Biodegradation of poly(ester‐urethane) coatings by <i>Halopseudomonas formosensis</i>
Jan de Witt, Rebecka Molitor, Jochem Gätgens, Claire Ortmann de Percin Northumberland, Luzie Kruse, Tino Polen, Benedikt Wynands, Koen van Goethem, Stephan Thies, Karl‐Erich Jaeger, Nick Wierckx
Abstract
Abstract Impranil ® DLN‐SD is a poly(ester‐urethane) (PEU) that is widely used as coating material for textiles to fine‐tune and improve their properties. Since coatings increase the complexity of such plastic materials, they can pose a hindrance for sustainable end‐of‐life solutions of plastics using enzymes or microorganisms. In this study, we isolated Halopseudomonas formosensis FZJ due to its ability to grow on Impranil DLN‐SD and other PEUs as sole carbon sources. The isolated strain was exceptionally thermotolerant as it could degrade Impranil DLN‐SD at up to 50°C. We identified several putative extracellular hydrolases of which the polyester hydrolase Hfor _PE‐H showed substrate degradation of Impranil DLN‐SD and thus was purified and characterized in detail. Hfor _PE‐H showed moderate temperature stability (T m = 53.9°C) and exhibited activity towards Impranil DLN‐SD as well as polyethylene terephthalate. Moreover, we revealed the enzymatic release of monomers from Impranil DLN‐SD by Hfor_ PE‐H using GC‐ToF‐MS and could decipher the associated metabolic pathways in H . formosensis FZJ. Overall, this study provides detailed insights into the microbial and enzymatic degradation of PEU coatings, thereby deepening our understanding of microbial coating degradation in both contained and natural environments. Moreover, the study highlights the relevance of the genus Halopseudomonas and especially the novel isolate and its enzymes for future bio‐upcycling processes of coated plastic materials.