German researchers develop bacterium that converts nylon into biomaterials

In Germany, a team of scientists from the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences – Biotechnology at Forschungszentrum Jülich worked together with the company Novonesis to develop a bacterium that “eats” individual building blocks of different types of nylon and converts them into value-added products. The results of this research will help improve nylon recycling. The study has just been published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

The research team has genetically enhanced the versatile but harmless soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida, enabling it to metabolize this mixture of nylon building blocks and convert it into value-added products like biopolyesters. The key to this breakthrough was a combination of genetic engineering and laboratory evolution, which makes it possible to efficiently teach bacteria new skills.