Microbial junk food: developing synthetic platforms for plastic degradation

该项目旨在通过来自食塑料毛虫肠道微生物组的微生物建立聚乙烯生物降解（PED）的遗传基础。它将把活跃的微生物PED基因转化为精心设计的合成微生物，以实现高效、安全和大规模的PED。该项目将联合收割机创新的功能性微生物遗传工具和合成生物学技术与固体生物化学和生物信息学相结合，以产生可翻译的合成平台，其中包含为高效去除PE废物而优化的关键基因。这些成果将有可能将目前相对无效和昂贵的PE处置方法转变为适用于多个部门的灵活，具有成本效益和可持续的解决方案。

This project aims to establish the genetic basis of polyethelene biodegradation (PED) by microbes from the gut microbiome of plastic-eating caterpillars. It will transform the active microbial PED genes into carefully designed synthetic microbes for efficient, safe and large-scale PED. The project will combine innovative functional microbial genetic tools and synthetic biology techniques with solid biochemistry and bioinformatics to produce translatable synthetic platforms containing key genes optimised for efficient PE waste removal. The outcomes will have the potential to transform the relative ineffective and expensive current methods for PE disposal into flexible, cost-effective and sustainable solutions applicable to multiple sectors.