The microbes have been found in regions with near-polar temperatures, such as the Alps and the Arctic.
Scientists were previously aware of other types of microorganisms that are able to digest plastic. However, when the enzymes that make this possible were applied at an industrial scale, they typically only work at temperatures above 30°C.
The higher temperatures meant that money and energy would need to be spent heating the organisms, which is costly and carbon-intensive. In contrast, the newly-discovered microbes can digest plastic in temperatures as low as 15ºC.
“Here we show that novel microbial taxa obtained from the ‘plastisphere’ of alpine and arctic soils were able to break down biodegradable plastics at 15°C,” said researcher Dr Joel Rüthi. “These organisms could help to reduce the costs and environmental burden of an enzymatic recycling process for plastic.”
Rüthi and colleagues sampled 19 strains of bacteria and 15 of fungi growing on free...