Enzymes involved in the manipulation of polyethylene degradation: oxidative attack by invertebrates, microorganisms and algae on microplastics
Abstract
despite fungi achieving consistently greater mass loss. Third, potential risks are underexplored, as oligomeric by-products are rarely quantified despite already reaching toxic thresholds in aquatic systems. To move beyond species-and-enzyme catalogs, we propose a five-layer 'PE-degradation cube' that quantitatively links abiotic priming, enzyme kinetics, trophic relay, reproducibility weight and by-product risk. The model pinpoints laccase-mediator systems and insect-gut consortia as the only dual-validated (bibliometrically hot and biologically efficient) pipelines ready for protein-engineering translation, offering a data-driven roadmap that previous reviews have not provided.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
Enzyme-mediated dye degradation
biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Environmental Science Processes & Impacts
- Publisher
- Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 684–698
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN