Natural-selected plastics biodegradation species and enzymes in landfills

作者：Xiaoxing Lin, Rui Zhang, Feng-Qi Cui, Wenqing Hong, Shu Yang, Feng Ju, Chuanwu Xi, Xiao Sun, Liyan Song · 发表于：PNAS Nexus · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf066 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Microplastics and Plastic Pollution

Biodegradation is a promising and environmentally friendly strategy for plastic pollution management. Landfills decompose municipal solid waste, including almost 50% of global plastic debris and even some of the oldest synthetic plastics, fostering naturally selected plastic biodegradation. Herein, we present a global collection of plastic biocatalytic enzymes from landfills using metagenomics and machine learning. Metagenomic analysis identified 117 plastic-degrading genes, with 39 incorporated in 22 prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). A machine-learning approach predicted 978,107 candidate plastic-degrading genes, 712 of which were encoded respectively by 150 MAGs. Our results highlight landfills as reservoirs of diverse, naturally selected plastic-degrading microbes and enzymes, serving as references and/or models for biocatalysis engineering and in situ bioremediation of plastic pollution.