{
  "id": 1567231,
  "title": "Engineered E. coli convert kimchi radish waste into biodegradable bioplastic",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/engineered-e-coli-convert-kimchi-radish-waste-into-biodegradable",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-17T21:00:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-coli-kimchi-radish-biodegradable-bioplastic.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Every year, approximately 132,000 metric tons of radish waste are generated during kimchi production in South Korea. Currently, about 94% of this by-product waste is discarded as food waste or sent to waste treatment facilities, causing environmental harm and disposal costs. Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi (WiKim) have developed a strategy to convert these agricultural by-products into biodegradable bioplastics using engineered Escherichia coli.\n\nThe study, published in Bioresource Technology, utilized a genome-scale model-guided microbial engineering approach. This involved transcriptomic analysis combined with a transcriptome-constrained genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) to identify targets for metabolic engineering. Unlike traditional trial-and-error methods, this approach predicts genetic modifications that redirect metabolic flux toward bioplastic production, providing a new method for agricultural waste valorization and sustainable biomanufacturing.\n\nThe team started by enzymatically converting radish by-products into radish hydrolyzate, which was then used as the sole feedstock for engineered E. coli to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)), a biodegradable bioplastic. P(3HB) accounted for 71.95% of the dry cell weight of the engineered strain, a 78% increase compared to the parental strain. In fed-batch fermentation, the final P(3HB) concentration reached 5.75 g/L, with the polymer making up 75.60% of the dry cell weight. This demonstrates the feasibility of converting agricultural waste into biodegradable plastics through scalable microbial bioprocessing.",
  "summary": "Every year, thousands of tons of radish by-products generated during kimchi production are discarded despite containing valuable carbon and nutrient resources. Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi (WiKim) have developed a genome-scale model-guided microbial engineering strategy that enables these agricultural by-products to be converted into biodegradable bioplastics while rationally…",
  "key_points": [
    "South Korea generates 132,000 metric tons of kimchi radish waste annually.",
    "Engineered E. coli converts radish waste into 71.95% P(3HB) bioplastic.",
    "Fed-batch fermentation achieves 5.75 g/L P(3HB) concentration."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}