VATIS UPDATE Article

A students’ research team at Ben-Gurion University, Israel, has developed a genetic engineering technology, called Plasticure, to target polyethylene terephthalate, the most common thermoplastic polymer resin used in fibers for clothing, bottles and food containers. The team has been working in the past month on developing a solution for the accumulation of plastic waste with the help of a germ called pseudomonas putida.

Segal is one of 13 undergraduate students at Ben-Gurion studying biology, engineering and other disciplines. The team’s mentors are Professor Lital Alfonta, Dr. Ramon Birnbaum and Dr. Idit Dahan. “The goal is to completely biodegrade the plastic molecule,” said Alfonta. In their search for bacteria that can decompose plastic efficiently the students tried to streamline the activity of a protein that breaks down the primary connections of plastic molecules. They also added genes to the pseudomanas putida to help it break down the plastic completely.

The streamlined protein was inserted into another germ – e.coli – and excreted to aid the putida’s action. The biological system they built combines the two bacteria for a better breakdown of the plastic. Although the system still doesn’t decompose the plastic completely, the team is in the process of developing germs that may increase the process’ efficiency. According to their vision, the bacterium will be used in facilities for breaking down large quantities of plastic waste.