4 ms·

Um, the article does actually explicitly mention such a microbe, as that is the origin of the titular enzyme! Do I misunderstand something, or you didn't read t

by akavel 9y ago

Um, the article does actually explicitly mention such a microbe, as that is the origin of the titular enzyme! Do I misunderstand something, or you didn't read the article? It's hard for me to understand the "What would happen if a microbe evolved..." question when the article literally says: "[The] PETase [enzyme] is secreted by a plastic-munching bacterium called Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6. This bug was discovered in 2016 at a PET-bottle recycling plant in Sakai, Japan."

sarabande 9y ago
I think a more charitable interpretation of the parent comment was that of a doomsday thought experiment/rhetorical question: What would happen if these bacteria evolved to really be able to cause damage one day? The article only briefly remarks: > If these hurdles can be surmounted, though, PETase might make a dent in the scourge of plastic waste.
- goodmachine 9y ago
  FWIW, this 'doomsday scenario' is roughly the plot of a 1979 Judge Dredd episode (which I remember fondly) - featuring a world in which support bridges were made of 'plasteen' under attack from a novel bacterium: SOMETHING'S EATING IT AWAY The Great Plasteen Disaster https://dreddalert.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/judge-dredd-great-plasteen-disaster.html https://dreddalert.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/judge-dredd-great-...
  - JohnL4 9y ago
    Also, a book published in 1972, _Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters_. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59
  - cavanasm 9y ago
    Also (sort of) the crux of one of my favorite horror manga, Biomeat: Nectar, which is about a genetically engineered animal that eats "garbage" (basically anything but metal, glass, and stone IIRC) and can be harvested for food, but escapes from the garbage plants and starts going after people. They're not microbes though, but more like nightmare fuel looking bugs about the size of a face, with the mouth on the bottom, and they reproduce via budding (like a hydra).
majewsky 9y ago
> This bug Is it just me, or is "bug" a weird choice of words here? To me, a "bug" is an insect, and I don't think that a bacterium would have six legs. :)
- Luc 9y ago
  'Bugs' is also slang for 'germs'.
- taco_emoji 9y ago
  Disappointing that you got downvoted for what appears to be an honest question, but as others are saying, "bug" is often used in slang for microbes (especially disease-causing ones).
- evincarofautumn 9y ago
  “Bug” is sometimes used to refer to an illness caused by a bacterium or virus, as in “I can’t come into work today; I must have caught that [flu/stomach] bug that’s going around”. It’s not such a stretch to use it colloquially to refer to the microorganism itself.
- nkrisc 9y ago
  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug Third definition. Using "bug" here is hardly a stretch.
- Symmetry 9y ago
  Generally people will use "bug" to refer to any arthropod or, more loosely, to several classes of small thing including bacteria that seem animal-like but not bacteria that seem plant-like. Generally all of these usages have connotations of being bad but also not very important. For instance someone might refer to the common cold as a "bug" but generally not to Ebola.

by akavel 9y ago

sarabande 9y ago

I think a more charitable interpretation of the parent comment was that of a doomsday thought experiment/rhetorical question: What would happen if these bacteria evolved to really be able to cause damage one day? The article only briefly remarks: > If these hurdles can be surmounted, though, PETase might make a dent in the scourge of plastic waste.

goodmachine 9y ago
FWIW, this 'doomsday scenario' is roughly the plot of a 1979 Judge Dredd episode (which I remember fondly) - featuring a world in which support bridges were made of 'plasteen' under attack from a novel bacterium: SOMETHING'S EATING IT AWAY The Great Plasteen Disaster https://dreddalert.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/judge-dredd-great-plasteen-disaster.html https://dreddalert.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/judge-dredd-great-...
- JohnL4 9y ago
  Also, a book published in 1972, _Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters_. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59
- cavanasm 9y ago
  Also (sort of) the crux of one of my favorite horror manga, Biomeat: Nectar, which is about a genetically engineered animal that eats "garbage" (basically anything but metal, glass, and stone IIRC) and can be harvested for food, but escapes from the garbage plants and starts going after people. They're not microbes though, but more like nightmare fuel looking bugs about the size of a face, with the mouth on the bottom, and they reproduce via budding (like a hydra).

majewsky 9y ago

> This bug Is it just me, or is "bug" a weird choice of words here? To me, a "bug" is an insect, and I don't think that a bacterium would have six legs. :)

Luc 9y ago
'Bugs' is also slang for 'germs'.
taco_emoji 9y ago
Disappointing that you got downvoted for what appears to be an honest question, but as others are saying, "bug" is often used in slang for microbes (especially disease-causing ones).
evincarofautumn 9y ago
“Bug” is sometimes used to refer to an illness caused by a bacterium or virus, as in “I can’t come into work today; I must have caught that [flu/stomach] bug that’s going around”. It’s not such a stretch to use it colloquially to refer to the microorganism itself.
nkrisc 9y ago
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug Third definition. Using "bug" here is hardly a stretch.
Symmetry 9y ago
Generally people will use "bug" to refer to any arthropod or, more loosely, to several classes of small thing including bacteria that seem animal-like but not bacteria that seem plant-like. Generally all of these usages have connotations of being bad but also not very important. For instance someone might refer to the common cold as a "bug" but generally not to Ebola.