The world is currently facing environmental issues due to plastic waste, leading to a growing interest in eco-friendly alternatives. The KAIST research team, led by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee, has successfully developed a microbial-based plastic that can replace existing PET bottles. This new plastic is biodegradable and offers better physical properties and higher biodegradability compared to traditional PET, making it a promising solution to plastic pollution.
The research team utilized systems metabolic engineering to develop a microbial strain capable of efficiently producing pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acids, which can be synthesized into polymers to replace PET. By focusing on metabolic engineering techniques, the team was able to enhance the metabolic flow of precursors and prevent their loss, resulting in the production of five types of pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acids in a bacterium called Corynebacterium. Through genetic manipulation and transcriptome analysis, the team achieved high production yields, including 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid and various pyridine dicarboxylic acids.
The team’s breakthrough research led to the successful production of significant amounts of 2,4-, 2,5-, and 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acids, with production on a scale of grams per liter. This achievement represents the highest concentration of these substances produced in the world, surpassing previous small-scale production levels. The study’s findings are expected to have applications in various industrial processes for polyester production and could contribute to the advancement of research on similar aromatic polyesters.
Professor Sang Yup Lee highlighted the significance of the eco-friendly technology developed by the research team, emphasizing the potential for microorganism-based bio-monomers to replace petrochemical-based chemical industries in the future. The study’s results were published in the prestigious international academic journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), underscoring the contribution of the research to the scientific community.
The study was supported by the Development of Next-generation Biorefinery Platform Technologies for Leading Bio-based Chemicals Industry Project and the Development of Platform Technologies of Microbial Cell Factories for the Next-generation Biorefineries Project, funded by the National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Science and Technology and ICT of Korea. The successful development of a microbial-based plastic with enhanced properties and biodegradability represents a significant step forward in the quest for sustainable solutions to plastic pollution and environmental challenges.