Nature-Inspired Strategies for Sustainable Degradation of Synthetic Plastics.

Synthetic plastics have become integral to our daily lives, yet their escalating production, limited biodegradability, and inadequate waste management contribute to environmental contamination. Biological plastic degradation is one promising strategy to address this pollution. The inherent chemical and physical properties of synthetic plastics, however, pose challenges for microbial enzymes, hindering the effective degradation and the development of a sustainable biological recycling process.

Identification and characterization of oxidoreductase component (NdmD) of methylxanthine oxygenase system in Pseudomonas sp. NCIM 5235.

Pseudomonas sp. NCIM 5235 is a caffeine-degrading bacterial strain that metabolizes caffeine by sequential demethylation using methylxanthine demethylases. These enzymes belong to the class of two-component Rieske oxygenases and require an oxidoreductase, NdmD, for efficient catalysis.