About This Project

Plastics have revolutionized material science engineering. However, the use of plastic has had unintended consequences on both human and planetary health. Recently, scientists have discovered microplastics in the bloodstreams of humans leading to major health consequences. In order to combat the microplastics circulating in our bloodstreams, we want to use plastic metabolizing bacteria to develop the next generation of probiotics and immunogenic RNA based therapies.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Plastic pollution is a major concern for both environmental and human health. Recently, scientists have discovered microplastics in the human bloodstream– making this an urgent public health concern. Microplastics contain the endocrine disrupting chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA), and evidence suggests that (1) BPAs have a detrimental impact on female infertility and; (2) a transgenerational impact on human health. In order to eliminate the harmful chemicals accumulating in our bodies we plan to utilize several biomedical research methods.

What is the significance of this project?

Microplastics in the human bloodstream are leading to hormonal imbalances and downstream reproductive health issues. These degraded plastic polymers have been identified as major endocrine disruptors' leading to infertility. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the leading cause of infertility among women. Recent evidence suggests that there is a relationship between increased exposure to micro-plastics in the human bloodstream and increased frequency of PCOS in pre-menopausal woman. While this correlation is newly identified, there is evidence supporting the correlation between a specific type of plastic waste, Bisphenol A (a chemical found in microplastics), and elevated rates of PCOS. We hope to develop new therapies to increase fertility rates in those exposed to microplastics.

What are the goals of the project?

Our goal is to utilize synthetic biology approaches to gain new insights into the biological mechanisms that allow extremophiles to metabolize microplastics that are harmful to both human and ecological systems. In our proof-of-concept experiment, we will first grow extremophiles known to metabolize microplastics. We will then expose these individual strains of bacteria to randomize mutagenesis. Once mutagenized we will put the different series of bacteria into parallelized mini bioreactors and observe their potential to metabolize different microplastics. After evaluating performance, we will then sequence the genomes of those bacteria and identify regions (both known and novel) that are associated with plastic metabolism and downstream byproducts of plastic metabolism.