Successfully made shoes and leather wallets from... bacteria

British researchers have successfully genetically modified Komagataeibacter bacteria to create a "vegan" leather that is plastic-free and has the ability to self-dye black.

Like many other materials used in the fashion industry, leather and its dyeing process - especially black dyeing - negatively impacts the environment. Therefore, a group of scientists from Imperial College London (Imperial College London) genetically edited a type of Komagataeibacter bacteria to create bacterial cellulose (BC) capable of self-dying black.

The shoe (except the sole) is made from gene-edited Komagataeibacter bacteria - (Photo: Imperial College London).

BC is a promising sustainable leather alternative due to its properties, low infrastructure needs, and biodegradability. Gene-edited Komagataeibacter can produce the enzyme tyrosinase, which helps form black pigment.

To demonstrate the potential of the new method, the team created a black shoe (minus the sole) from gene-edited bacteria in just 2 weeks. The team implanted BC into a shoe mold using gene-edited bacteria, and the resulting shoe was black.

The research team also created a black wallet by cutting and sewing BC sheets secreted by bacteria, according to IFLScience .

BC material capable of self-dying is made into leather wallets - (Photo: Imperial College London).

Growing BC requires a fraction of the carbon emissions, water, land and time compared to raising cows for leather. Unlike plastic-based alternatives, BC can be made without petrochemicals and will biodegrade safely and non-toxically in the environment.

"Inventing a new, faster method to produce sustainable self-dyed vegan leathers is a major achievement for synthetic biology and sustainable fashion ," said Professor Tom Ellis, one of the authors. research, said.

The research team is continuing to be able to create self-dying BCs with other colors, such as synthetic indigo from certain strains of E. coli.

The research was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.