The iGEM team at UC Davis is working to produce a catalyst capable of degrading the common plastic, PET. Further description to come.
Background
When looking for a way to degrade PET, we came across a paper that conducted a metagenomic analysis of leaf-branch compost, identified a cutinase homolog, and demonstrated its PET-degrading activity [1].
What we're doing
We are looking to overproduce the LC-Cutinase gene in E. Coli so that we can further characterize its ability to degrade PET.
References
[1] S. Sulaiman, S. Yamato, E. Kanaya, J. Kim, Y. Koga, K. Takano, S. Kanaya. "Isolation of a Novel Cutinase Homolog with Polyethylene Terephthalate-Degrading Activity from Leaf-Branch Compost by Using a Metagenomic Approach." Applied and Environment Microbiology, vol. 78 no. 5, pp. 1556-1562, March 2012.
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