In September 2020, researchers from the University of Portsmouth were able to engineer a “super enzyme” that could eat and break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic at a remarkable rate.
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Two years earlier, in 2018, Japanese scientists at the Kyoto Institute of Technology discovered a type of bacteria, called ideonella sakaiensis, that had a natural appetite for plastic.
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It demonstrated a significant ability to use PET plastics as an energy source; it could completely decompose PET within a few weeks.
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The bacteria uses a pair of enzymes, one of which is PETase, to decompose the plastic.
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Scientists at the University of Portsmouth (UK), engineered this enzyme in the laboratory so that plastics could be more rapidly decomposed.
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In September 2020, the University of Portsmouth scientists succeeded in combining PETase with its co-enzyme called MHETase, in order to increase the speed of the digestion of the plastic.
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According to Professor John McGeehan, initial experiments at that time showed that the two enzymes worked better together.
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The scientists therefore decided to physically combine the two enzymes, producing a “super enzyme” that can break down plastic three times faster than individual enzymes that occur naturally.
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Following the initial experiments, the University of Portsmouth teamed with researchers from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory to “optimize” the structure of the enzyme in such a way that it can break down PET plastic in just a few days.
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The research team intended to continue work on further improving this enzyme so that it could be used in the decomposition of plastics on an industrial scale.
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According to Professor John McGeehan, the breakthrough may be used in the coming years to break down and sustainably recycle PET as well as other plastics.
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In addition, researchers have discovered that wax moth caterpillars have a special species of bacteria in their intestines that digests plastic, and can survive on plastic for a year.
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Siberian scientists were apparently pursuing the same line of investigation.
According to Sergei Shakhmatov, the Executive Director of Green Russia and the Deputy of Krasnoyarsk City Council, Russian scientists intended to produce an enzyme or bacteria that destroys polymers, so they analyzed the enzyme secreted by a type of moth.
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Warning: these questons and answers are not all representative of the way questions will be asked and answered in the pilot, because some questions are compound and some answers do not include citations.

Q: Scientists from which country discovered a type of bacteria that had a natural appetite for plastic?
A: Japan

Q: In what year did the scientists make this discovery?
A: 2018

Q: What was the name of the bacteria?
A: ideonella sakaiensis

Q: What type of plastic did the bacteria break down?
A: PET plastics

Q: How long did it take the bacteria to completely break down the plastic?
A: Within a few weeks

Q: What is the name of one of the enzymes in the bacteria that it uses to break down plastic?
A: PETase

Q: Scientists at the University of Portsmouth in the UK created a “super enzyme” out of which two enzymes?
A: PETase and MHETase

Q: How much faster can the “super enzyme” break down plastics than individual enzymes that occur naturally?
A: Three times faster

Q: Which U.S. organization worked with University of Portsmouth scientists to “optimize” the structure of the enzyme so that it can break down plastics within a few days?
A: The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Q: Scientists discovered another bacteria that can break down plastic in the intestines of which animal?
A: Wax moth caterpillar

Q: How long can this bacteria survive on plastic?
A: A year

Q: Scientists from which country were pursuing similar research on bacteria produced by an animal?
A: Russia (Siberia)