Evolutionary bacteria can eat plastic to contaminate the ocean

Ocean pollution is growing to an amazingly high level, and residents living in the sea are at risk of extinction because of human waste. Fortunately, researchers recently said they had discovered a bacterium that could eat plastic floating in the sea.

This bacterium can significantly reduce the amount of synthetic waste at alarming levels in our oceans.

Plastic waste from household and industrial waste is being dumped into the ocean at the rate of one truck per minute. But despite this fact, trash floating in the ocean is large, but not as massive as the large amount of garbage listed here, scientists say.

Longer studies by scientists show that this mismatch can be explained by the explosion of plastic digestible marine bacteria.

'The plastic manufacturing industry is continuing to increase, which means that synthetic waste is increasingly penetrating the oceans strongly. However, as far as we can see, water surveys in areas that contain a lot of plastic waste leak, indicating that they have less accumulated waste than expected, " the research team told New Scientist.

More and more plastic waste in the ocean.(Photo: Shutterstock).

One of the areas surveyed is the North Atlantic Subtropical Valley located in the Atlantic Ocean. This is an area surrounded by strong ocean currents.

These lines create swirls and once the plastic is washed in, they cannot escape. Therefore, over time waste is rapidly accumulated. However, even here, the researchers only collected part of plastic waste - much less than they expected.

Richard Sole, a researcher at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, ​​who led the new study, told New Scientist: "This trend is happening mostly in the world's oceans."

His team used mathematical models to prove that physical processes, such as ocean stirring, are not enough to break down plastic waste. Instead, they argue, the explosion of plastic digestible bacteria may explain why so many plastics have disappeared.

Scientists write in a research paper: 'A paradoxical observation is the lack of plastic accumulation in the North Atlantic Subtropical Valley - although production and discharge of plastics into the environment has increased. fast in the past '.

'In this paper, we used mathematical and computer models to explain observations. This is a nonlinear coupling between plastic (as a host) and a new organism evolving (consumer side). This 'consumer side' is likely to reduce plastic waste. "

But an increase in bacteria that eat plastic may not be good news for creatures living in the sea. It is possible that the bacteria break up large pieces of plastic into small pieces - something that is generally not good at all.

This is harmful because marine animals are more likely to swallow small pieces of plastic into the abdomen. And plastic molecules will accumulate in the organism and cause poisoning. Dr. Cole added: "To solve the problem of plastic, it is best to prevent it from entering the oceans from the beginning."