{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T11:24:41Z","timestamp":1786965881760,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,16]],"date-time":"2026-08-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786838400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023YFC3903300"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFC3903300"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The long-term accumulation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in marine environments may drive the evolution of microbial degradation capabilities, positioning the ocean as a valuable reservoir for discovering novel PET-degrading microorganisms. In this study, we isolated 305 marine-derived microorganisms with potential PET-degrading capability from samples collected from mangrove areas of Zhanjiang and the intertidal zones of Daya Bay, Shenzhen, China, using PET powder as a major carbon source. Subsequent evaluation of degradation performance via scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis identified 14 isolates capable of degrading PET film. These 14 strains belonged to 14 distinct species, none of which, to the best of our knowledge, has been previously documented as PET degraders. Among them, Microbacterium aurum SCSIO 85700 exhibited the most potent PET-degrading activity, achieving a weight loss of 2.1 mg (2.1%) and a 6.5% increase in relative crystallinity over 30 days. Genome analysis revealed the genetic basis underlying PET degradation and associated metabolic pathways in strain SCSIO 85700. Notably, genome mining and structural modeling identified two candidate polyester hydrolases, MA2267 and MA2443, possessing conserved His\u2013Asp\u2013Ser catalytic triads and exposed substrate-binding clefts resembling those of characterized PET-degrading enzymes, suggesting their potential involvement in PET depolymerization. Collectively, this study expands the recognized diversity of marine PET-degrading microorganisms and provides microbial resources for sustainable PET bioremediation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14081804","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T08:05:41Z","timestamp":1786953941000},"page":"1804","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Isolation of Marine-Derived Microorganisms for PET Biodegradation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2908-0438","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shijing","family":"Deng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"},{"name":"Department of Marine Pharmacy, School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiaoqiao","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunhe","family":"An","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuqing","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianping","family":"Yin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8951-6844","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Songbiao","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tingbiao","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chenlu","family":"Gu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"},{"name":"Department of Marine Pharmacy, School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5871-0062","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xinpeng","family":"Tian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4052-9801","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qinglian","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China"},{"name":"Department of Marine Pharmacy, School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1700782","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.1700782","article-title":"Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made","volume":"3","author":"Geyer","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci. Adv."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162159","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2023.162159","article-title":"Multigenerational effects of microplastic fragments derived from polyethylene terephthalate bottles on duckweed Lemna minor: Size-dependent effects of microplastics on photosynthesis","volume":"872","author":"Cui","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117427","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2023.117427","article-title":"A comprehensive review on enzymatic biodegradation of polyethylene terephthalate","volume":"240","author":"Qiu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1453","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eurpolymj.2005.02.005","article-title":"Recycling of PET","volume":"41","author":"Awaja","year":"2005","journal-title":"Eur. Polym. J."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104","DOI":"10.1038\/s41578-021-00382-0","article-title":"Reducing environmental plastic pollution by designing polymer materials for managed end-of-life","volume":"7","author":"Law","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Mater."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"768","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1260352","article-title":"Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean","volume":"347","author":"Jambeck","year":"2015","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.1126\/science.adl2746","article-title":"Twenty years of microplastic pollution research\u2014What have we learned?","volume":"386","author":"Thompson","year":"2024","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33997","DOI":"10.1038\/srep33997","article-title":"Plastic microfibre ingestion by deep-sea organisms","volume":"6","author":"Taylor","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141230","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cej.2022.141230","article-title":"Biodegradation of poly(ethylene terephthalate): Mechanistic insights, advances, and future innovative strategies","volume":"457","author":"Kushwaha","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chem. Eng. J."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1196","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aad6359","article-title":"A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate)","volume":"351","author":"Yoshida","year":"2016","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1556","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.06725-11","article-title":"Isolation of a novel cutinase homolog with polyethylene terephthalate-degrading activity from leaf-branch compost by using a metagenomic approach","volume":"78","author":"Sulaiman","year":"2012","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-023-04413-0","article-title":"Improving the activity and thermostability of PETase from Ideonella sakaiensis through modulating its post-translational glycan modification","volume":"6","author":"Deng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Commun. Biol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"216","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-020-2149-4","article-title":"An engineered PET depolymerase to break down and recycle plastic bottles","volume":"580","author":"Tournier","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"United Nations Environment Programme (2026, July 15). From Pollution to Solution: A Global Assessment of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution. Available online: https:\/\/www.unep.org\/resources\/pollution-solution-global-assessment-marine-litter-and-plastic-pollution."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"192","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marpolbul.2016.05.083","article-title":"Origin of marine debris is related to disposable packs of ultra-processed food","volume":"109","author":"Andrades","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mar. Pollut. Bull."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-marine-010419-010633","article-title":"Marine microbial assemblages on microplastics: Diversity, adaptation, and role in degradation","volume":"12","author":"Oberbeckmann","year":"2020","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1128\/MMBR.00037-15","article-title":"Microbial surface colonization and biofilm development in marine environments","volume":"80","author":"Dang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123981","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2026.123981","article-title":"Biodegradation of polyurethane by marine-derived Cladosporium oxysporum SCSIO 81042 under seawater conditions and its enhancement by chitosan nanoparticles as adjuvant","volume":"296","author":"Zeng","year":"2026","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2951","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph8072951","article-title":"Seasonal Variation of Water Quality and Phytoplankton Response Patterns in Daya Bay, China","volume":"8","author":"Sun","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"506","article-title":"Chelex 100 as a medium for simple extraction of DNA for PCR-based typing from forensic material","volume":"10","author":"Walsh","year":"1991","journal-title":"BioTechniques"},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"13","article-title":"A rapid total DNA preparation procedure for fresh plant tissue","volume":"12","author":"Doyle","year":"1990","journal-title":"Focus"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"697","DOI":"10.1128\/jb.173.2.697-703.1991","article-title":"16S ribosomal DNA amplification for phylogenetic study","volume":"173","author":"Weisburg","year":"1991","journal-title":"J. Bacteriol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-294X.1993.tb00005.x","article-title":"ITS primers with enhanced specificity for basidiomycetes-application to the identification of mycorrhizae and rusts","volume":"2","author":"Gardes","year":"1993","journal-title":"Mol. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Innis, M.A., Gelfand, D.H., Sninsky, J.J., and White, T.J. (1990). Amplification and Direct Sequencing of Fungal Ribosomal RNA Genes for Phylogenetics. PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-2836(05)80360-2","article-title":"Basic local alignment search tool","volume":"215","author":"Altschul","year":"1990","journal-title":"J. Mol. Biol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wick, R.R., Judd, L.M., Gorrie, C.L., and Holt, K.E. (2017). Unicycler: Resolving bacterial genome assemblies from short and long sequencing reads. PLoS Comput. Biol., 13.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1005595"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2114","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btu170","article-title":"Trimmomatic: A flexible trimmer for Illumina sequence data","volume":"30","author":"Bolger","year":"2014","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1107","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/26.4.1107","article-title":"GeneMark.hmm: New solutions for gene finding","volume":"26","author":"Lukashin","year":"1998","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9077","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkab688","article-title":"tRNAscan-SE 2.0: Improved detection and functional classification of transfer RNA genes","volume":"49","author":"Chan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3100","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkm160","article-title":"RNAmmer: Consistent and rapid annotation of ribosomal RNA genes","volume":"35","author":"Lagesen","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.1007\/s42452-022-05143-4","article-title":"Microbial degradation of polyethylene terephthalate: A systematic review","volume":"4","year":"2022","journal-title":"SN Appl. Sci."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"485","DOI":"10.1007\/s11274-025-04706-y","article-title":"Degradation of polyethylene terephthalate by microorganisms and their enzymes: A review of experimental and in silico research","volume":"41","year":"2025","journal-title":"World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102745","DOI":"10.1016\/j.isci.2021.102745","article-title":"Endurance of extremely prolonged nutrient prevention across kingdoms of life","volume":"24","author":"Hazan","year":"2021","journal-title":"iScience"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"890","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-08719-8","article-title":"Extreme slow growth as alternative strategy to survive deep starvation in bacteria","volume":"10","author":"Gray","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/bs.mie.2020.12.007","article-title":"Ideonella sakaiensis, PETase, and MHETase: From Identification of Microbial PET Degradation to Enzyme Characterization","volume":"Volume 648","author":"Weber","year":"2021","journal-title":"Methods in Enzymology"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1090","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-023-05470-1","article-title":"Biodegradation of PET by the membrane-anchored PET esterase from the marine bacterium Rhodococcus pyridinivorans P23","volume":"6","author":"Guo","year":"2023","journal-title":"Commun. Biol."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rostampour, S., Cook, R., Jhang, S.S., Li, Y., Fan, C., and Sung, L.-P. (2024). Changes in the chemical composition of polyethylene terephthalate under UV radiation in various environmental conditions. Polymers, 16.","DOI":"10.21203\/rs.3.rs-4402725\/v1"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nbt.2023.11.001","article-title":"Significance of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate crystallinity on enzymatic degradation","volume":"78","author":"Thomsen","year":"2023","journal-title":"New Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gong, J., Kong, T., Li, Y., Li, Q., Li, Z., and Zhang, J. (2018). Biodegradation of microplastic derived from poly(ethylene terephthalate) with bacterial whole-cell biocatalysts. Polymers, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym10121326"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19338","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.4c06645","article-title":"Mechanisms of Polyethylene Terephthalate Pellet Fragmentation into Nanoplastics and Assimilable Carbons by Wastewater Comamonas","volume":"58","author":"Wilkes","year":"2024","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"549","DOI":"10.1099\/00207713-43-3-549","article-title":"Proposal of two new species in the genus Microbacterium: Microbacterium dextranolyticum sp. nov. and Microbacterium aurum sp. nov","volume":"43","author":"Yokota","year":"1993","journal-title":"Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"246","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biotechadv.2007.12.005","article-title":"Biological degradation of plastics: A comprehensive review","volume":"26","author":"Shah","year":"2008","journal-title":"Biotechnol. Adv."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1007\/s11274-022-03270-z","article-title":"Microbial degradation and valorization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) monomers","volume":"38","author":"Gao","year":"2022","journal-title":"World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.1085\/jgp.201411296","article-title":"Bacterial responses to osmotic challenges","volume":"145","author":"Wood","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Gen. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1016\/S0005-2736(99)00158-3","article-title":"ABC transporters: Bacterial exporters\u2014Revisited five years on","volume":"1461","author":"Young","year":"1999","journal-title":"Biochim. Biophys. Acta"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"483","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro2814","article-title":"The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) protein export pathway","volume":"10","author":"Palmer","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro.2016.161","article-title":"Protein export through the bacterial Sec pathway","volume":"15","author":"Tsirigotaki","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro.2017.26","article-title":"Oxidative stress, protein damage and repair in bacteria","volume":"15","author":"Ezraty","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"136389","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhazmat.2024.136389","article-title":"Structure-guided discovery and rational design of a new poly(ethylene terephthalate) hydrolase from AlphaFold protein structure database","volume":"480","author":"Liu","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Hazard. Mater."},{"key":"ref_50","first-page":"4161","article-title":"Discovery and mechanism-guided engineering of BHET hydrolases for improved PET recycling and upcycling","volume":"14","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"E4350","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1718804115","article-title":"Characterization and engineering of a plastic-degrading aromatic polyesterase","volume":"115","author":"Austin","year":"2018","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"382","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-02881-1","article-title":"Structural insight into molecular mechanism of poly(ethylene terephthalate) degradation","volume":"9","author":"Joo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."}],"container-title":["Microorganisms"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2607\/14\/8\/1804\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T10:31:04Z","timestamp":1786962664000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2607\/14\/8\/1804"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,16]]},"references-count":52,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["microorganisms14081804"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/microorganisms14081804","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2607"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2607","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,16]]}}}