IDEONELLA SAKAIENSIS

Ideonella sakaiensis is a bacterium from the genus Ideonella and family

Comamonadaceae capable of breaking down and consuming the plastic
poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) as a sole carbon and energy source. The
bacterium was originally isolated from a sediment sample taken outside of a
plastic bottle recycling facility in Sakai,Japan.

The bacteria was isolated from a Consortium of microorganisms in the

Sediment Sample including protozoa and yeast like Cells.

Ideonella sakaiensis is Gram-negative , aerobic , and rod-shaped. It does not

from spores. Cells are motile and have a single flagellum. Ideonella sakaiensis
also tests positive for oxidase and catalase. The bacterium grows at a pH range
of 5.5 to 9.0 (optimally at 7 to 7.5) and a temperature of 15-42°C (optimally at
30-37°C). Colonies of Ideonella sakaiensis are colorless, smooth, and circular.
Its size varies from 0.6-0.8 µm in width and 1.2-1.5 µm in length. The
bacterium was shown to grow on PET surfaces in a community with other
Ideonella sakaiensis cells by adhering to the PET and other cells with thin
appendages. These appendages may also function to secrete PET-degrading
enzymes onto the PET surface.

Ideonella sakaiensis cells adhere to the PET surface and use a secreted PET
hydrolase , or PETase , to degrade the PET into mono(2-
hydroxyethyl)terephthalic acid(MHET) , a heterodimer composed of
terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol.The resulting MHET is then
degraded into monomeric constituents by a lipid-anchored MHET hydrolase
enzyme , or MHETase , on the cell’s outer membrane .Terephthalic acid , a
more recalcitrant compound , is imported into the I.sakaiensis cell via the
terephthalic acid transpoter protein. Once in the cell , the aromatic
terephthalic acid molecule is oxidized by terephthalic acid -1,2-dioxygenase
and 1,2-dihydroxy-3,5-cyclohexandiene-1,4-dicarboxylate dehydrogenase into
a catechol intermediate. The catechol ring is then cleaved by PCA 3,4-
dioxygenase before the compound is integrated into other metabolic pathways
(e.g.TCA cycle). As a result, both of the molecules derived from the PET are
used by the cell to produce energy and to build necessary biomolecules.
Eventually , the assimilated carbon dioxide and released into the atmosphere.