Several polymers used in production of textiles and plastics (i.e., poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polyethylene-2,5-furandicarboxylate (PEF)) are accumulating in the environment at a staggering due to their high resistance to biodegradation. A newly discovered bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, has been shown to degrade PET and PEF, due to its secretion of a “PET-digesting enzyme”, PETase. A 0.92 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of PETase, solved by co-authors of this work, will be described along with experimental results illustrating PETase’s proficiency in degrading PET/PEF plastics. Computational docking studies of PET/PEF in PETase (as well as a more active PETase double mutant) were also performed and provide structural insights into PETase’s activity on aromatic/semi-aromatic polymers. Our findings suggest PETase could provide an inroad for enzymatic degradation of plastic pollution, as well as suggest future protein engineering studies to further improve PETase performance.

PETase: Characterization of a plastic-degrading enzyme

2019 Spring National Meeting

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