A new study involving scientists from Professor Ruth Schmitz-Streit's research group at Kiel University has shown for the first time, using microorganisms from the deep sea, that polymers such as PET are continuously degraded by an enzyme. Researchers from the University of Hamburg and the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf played a major role in the microbiological study.
The study highlights a special feature of the PET-degrading enzyme."In our study, we have discovered a new genetic resource from deep-sea organisms belonging to the archaea," says Professor Ruth Schmitz-Streit, head of the Molecular Biology of Microorganisms working group at the Institute of General Microbiology and member of the research priority area Kiel Marine Science at Kiel University.