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A novel Bacillus velezensis strain with the ability to simultaneously biodegrade polystyrene microplastics and fungicide carbendazim
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Researchers isolated a new bacterial strain, Bacillus velezensis M1, from contaminated soil that can break down both polystyrene microplastics and the fungicide carbendazim simultaneously. Over 60 days, the bacterium reduced polystyrene mass by about 11% and carbendazim by nearly 57%, with even better performance when both pollutants were present together. The discovery suggests that naturally occurring soil bacteria could be harnessed for bioremediation of environments contaminated with multiple types of pollutants.
In this study, a novel bacterial strain, M1, capable of degrading both polystyrene (PS) microplastics and carbendazim, was isolated from soil heavily contaminated with microplastics and fungicide carbendazim, and was identified and determined to be Bacillus velezensis. During the 60-day cultivation period, degradation experiments with single pollutants demonstrated that, at a concentration of 1000 mg/L, the strain achieved mass reduction efficiency of 10.8 ± 0.95 % for PS microplastics and 56.64 ± 0.60 % for carbendazim. Remarkably, under co-exposure conditions with both pollutants (1000 mg/L each), attaining mass reduction efficiency of 6.60 ± 0.85 % for PS microplastics and 34.70 ± 2.52 % for carbendazim respectively. After 60 days of biodegradation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angle (WCA), high-temperature gel chromatography (GPC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed the biodegradation of PS microplastics by Bacterium M1 under different conditions. The biodegradation of carbendazim by bacteria under different conditions was confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. This study reports for the first time a novel bacterial strain capable of simultaneous degradation of both PS microplastics and carbendazim, providing a new approach to address composite organic pollution in the environment.
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Researchers tested three bacterial species, alone and in combinations, for their ability to break down polystyrene microplastics used as the sole food source. The combination of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Bacillus velezensis achieved the most impressive results, degrading 43.5 percent of the polystyrene in 60 days. The study suggests that carefully selected bacterial partnerships, rather than single species, may be more effective for biological degradation of plastic waste.
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Researchers discovered that a beneficial soil bacterium, Bacillus spizizenii, can break down polystyrene microplastics with nearly 86% efficiency over 30 days. Chemical analysis confirmed that the bacteria significantly altered the plastic's molecular structure, and microscopy showed visible surface degradation. The finding suggests that naturally occurring soil bacteria could potentially be harnessed as a biological tool for reducing microplastic pollution.
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Scientists isolated a bacterium called Exiguobacterium sp. CAP4 that can break down both microplastics and the antibiotic chloramphenicol at the same time in contaminated wastewater. This is significant because microplastics and antibiotics often pollute water together, and finding organisms that can degrade both could help clean up water supplies that people depend on.
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