Plastics are widely used materials that pose an ecological challenge because their wastes are difficult to degrade. Embedding enzymes and biomachinery within polymers could enable the biodegradation and disposal of plastics. However, enzymes rarely function under conditions suitable for polymer processing. Here, we report degradable living plastics by harnessing synthetic biology and polymer engineering. We engineered Bacillus subtilis spores harboring the gene circuit for the xylose-inducible secretory expression of Burkholderia cepacia lipase (BC-lipase). The spores that were resilient to stresses during material processing were mixed with poly(caprolactone) to produce living plastics in various formats. Spore incorporation did not compromise the physical properties of the materials. Spore recovery was triggered by eroding the plastic surface, after which the BC-lipase released by the germinated cells caused near-complete depolymerization of the polymer matrix. This study showcases a method for fabricating green plastics that can function when the spores are latent and decay when the spores are activated and sheds light on the development of materials for sustainability.

塑料是广泛使用的材料，由于其废物难以降解，因此对生态造成挑战。将酶和生物机械嵌入聚合物中可以实现塑料的生物降解和处置。然而，酶很少在适合聚合物加工的条件下发挥作用。在这里，我们利用合成生物学和聚合物工程报告了可降解的活性塑料。我们改造了枯草芽孢杆菌孢子，其含有木糖诱导分泌表达洋葱伯克霍尔德氏菌脂肪酶（BC-脂肪酶）的基因电路。将在材料加工过程中对应力具有弹性的孢子与聚己内酯混合，以生产各种形式的活性塑料。孢子的掺入不会损害材料的物理性能。孢子恢复是通过侵蚀塑料表面来触发的，之后发芽细胞释放的BC-脂肪酶导致聚合物基质几乎完全解聚。这项研究展示了一种制造绿色塑料的方法，这种塑料可以在孢子潜伏时发挥作用，并在孢子被激活时腐烂，并为可持续材料的开发提供线索。