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Department of Biology

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New comprehensive review on microbial plastic degradationPublished in the ASM Journal “Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews”

22 September 2025, by Dr. Pablo Pérez-García

Sequence similarity network (SSN) von 175 charakterisierten mikrobiellen, kunststoffaktiven Enzymen und ihrer phylogenetischen Zugehörigkeit.

Photo: UHH/Mikrobiologie

Sequence similarity network (SSN) of 175 characterized microbial enzymes active on plastics and their phylogenetic affiliation. Further explanation in Fig 3 of the publication.

We are excited to share the latest review article from our research group at the University of Hamburg, offering a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on microbial plastic degradation. In this publication, our team of experts summarizes cutting-edge research about how microbes attach to plastics, the enzymes and metabolic pathways they use for degradation, and the advanced methods used to discover and quantify these enzymes.

Beyond mapping the fundamentals, we highlight recent biotechnological approaches aimed at harnessing and improving microbial degradation for environmental and industrial applications. The review also discusses challenges and promising future perspectives in this rapidly developing field.

We invite everyone interested in environmental microbiology, biotechnology, and sustainable solutions to access the full article here: 

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mmbr.00087-24

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