Nylong eating bacteria?

**Richard** · September 21, 2007, 08:28 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon_eating_bacteria

Anyone think this sort of thing could pose a threat to our beloved synthetics?

**Chaigidel** · September 21, 2007, 09:05 AM

this is simply proof that the world will heal from any mismanagement-- but we may radically change the parameters for survivability-- but life will go on, as long as the chemistry is available.

nice stuff I think; makes me have hope for our ability to reprocess truly toxic substances.

**Spurius** · September 21, 2007, 10:35 AM

Sure, when God created nylon, he also was so wise to find a way to get rid of it.

Erm, something wrong with that line of thought, somewhere.... :hmmm:

BTW Chaigidel - naturally, this baby makes the Terminator look bad when it comes to pure toughness, and can be tailored to eat the unthinkable:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans

**Wild Bill Kelso** · September 21, 2007, 10:41 AM

Bacteria are capable of breaking down every natural organic substrate on earth. It is no suprise that nylon, which is organic in origin, is also a target for microorganisms. It just takes longer than something like cellulose.

**Richard** · September 22, 2007, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by Wild Bill Kelso

Bacteria are capable of breaking down every natural organic substrate on earth. It is no suprise that nylon, which is organic in origin, is also a target for microorganisms. It just takes longer than something like cellulose.

Ah, but there's the thing, these nylon byproducts don't exist in nature at all.

See the article I posted; "...capable of digesting certain byproducts of nylon-6 manufacture, such as the linear dimer of 6-aminohexanoate, even though those substances are not known to have existed prior to the invention of nylon in 1935."

**ZaPPPa** · September 22, 2007, 01:34 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

Ah, but there's the thing, these nylon byproducts don't exist in nature at all.

Good. Then this is undeniable proof for evolution.

**Spurius** · September 22, 2007, 02:59 AM

Originally Posted by ZaPPPa

Good. Then this is undeniable proof for evolution.

It's either that, or nylon wasn't really a synthetic - meaning it was still close enough to lignin for *something* to find a way to eat it, and after that *selection* did the rest. Nothing 'new' needed to be evolved. Same with the radiodurans bacteria - its toughness was originally selected to withstand droughts, not radiation, but in practice, it works both ways.

It just means it that nylon bacteria can promote from an abstruse, near-theoretical mutant to 'mainstream' and useful. 'Normal' is what you see everywhere, nothing more.

Good entry for an evolution discussion - evolution never coming out of the blue, but always being built on something that's 'there' already, somewhere in that gene ocean.

**ZaPPPa** · September 22, 2007, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by Spurius

It's either that, or nylon wasn't really a synthetic - meaning it was still close enough to lignin for *something* to find a way to eat it, and after that *selection* did the rest. Nothing 'new' needed to be evolved. Same with the radiodurans bacteria - its toughness was originally selected to withstand droughts, not radiation, but in practice, it works both ways.

Damn you Spurius.. damn you and your reasonable explanation.

**Wild Bill Kelso** · September 22, 2007, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

Ah, but there's the thing, these nylon byproducts don't exist in nature at all.

See the article I posted; "...capable of digesting certain byproducts of nylon-6 manufacture, such as the linear dimer of 6-aminohexanoate, even though those substances are not known to have existed prior to the invention of nylon in 1935."

True, but there are plenty of sloppy enzymes which bacteria use for natural polymers such as lignin, but which also work on more "manmade" polymers.

A quick google search led me to this paper:

http://aem.asm.org/cgi/reprint/63/1/329.pdf

There conclusions:

In this study, we present the first report of nylon degradation
by white rot fungi. Our results concerning nutritional regulation,
the microorganisms having this activity, and the acceleration
by manganese suggest that nylon-degrading activity is
closely related to the ligninolytic activity of these microorganisms.
The purification and characterization of the enzyme(s)
catalyzing nylon degradation are currently under study.

I am by no means trying to argue that a new enzyme couldn't be created, but just pointing out that microbes are capable of handling a variety of mandmade polymers.