User:Arnavgulani/Comamonas testosteroni

Discovery
Comamonas testosteroni is a Gram-negative soil bacterium. found in water, soil, and plants. Strain I2gfp has been used in bioaugmentation trials, in attempts to treat the industrial byproduct 3-chloroaniline. It was first classified as a human pathogen in 1987 according to the National Library of Medicine. After years of testing, it has been revealed that it can digest certain plastics.

Benefits
Plastic is not organic and can take years to decompose. It is bad for our environment as it increases global warming and pollution. After discovering that comamonas testosteroni can eat plastic there is hope that it can bring major environmental benefits. Scholars from Northwestern have gone as far as to call it “nature’s plastic recycling center". There is also optimism that scientists can study how comamonas testosteroni digests plastic and replicate it artificially and more efficiently.

Health Risks
Since these organisms have low virulence, they can cause human diseases. They can be found in the respiratory tract, the abdomen, the urinary system, and the central nervous system. It can cause episodes of vomiting followed by watery diarrhea. Physical examination revealed a pulse rate of 120 beats/min and a blood pressure of 100/60 mm Hg. In addition, they produce a lot of waste and pollutants when digesting plastic. Comamonas tesosteroni strains could not degrade estrogens.