New Publication Alert 🚨: Our PBAT Plastic Biodegradation Study in Journal of Hazardous Materials

我們實驗室的 PBAT 塑膠生物降解研究成果登上 Journal of Hazardous Materials，🎉恭喜維崧！👏

我們實驗室與生技所林詩舜老師、工研院張勝隆博士、食科所呂廷璋老師團隊合作的研究“Synergistic enhancement of PBAT biodegradation by Purpureocillium lilacinum BA1S: Insights from transcriptomics and functional analyses”已正式刊登在環境科學領域頂尖期刊Journal of Hazardous Materials，主要研究工作是由博士班研究生曾維崧擔綱，成果令人振奮！

PBAT（聚己二酸對苯二甲酸丁二醇酯）是一種常見的生物可分解塑膠，常被應用在農業覆蓋膜和各式包裝材料中。雖然它標榜「可分解」，但在自然環境中卻分解得很慢，反而造成新的環境負擔。我們團隊鎖定一株能分解PBAT的真菌（Purpureocillium lilacinum BA1S），並發現了一些能顯著加速降解的策略，同時也鑑定出在此過程中扮演關鍵角色的基因與酵素。這些發現不僅讓我們更清楚理解 PBAT 如何被逐步分解並轉化為微生物可利用的養分，還為開發更高效、更永續的塑膠廢棄物管理方法開啟了新的方向。

詳細內容請參考以下連結：https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139699

Big news from our lab! 🎉

Our PBAT biodegradation study just dropped in Journal of Hazardous Materials! Huge shoutout to Wei-Sung Tseng, our brilliant Ph.D. student behind this work! 👏

In collaboration with Prof. Shih-Shun Lin (IOB/NTU), Dr. Sheng-Lung Chang (ITRI), and Prof. Ting-Jang Lu (FST/NTU), we explored how a little fungus, Purpureocillium lilacinum BA1S, can chow down on PBAT (aka poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate). Even though PBAT claims to be a “biodegradable” plastic but it seems that it isn’t always as biodegradable as it claims.

Turns out, we not only figured out how BA1S degrades PBAT but also found out ways to speed it up. By combining transcriptomics and functional analyses, we mapped out the key genes and enzymes making the magic happen. Think of it as catching PBAT red-handed while turning into "microbial snacks".

Why does this matter? "Biodegradable" PBAT is everywhere in agriculture and packaging, and if we want a future with less plastic pollution, we need smarter biodegradation hacks to manage plastic wastes.

Curious for the full scoop (and the science-y details)?

Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139699

By Roy