Although more than 14 million tons of plastic is estimated to enter marine ecosystems every year, only about 1% is found in sampling surveys. This is partially due to the work of Rhodococcus ruber, a bacterium that converts plastic into CO2 and other less harmful compounds.

This bacterium was proven to break down plastic earlier this year, and has been tested in experiments at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. The scientists researching Rhodococcus ruber used a particular type of carbon and observed as it was converted into CO2. They treated the plastic with UV rays before feeding it to the bacterium to simulate sunlight, which helps break down the plastic into sizes digestible for the bacteria.

Although promising, this fascinating discovery is not the sole solution to plastic waste clogging up the ocean. The metabolization of these compounds results in the release of greenhouse gas CO2 and more research still must be done. However, this bacterium can be a huge step in the removal of plastic in the ocean, and that won’t go without celebration.

I’ve been wanting to cover plastic-eating bacteria for a while now, and decided that this week was a good time because of my upcoming AP bio exam happening later on this week. I’d hoped to learn a little more about these praiseworthy prokaryotes, but unfortunately, found very little on Rhodococcus ruber, and many of the articles I did find simply rephrased what other articles already covered.

There are other types of organisms that break down plastic, including Pseudomonas putida, that I want to look into further, but I thought I’d make this one short and sweet to introduce the topic. I’ll be covering this and more environmentally-conscious decisions we can make in the coming weeks, so say tuned to learn with me!

“Plastic-eating bacteria help clean the seas; Species can tackle marine pollution if enough is grown, but it produces a lot of CO2, say researchers.” Daily Telegraph [London, England], 24 Jan. 2023, p. 6. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A734361884/OVIC?u=ante588&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=8a3058b4. Accessed 8 May 2023.

https://phys.org/news/2023-01-laboratory-bacteria-digest-plastic.html