Efficient biodegradation of aliphatic polyester by genetically engineered strains of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

Katarzyna E Kosiorowska,Aleksandra M Mirończuk,Irina Borodina,Xymena Połomska,Guokun Wang

doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2021.105232

Abstract

The increased production and consumption of plastic materials in today's world has caused a huge number of environmental problems, the solution of which is now crucial to improving the state of nature of our planet. In this study, we expressed cutinases from Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi and from Trichoderma reesei, individually or in combination with overexpression of the native lipase Lip2 in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. The engineered strains showed biodegradation activity toward polyester in the pH range between 4.0 and 9.0. The highest esterase activity was observed at pH 9.0 for the strain overexpressing cutinase from F. solani and lipase from Y. lipolytica, it reached 63.5 U ml−1, moreover this strain was capable to degrade 0.5 g of polycaprolactone film within 144 h of shake flask culture. The obtained results showed that natural capability of Y. lipolytica combined with metabolic engineering results in a highly efficient biodegradation process.

Highlights

Plastic production has increased every year since 1950, and it reached 359 million tonnes in 2018 (PlasticsEurope Market Research Group (PEMRG)/Conversio Market & Strategy GmbH, 2019)
The highest esterase activity was observed at pH 9.0 for the strain overexpressing cutinase from F. solani and lipase from Y. lipolytica, it reached 63.5 U ml− 1, this strain was capable to degrade 0.5 g of polycaprolactone film within 144 h of shake flask culture
The research focuses on the biodegradation of plastic by microorganisms and improvement of this process

Summary

Introduction

Plastic production has increased every year since 1950, and it reached 359 million tonnes in 2018 (PlasticsEurope Market Research Group (PEMRG)/Conversio Market & Strategy GmbH, 2019). Despite the fact that plastics have revolutionized the global industry in every field this increase has had a negative impact on the global ecosystem. Large-scale research has focused on finding a solution to the ever-increasing level of plastic pollution (Ilyas et al, 2018). The research focuses on the biodegradation of plastic by microorganisms and improvement of this process. The capability of plastic biodegradation by microorganisms depends on the type of material, its surface, size and physicochemical properties (Sarjit et al, 2015). In the natural envi ronment, factors such as the hydrophobicity and surface irregularities of plastic particles affect the adhesion of microorganisms on the surface of material (Howell and Behrends, 2006)

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