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Lignocellulose-mediated selection of potential halophilic PET-degrading enzymes from mangrove soil
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Researchers incubated mangrove soil with lignocellulose or PET under varying salinity conditions and used metagenomics to identify 12 putative PETase enzymes, including two from Microbulbifer species with novel structural features, demonstrating that enriching environmental microbiomes with plant-derived polymers selectively amplifies plastic-degrading enzyme diversity in halophilic microbial communities.
Mangroves are ecosystems located at land-sea transition zones, where they are continuously exposed to plant biomass and plastic pollution. Their soils harbor extensive microbial diversity with potential for discovering polymer-degrading enzymes. Here, we perform a microcosm experiment to examine how mangrove soil microbial communities respond to inputs of lignocellulose or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the presence and absence of seawater, and to explore the selection of putative PET-active enzymes (PETases) using gene- and genome-resolved metagenomics. Incubation conditions lead to a gradual increase in salinity, resulting in the enrichment of halophilic taxa, including spore-forming bacteria and archaeal species, particularly in seawater-depleted treatments. Lignocellulose input is the primary driver of soil microbial community restructuring, followed by seawater presence. In dry, lignocellulose-amended microcosms (L treatment), microbial diversity is significantly reduced, while lignocellulolytic taxa within the phyla Bacillota and Actinomycetota are enriched. Twelve potential PETases are identified in the L treatment, sharing >70% sequence similarity with known PETases, and three are predicted to be thermostable. Two putative PETases from Microbulbifer species display distinct sequence and structural features, thereby expanding the currently limited PETase sequence landscape. This study demonstrates that perturbing environmental microbiomes with plant-derived polymers represents a promising strategy for capturing novel PETases.
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Lignocellulose-mediated selection of halophilic PET-degrading enzymes from mangrove soil
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Researchers used microcosm experiments with mangrove soil — an ecosystem exposed to both plant biomass and plastic pollution — to screen for halophilic enzymes capable of degrading PET, leveraging the soil's rich microbial diversity as a source of novel polymer-degrading candidates.
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Researchers engineered enrichment cultures from mangrove soil to select bacterial consortia capable of transforming polyethylene terephthalate (PET), finding via metagenome-assembled genomes that PET catabolism was distributed across multiple taxa harbouring putative novel PET-active hydrolases. They also described a novel species, Mangrovimarina plasticivorans, as a key consortium member containing genes for PET monomer metabolism.
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Researchers used metagenomics analysis to explore bacterial communities in mangrove sediments that may be capable of breaking down polypropylene plastic. The study compared microbial communities exposed to virgin and chemically pretreated polypropylene over several months. Evidence indicates that certain bacterial taxa in mangrove environments possess enzymes with potential polypropylene-degrading activity, suggesting possible biological pathways for plastic waste remediation.
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Researchers screened mangrove sediment and surface water bacteria for the ability to biodegrade polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics, successfully isolating four candidate strains. The identified bacteria showed measurable plastic degradation activity, highlighting mangrove ecosystems as a source of novel plastic-degrading microorganisms.
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Twenty-two bacteria isolated from plastic-contaminated mangrove sediments were screened for the ability to degrade common plastic polymers including PE, PP, PET, and PS, with nine isolates showing degradation activity. The findings suggest that mangrove ecosystems harbor microbes with potential for bioremediation of plastic pollution in marine and coastal environments.
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