{"id":2788,"date":"2026-09-10T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/?p=2788"},"modified":"2026-09-10T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T11:00:00","slug":"pac-man-enzyme-soil-bacterium-bioplastic-penicillin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/en\/2026\/09\/10\/pac-man-enzyme-soil-bacterium-bioplastic-penicillin\/","title":{"rendered":"Pac-Man Enzyme: Soil Bacterium Breaks Down Bioplastic and Penicillin at Once"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"netgu-2174149258\" class=\"netgu-before-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3494115342\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A research team at the University of Konstanz has found a bacterial enzyme in forest soil that attacks two stubborn classes of compounds at once: long-chain polyester bioplastics and beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillin. Because of its strikingly wide-open active site, the researchers named the molecule the &bdquo;Pac-Man enzyme&ldquo;. The study appeared on 2 September 2026 in The ISME Journal.<\/strong><\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Two functions in one molecule<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The molecule is a so-called family-VIII esterase, held firmly to the bacterial cell surface by a lipid anchor. It breaks long-chain aliphatic polyesters down into their building blocks (monomers) &ndash; while also cleaving the beta-lactam ring of penicillin. The researchers attribute this dual role to its structural kinship with beta-lactamases, the enzymes bacteria use to neutralise antibiotics.<\/p><div id=\"netgu-2897741838\" class=\"netgu-content netgu-entity-placement\"><aside class=\"deals-top deals-top--compact\">\n\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"deals-top__title\">Top-Deals<\/h3>\n\t\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"deals-top__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/ugreen-aluminium-tabletstaender-360-drehbar-hoehenverstellbar\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/2825012_1-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">UGREEN Aluminium Tabletst\u00e4nder | 360\u00b0 Drehbar &amp; H\u00f6henverstellbar<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">16.91 \u20ac<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>20.37 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-17%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature is-hot\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t109\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/lego-die-unglaublichen-ps4-digital-game\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/ZrELiHpQ22q4bTKjOrqvA1iCxjZk7ndg-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Lego \u2013 Die Unglaublichen PS4 Digital Game<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">5.39 \u20ac<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>59.99 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-91%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t51\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/maneater-ps4-ps5-digital\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/icon0-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Maneater PS4 &amp; 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Electron microscopy revealed bacteria burrowing into the film and leaving behind micron-sized holes.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Still laboratory work<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The findings come from controlled lab and soil experiments; how the enzyme behaves in the open environment or at industrial scale remains unknown. The result is intriguing on two counts: as a potential tool for degrading plastics, and as a clue to how antibiotic resistance arises in soil.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Source: University of Konstanz \/ EurekAlert, press release of 2 September 2026; Lerner et al., The ISME Journal (2026), DOI 10.1093\/ismejo\/wrag203. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1142464\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Read the press release<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"netgu-3333999547\" class=\"netgu-after-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"4559785002\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A research team at the University of Konstanz has found a bacterial enzyme in forest soil that attacks two stubborn 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