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Genomic databases yield novel bioplastic producers

Nature Biotechnology volume 21, pages 845–846 (2003)Cite this article

To the editor:

Biodegradable plastics have been proposed as environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic polymers, which often pose problems with disposal and persistence in the field. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a group of biodegradable plastics produced by several microorganisms (e.g., Alcaligenes eutrophus, Pseudomonas oleovorans) under nutritional stress1. Because of their high-production cost compared with synthetic plastics, a search is on to identify organisms capable of PHA production at high levels. Conventional methods for searching microbes for a particular characteristic demand high inputs of time and energy. On the other hand, simple bioinformatics searches that integrate multiple sources of data offer a faster and more rapid means of identifying new PHA producers2.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to S. K. Brahmachari, Director, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, CSIR for providing the necessary facilities and moral support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, CSIR, Delhi University Campus, Mall Road, Delhi, 11 00 07, India

    Vipin Chandra Kalia, Ashwini Chauhan, Goutam Bhattacharyya &  Rashmi

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  1. Vipin Chandra Kalia
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  2. Ashwini Chauhan
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  3. Goutam Bhattacharyya
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  4. Rashmi
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Correspondence to Vipin Chandra Kalia.

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Kalia, V., Chauhan, A., Bhattacharyya, G. et al. Genomic databases yield novel bioplastic producers. Nat Biotechnol 21, 845–846 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0803-845

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