Five-bacteria consortium fully mineralizes biodegradable plastic in the ocean
MIT researchers reveal that ocean bacteria cooperate to break down a common biodegradable plastic: Pseudomonas pachastrellae initiates depolymerization into three chemicals, but no single microbe can consume all of them; a five-species consortium with complementary metabolisms fully mineralizes the polymer, showing degradation depends on both polymer chemistry and the surrounding microbial community and suggesting routes toward engineered microbial recycling.