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Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds
研究发现，世界各地的微生物细菌在进化的过程中开始降解塑料
The research scanned more than 200m genes found in DNA samples taken from the environment and found 30,000 different enzymes that could degrade 10 different types of plastic. The study is the first large-scale global assessment of the plastic-degrading potential of bacteria and found that one in four of the organisms analysed carried a suitable enzyme. The researchers found that the number and type of enzymes they discovered matched the amount and type of plastic pollution in different locations.
该研究在自然环境中提取的DNA样本里发现了2亿多个基因，仔细调查后发现了3万种不同的酶，可以降解10种不同类型的塑料。这项研究是全球首次大规模对细菌潜在降解塑料的能力进行评估，研究发现被分析的微生物中有四分之一的微生物带有能降解塑料的酶。研究人员认为，他们发现的酶在数量和种类方面与不同地区塑料污染的量级和类型相匹配。
The results “provide evidence of a measurable effect of plastic pollution on the global microbial ecology”, the scientists said. Millions of tonnes of plastic are dumped in the environment every year, and the pollution now pervades the planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. Reducing the amount of plastic used is vital, as is the proper collection and treatment of waste.
科学家们表示，研究结果“为塑料污染对全球微生物生态的显著影响提供了证据”。每年有数百万吨的塑料被倾倒在自然环境中，从珠穆朗玛顶峰到深海区域，现在塑料污染遍及全球。减少使用塑料至关重要，这才是正确回收和处理废弃物的方式。
But many plastics are currently hard to degrade and recycle. Using enzymes to rapidly break down plastics into their building blocks would enable new products to be made from old ones, cutting the need for virgin plastic production. The new research provides many new enzymes to be investigated and adapted for industrial use. About 12,000 of the new enzymes were found in ocean samples, taken at 67 locations and at three different depths.
但目前很多塑料很难降解和回收。利用生物酶将塑料迅速分解成起始原料，再通过旧塑料的原材料制成新产品，减少了对原始塑料的生产需求。这项新调查研究为酶的生物学研究和工业应用提供了很多新型微生物酶。在海洋样本中发现的约12000种新酶，采集于67个不同的位置，3种不同的深度。
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