Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 is a newly discovered bacterium that can break down PET plastic using two enzymes, PETase and MHETase. Each year, over 100 million tons of plastics are produced worldwide, with Americans dumping over 10 million tons of plastic waste into the oceans annually. I. sakaiensis can fully degrade thin films of PET plastic within six weeks at 30 degrees Celsius by breaking the plastic down into its components of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, which it uses as an energy source.

1. PLASTIC EATING BACTERIa
“Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6”
PRESENTED BY – MADHU NATH
B.Sc. MICROBIOLOGY

2. l How do bacteria degrade plastics?
 What is PET and how it affects the environment?
 Application of Ideonella sakaiensis
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5.  Plastics are used in different
sectors of applications like
packaging, building materials,
consumer products and much
more.
 Each year about 100 million tons
of plastics are produced
worldwide.
 Americans generate more than
10.5 million tons of plastic waste
is dumped in the ocean every year
and recycle only 2% of it.
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6.  Polyethylene terephthalate-(PET)
used for manufacturing plastic
bottles, makes up one fifth of the
annual production of plastic.
 Lightweight , colourless, and strong.
 PET’s strength and stability under
heat makes it an ideal material for
packaging.
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7. MORPHOLOGY
 Gram-negative
 Rod –shaped bacterium
 Aerobic
 Non-spore forming
 Designed strain 201-F6
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8.  Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, a
newly discovered bacterium that
feed on PET.
 Bacteria that break down the
plastic using two enzymes-
PETase and MHETase-could
break down both PET and
another compound MHET mono
(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic
acid-which forms during
breakdown process.
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9. Cont.……
 Breakdown products are
Ethylene glycol and
terephthalic acid, used by
the bacteria as an energy
source.
 Completely degrade a thin
film of PET after six weeks
at a temperature of 86
degrees Fahrenheit (30
degrees Celsius).
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REFERENCES
• www.sciencealert.com
• science.howstuffworks.com
• arstechnica.com
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov