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Bioengineering a Future Free of Marine Plastic Waste

Publication ,  Journal Article
Sheth, MU; Kwartler, SK; Schmaltz, ER; Hoskinson, SM; Martz, EJ; Dunphy-Daly, MM; Schultz, TF; Read, AJ; Eward, WC; Somarelli, JA
Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
October 11, 2019

Plastic waste has reached epidemic proportions worldwide, and the production of plastic continues to rise steadily. Plastic represents a diverse array of commonly used synthetic polymers that are extremely useful as durable, economically beneficial alternatives to other materials; however, despite the wide-ranging utility of plastic, the increasing accumulation of plastic waste in the environment has had numerous detrimental impacts. In particular, plastic marine debris can transport invasive species, entangle marine organisms, and cause toxic chemical bioaccumulation in the marine food web. The negative impacts of plastic waste have motivated research on new ways to reduce and eliminate plastic. One unique approach to tackle the plastic waste problem is to turn to nature’s solutions for degrading polymers by leveraging the biology of naturally occurring organisms to degrade plastic. Advances in metagenomics, next generation sequencing, and bioengineering have provided new insights and new opportunities to identify and optimize organisms for use in plastic bioremediation. In this review, we discuss the plastic waste problem and possible solutions, with a focus on potential mechanisms for plastic bioremediation. We pinpoint two key habitats to identify plastic-biodegrading organisms: (1) habitats with distinct enrichment of plastic waste, such as those near processing or disposal sites, and (2) habitats with naturally occurring polymers, such as cutin, lignin, and wax. Finally, we identify directions of future research for the isolation and optimization of these methods for widespread bioremediation applications.

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Published In

Frontiers in Marine Science

DOI

EISSN

2296-7745

Publication Date

October 11, 2019

Volume

6

Related Subject Headings

  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 3705 Geology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography
 

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Sheth, M. U., Kwartler, S. K., Schmaltz, E. R., Hoskinson, S. M., Martz, E. J., Dunphy-Daly, M. M., … Somarelli, J. A. (2019). Bioengineering a Future Free of Marine Plastic Waste. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00624
Sheth, M. U., S. K. Kwartler, E. R. Schmaltz, S. M. Hoskinson, E. J. Martz, M. M. Dunphy-Daly, T. F. Schultz, A. J. Read, W. C. Eward, and J. A. Somarelli. “Bioengineering a Future Free of Marine Plastic Waste.” Frontiers in Marine Science 6 (October 11, 2019). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00624.
Sheth MU, Kwartler SK, Schmaltz ER, Hoskinson SM, Martz EJ, Dunphy-Daly MM, et al. Bioengineering a Future Free of Marine Plastic Waste. Frontiers in Marine Science. 2019 Oct 11;6.
Sheth, M. U., et al. “Bioengineering a Future Free of Marine Plastic Waste.” Frontiers in Marine Science, vol. 6, Oct. 2019. Scopus, doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00624.
Sheth MU, Kwartler SK, Schmaltz ER, Hoskinson SM, Martz EJ, Dunphy-Daly MM, Schultz TF, Read AJ, Eward WC, Somarelli JA. Bioengineering a Future Free of Marine Plastic Waste. Frontiers in Marine Science. 2019 Oct 11;6.

Published In

Frontiers in Marine Science

DOI

EISSN

2296-7745

Publication Date

October 11, 2019

Volume

6

Related Subject Headings

  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 3705 Geology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography