Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Plastic pollution is one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. In 2016, Japanese researchers discovered a bacterium at a recycling facility in Osaka that actually breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic – a major breakthrough in the fight against plastic pollution! This week we will explore the work being carried out by the Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI), University of Portsmouth, to increase the activity of PETase, the enzyme secreted from the plastic-degrading bacterium I. sakiensis. This research is vital if enzymatic recycling of PET plastic is to become commercially feasible and help us tackle the problem of plastic recycling. Experiments at Diamond using x-rays to study the structure of PETase have been crucial in this important work.