An engineered artificial consortium for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) biodegradation composed of two metabolically engineered Bacillus subtilis 168 strains that secrete PETase and MHETase, plus Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 and Pseudomonas putida KT2440. The design partitions PET depolymerization, terephthalic acid utilization, and ethylene glycol utilization across different members to reduce product inhibition during PET degradation.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bacillus subtilis 168 Bs_PETase | NCBITaxon:1423 |
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
|
N/A |
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| Bacillus subtilis 168 Bs_MHETase | NCBITaxon:1423 |
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
|
N/A |
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| Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 | NCBITaxon:101510 |
SECONDARY_FERMENTER
CROSS_FEEDER
|
N/A |
|
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| Pseudomonas putida KT2440 | NCBITaxon:160488 |
SECONDARY_FERMENTER
CROSS_FEEDER
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N/A |
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Ecological Interactions
PETase-MHETase Depolymerization Module
CROSS_FEEDINGSource Taxon: Bacillus subtilis 168 Bs_PETase
Target Taxon: Bacillus subtilis 168 Bs_MHETase
Metabolites: poly(ethylene terephthalate) macromolecule (CHEBI:53259)
Biological Processes:
- organic substance catabolic process (GO:1901575)
Evidence
-
PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"PET is degraded into MHET catalyzed by PETase"
-
PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"MHET is degraded into TPA and EG catalyzed by MHETase"
Rhodococcus TPA Detoxification Module
CROSS_FEEDINGSource Taxon: Bacillus subtilis 168 Bs_MHETase
Target Taxon: Rhodococcus jostii RHA1
Metabolites: terephthalic acid (CHEBI:15702)
Biological Processes:
- aromatic compound catabolic process (GO:0019439)
- biological process involved in interspecies interaction between organisms (GO:0044419)
Evidence
-
PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"R. jostii was added to reduce the inhibition caused by terephthalic acid"
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PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"The weight of PET film was reduced by 31.2% within 3 days"
Pseudomonas EG Detoxification Module
CROSS_FEEDINGSource Taxon: Bacillus subtilis 168 Bs_MHETase
Target Taxon: Pseudomonas putida KT2440
Metabolites: ethylene glycol (CHEBI:30742)
Biological Processes:
- organic substance catabolic process (GO:1901575)
- biological process involved in interspecies interaction between organisms (GO:0044419)
Evidence
-
PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"P. putida was introduced to reduce the inhibition caused by ethylene glycol"
-
PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"TPA and EG were not accumulated"
Nutrient-Mediated Competition Control
COMPETITIONSource Taxon: Pseudomonas putida KT2440
Target Taxon: engineered PETase/MHETase and TPA-utilization members
Biological Processes:
- biological process involved in interspecies interaction between organisms (GO:0044419)
Evidence
-
PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"P. putida strongly inhibited growth of the other three bacteria"
-
PMID:35003008 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"obtaining a four-species microbial consortium"
Associated Datasets
| Dataset | Type | Repository | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Exact-composition publication - artificial PET degradation consortium
Primary publication defining the PETase, MHETase, R. jostii, and P. putida artificial consortium and reporting PET/BHET degradation phenotypes. |
PHENOTYPE | OTHER | PMID:35003008 |
|
Frontiers article supplementary material
Supplementary tables with strain, plasmid, primer, and medium details for the artificial PET degradation consortia. |
OTHER | OTHER | doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.778828 |
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| PET film substrate | amorphous PET film, 0.25 mm thickness, cut and UV-treated before degradation assays | N/A |
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| TPA and EG product inhibition | terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol inhibit PET degradation | N/A |
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| Wn medium for four-species balance | Wn inorganic salt medium with erythromycin during four-member PET degradation assays | N/A |
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