Polyethylene is degraded by the deep-sea Acinetobacter venetianus bacterium

Polyethylene is a plastic pollutant impacting marine life, calling for advanced remediation methods such as biodegradation. However, there is actually limited information on polyethylene-degrading bacteria in the marine environment. Here, we studied bacterial degradation of polyethylene and associated phthalates additives using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, gel permeation chromatography and genomic and transcriptomic techniques. Results show that a deep-sea bacteria, Acinetobacter venetianus F1, can degrade 12.2