PET or polyethylene terepthalate is commonly found in our bags, bottles and many easily moldable ‘plastic’ accessories. The plastic eating enzyme called PETase (-ase) being the suffix put after any enzyme is very fastidious at degrading plastic.
It was isolated from Japanese bottle recycling plant located in the port city of Sakai. The bacterium with an appetite to chew down one of the most resilient manmade polymers is Ideonella sakaiensis. It uses plastic as its source of energy.
While trying to study the effects of the enzyme, the scientist accidentally increased its ability to degrade plastic into simpler byproducts. The scientists have claimed that there is still room for more modification after determining its crystal structure in the U.K. Polyesters currently end up choking both the flora and fauna and enter into the food cycle as well.
Source : BBC News