By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel

In a new publication, researchers use paper waste to feed Teredinibacter turnerae bacteria strains that in turn produce high-value antibiotics and enzymes, such as Turnercyclamycin and Tartrolon E. (Image credit: Gerton et al. 2025).

Bacteria often get a bad rap, but did you know that only about 2% of known bacteria cause disease? Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of the antibiotics we use to fight illness come from bacteria. And bacteria are also a vital source of enzymes needed to turn paper and agricultural waste into useful products, like renewable biofuels.

That said, producing enzymes and antibiotics through traditional methods can be costly. What if you could produce both at the same time while also reducing paper waste?

This is exactly what researchers at the University of Utah and Northeastern University’s Ocean Genome Legacy Center demonstrate in a new published paper. They examined two beneficial bacteria that help a particular type of wood-eating clam, known as a shipworm, digest wood. In the study, the researchers showed that these bacteria can grow on many kinds of paper waste products, such as printer paper, cardboard, and coffee filters, while at the same time making high-value antibiotics and enzymes. This biosynthetic “two-for-the-price-of-one” process may help cut production costs for both enzymes and antibiotics. Using waste products as a food source for bacteria can further lower costs while helping to sustainably reduce paper waste.

What is also exciting is that two types of bacteria used in the study originated from OGL’s biorepository, where we take pride in providing unique and rare biological materials to support groundbreaking scientific research.

Want to help advance future genomic studies? Support OGL here.