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Researchers Discover 600,000 Microbial Proteins for Plastic Degradation

4/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers identified over 600,000 microbial proteins that degrade natural and synthetic plastics.
The University of Turku in Finland and two Catalan universities show that over 95% of prokaryotic species carry at least one plastic-degradation gene.
The Plastic-Degrading Clusters of Orthologous Groups (PDCOGs) database catalogs these proteins, divides them into 51 groups, and links adaptation to environmental conditions.
The findings could guide new technologies that align materials with natural microbial processes.

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Story summary

Researchers identified over 600,000 microbial proteins that degrade natural and synthetic plastics.
The University of Turku in Finland and two Catalan universities show that over 95% of prokaryotic species carry at least one plastic-degradation gene.
The Plastic-Degrading Clusters of Orthologous Groups (PDCOGs) database catalogs these proteins, divides them into 51 groups, and links adaptation to environmental conditions.
The findings could guide new technologies that align materials with natural microbial processes.