Plastic monomer degradation - Engineering Pseudomonas putida KT2440 for plastic monomer utilization

The environmental impact of plastic waste is regularly discussed. With bio-upcycling we can use plastic waste as a substrate for biotechnology. Polymers like PET and PU can be hydrolyzed to yield monomers like adipic acid, 1,4-butandiol and ethylene glycol. This work enabled Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to utilize these monomers, and gave insights into their metabolism and its regulation. Hereby, a biological basis to produce value added materials from plastic monomers was set.