes in enhancing the degradation of synthetic plastics in the process. In addition, biodegradation of plastic is also affected by plastic additives and plasticizers. Plasticizers and additives in the composition of plastics can cause harmful impacts. To further improve the degradation efficiency of polymers, various pretreatments to improve the efficiency of biodegradation, which can cause a significant reduction in toxic plastic pollution, were also preliminarily discussed here. The existing research and data show a large number of microorganisms involved in plastic biodegradation, though their specific mechanisms have not been thoroughly explored yet. Therefore, there is a significant potential for employing various bacterial strains for efficient degradation of plastics to improve human health and safety.
塑料和微塑料污染因其持久性以及对人类健康的潜在不利影响，已引发了诸多生态问题。通过生物过程降解塑料对生态健康具有重要意义，因此，微生物降解塑料的可行性已引起广泛关注。本研究初步探讨了生物降解机制以及不同细菌酶（如PET水解酶和PCL-角质酶）分别在降解不同聚合物（如PET和PCL）中的优势与作用。特别关注它们的作用方式和潜在的酶促机制，本综述总结了关于塑料和微塑料生物降解的机制、影响因素以及相关酶在增强合成塑料降解过程中的研究。此外，塑料的生物降解还受到塑料添加剂和增塑剂的影响。塑料成分中的增塑剂和添加剂会造成有害影响。为进一步提高聚合物的降解效率，本文还初步讨论了各种提高生物降解效率的预处理方法，这些方法可大幅减少有毒塑料污染。现有研究和数据表明，大量微生物参与塑料生物降解，尽管其具体机制尚未得到充分探索。因此，利用各种细菌菌株高效降解塑料以改善人类健康和安全具有巨大潜力。
