title: A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate).
abstract: Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is used extensively worldwide in plastic products, and its accumulation in the environment has become a global concern. Because the ability to enzymatically degrade PET has been thought to be limited to a few fungal species, biodegradation is not yet a viable remediation or recycling strategy. By screening natural microbial communities exposed to PET in the environment, we isolated a novel bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, that is able to use PET as its major energy and carbon source. When grown on PET, this strain produces two enzymes capable of hydrolyzing PET and the reaction intermediate, mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid. Both enzymes are required to enzymatically convert PET efficiently into its two environmentally benign monomers, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan. Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan.
authors.forename: Shosuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiraga
authors.affiliation: Life Science Materials Laboratory, ADEKA, 7-2-34 Higashiogu, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo 116-8553, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takehana
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Hironao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaji
authors.affiliation: Ecology-Related Material Group Innovation Research Institute, Teijin, Hinode-cho 2-1, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 740-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: Ecology-Related Material Group Innovation Research Institute, Teijin, Hinode-cho 2-1, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 740-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyotsuna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toyohara
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oda
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D020562:Betaproteobacteria / Q000201:enzymology*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D004798:Enzymes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006868:Hydrolysis; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D010969:Plastics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates / Q000378:metabolism*; D059027:Recycling
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes; D010795:Phthalic Acids; D010969:Plastics; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; C011363:terephthalic acid