Page 18 - Demo

mizlenmesine yard%u0131mc%u0131 olacak bakteri temelli m%u00fchendislik %u00e7%u00f6z%u00fcmlerinin geli%u015ftirilmesi i%u00e7in yeni olanaklar sunuyor. %u00c7al%u0131%u015fma Environmental Science & Technology dergisinde yay%u0131nlanacak. %u00c7al%u0131%u015fmay%u0131 y%u00f6neten Northwestern%u2019den Ludmilla Aristilde, %u201c%u0130lk kez sistematik olarak bir at%u0131k su bakterisinin bir ba%u015flang%u0131%u00e7 plastik malzemesini alabildi%u011fini, onu bozabildi%u011fini, par%u00e7alayabildi%u011fini ve bir karbon kayna%u011f%u0131 olarak kullanabildi%u011fini g%u00f6sterdik%u201d dedi. %u201cBu bakterinin t%u00fcm bu s%u00fcreci ger%u00e7ekle%u015ftirebilmesi %u015fa%u015f%u0131rt%u0131c%u0131 ve plastik malzemelerin par%u00e7alanmas%u0131ndan sorumlu kilit bir enzim tespit ettik. Bu, %u00e7evredeki plastiklerden kurtulmaya yard%u0131mc%u0131 olmak i%u00e7in optimize edilebilir ve kullan%u0131labilir.%u201d%u00c7evresel s%u00fcre%u00e7lerde organik maddelerin dinamikleri konusunda uzman olan Aristilde, Northwestern McCormick M%u00fchendislik Okulu%u2019nda %u00e7evre m%u00fchendisli%u011fi alan%u0131nda do%u00e7ent olarak g%u00f6rev yapmaktad%u0131r. Ayn%u0131 zamanda Sentetik Biyoloji Merkezi, Uluslararas%u0131 Nanoteknoloji Enstit%u00fcs%u00fc ve Paula M. Trienens S%u00fcrd%u00fcr%u00fclebilirlik ve Enerji Enstit%u00fcs%u00fc %u00fcyesidir. %u00c7al%u0131%u015fman%u0131n ilk yazarlar%u0131, Aristilde%u2019nin laboratuvar%u0131nda eski bir doktora %u00f6%u011frencisi olan Rebecca Wilkes ve Aristilde%u2019nin laboratuvar%u0131nda doktora sonras%u0131 ara%u015ft%u0131rmac%u0131 olarak %u00e7al%u0131%u015fan Nanqing Zhou%u2019dur. Aristilde Laboratuvar%u0131%u2019ndan birka%u00e7 eski lisans%u00fcst%u00fc ve lisans ara%u015ft%u0131rmac%u0131s%u0131 da %u00e7al%u0131%u015fmaya katk%u0131da bulundu.Kirlilik sorunuYeni %u00e7al%u0131%u015fma, Aristilde%u2019nin ekibinin Comamonas testosteri%u2019nin par%u00e7alanm%u0131%u015f bitkiler ve plastiklerden elde edilen basit karbonlar%u0131 metabolize etmesini sa%u011flayan mekanizmalar%u0131 ortaya %u00e7%u0131karan %u00f6nceki ara%u015ft%u0131rmas%u0131na dayan%u0131yor. Yeni ara%u015ft%u0131rmada Aristilde ve ekibi, g%u0131da ambalajlar%u0131nda ve i%u00e7ecek %u015fi%u015felerinde yayg%u0131n olarak kullan%u0131lan bir plastik t%u00fcr%u00fc olan polietilen tereftalat (PET) %u00fczerinde yeti%u015fen C. testosteroni%u2019yi tekrar inceledi. Kolayca par%u00e7alanmad%u0131%u011f%u0131 i%u00e7in PET, plastik kirlili%u011finde b%u00fcy%u00fck bir paya sahiptir. Aristilde, %u201cPET plastiklerin toplam k%u00fcresel plastik kullan%u0131m%u0131n%u0131n %12%u2019sini temsil etti%u011fini belirtmek %u00f6nemli%u201d dedi. %u201cVe at%u0131k sulardaki mikroplastiklerin %50%u2019sine kadar%u0131n%u0131 olu%u015fturuyor.%u201dPlastikleri par%u00e7alama konusunda do%u011fu%u015ftan gelen yetenekAristilde ve ekibi, C. testosteroni%u2019nin plastikle nas%u0131l etkile%u015fime girdi%u011fini ve plastikten nas%u0131l beslendi%u011fini daha iyi anlamak i%u00e7in birden fazla teorik ve deneysel yakla%u015f%u0131m kulland%u0131. %u0130lk olarak, at%u0131k sudan izole edilen bakteriyi al%u0131p PET filmler ve peletler %u00fczerindrinking water and harms wildlife. The study will be published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. %u201cWe have systematically shown, for the first time, that a wastewater bacterium can take a starting plastic material, deteriorate it, fragment it, break it down and use it as a source of carbon,%u201d said Northwestern%u2019s Ludmilla Aristilde, who led the study. %u201cIt is amazing that this bacterium can perform that entire process, and we identified a key enzyme responsible for breaking down the plastic materials. This could be optimized and exploited to help get rid of plastics in the environment.%u201dAn expert in the dynamics of organics in environmental processes, Aristilde is an associate professor of environmental engineering at Northwestern%u2019s McCormick School of Engineering. She also is a member of the Center for Synthetic Biology, International Institute for Nanotechnology and Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy. The study%u2019s co-first authors are Rebecca Wilkes, a former Ph.D. student in Aristilde%u2019s lab, and Nanqing Zhou, a current postdoctoral associate in Aristilde%u2019s lab. Several former graduate and undergraduate researchers from the Aristilde Lab also contributed to the work.The pollution problemThe new study builds on previous research from Aristilde%u2019s team, which unraveled the mechanisms that enable Comamonas testosteri to metabolize simple carbons generated from broken down plants and plastics. In the new research, Aristilde and her team again looked to C. testosteroni, which grows on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a type of plastic commonly used in food packaging and beverage bottles. Because it does not break down easily, PET is a major contributor to plastic pollution. %u201cIt%u2019s important to note that PET plastics represent 12% of total global plastics usage,%u201d Aristilde said. %u201cAnd it accounts for up to 50% of microplastics in wastewaters.%u201dInnate ability to degrade plasticsTo better understand how C. testosteroni interacts with and feeds on the plastic, Aristilde and her team used multiple theoretical and experimental approaches. First, they took bacterium -- isolated from wastewater -- and grew it on PET films and pellets. Then, they used advanced microscopy to observe how the surface of the plastic material changed over time. Next, they examined the water around the bacteria, searching for evidence of plastic broken down into smaller nano-sized pieces. And, finally, the re16Bilimsel / Scientific