knotts@hplabsb.UUCP (03/08/85)
The following article appeared in the February issue of "Adhesives
Age", p. 60:
Bacteria Munch on Nylon
Despite man's persistent efforts to create a substance that is imper-
meable to time, the elements, and hungry critters, nature seems to be finding
ways to prevail.
According to a story in the *Atlanta Constitution*, a strain of
bacteria has evolved a taste for the man-made ingredients in nylon, suggesting
that the stubborn substance may now be biodegradable.
The strain of bacteria, called Flavorbacterium spK172, was first
discovered in 1972 in waste streams flowing from factories in Japan. These
bacteria recently have evolved enzymes that allow them to live solely on the
ingredients of the man-made plastics.
Up to now, the man-made chemical components of plastics like nylon --
chemicals that aren't found in nature -- have been resistant to metaboliza-
tion by bacteria, fungi, or other living things. They have so resisted decay,
in fact, that nondegradable plastics are a major waste control problem, taking
up space in landfills and trash heaps and littering the landscape.
According to Dr. Susumo Ohno, the enzymes' discoverer, the new
developments may be evidence that evolution sometimes occurs with incredible
swiftness, instead of over billions of years. It is only 45 years since
nylon began entering the environment in large amounts.
Panic not, wearers of pantyhose -- scientists have found no evidence
that Flavorbacteria eat finished nylon or plastic products like stockings,
fishing line, credit cards, or plush carpeting . . .yet.