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The role of Bacillus cereus and Luteimonas sp. as plastic degraders on phosphorus uptake by pak choi plants
Summary
Tiny plastic pieces are building up in farm soil and blocking plants from absorbing important nutrients like phosphorus, which hurts crop growth. Scientists found that a specific bacteria called Bacillus cereus can break down these microplastics and help plants absorb more nutrients, which could lead to better harvests and reduce plastic pollution in our food-growing areas. This matters because healthier crops and less plastic in soil means safer, more nutritious food for everyone.
The accumulation of microplastics in agricultural land interferes with phosphorus nutrient uptake and inhibits plant growth, thereby reducing crop production.Microplastic-degrading bacteria can be used as biological agents to reduce microplastic accumulation and increase nutrient uptake.This study aimed to analyze the types of plasticdegrading bacterial isolates, the types of plastic, and their interactions with plastic degradation and phosphorus nutrient uptake in Pak choi plants grown in soil to identify the optimal treatment combination.The microplastic materials used consisted of silver plastic mulch made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polybags made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), fertilizer bags made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and straws made of polypropylene (PP).The study was conducted using a factorial experimental design with a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of two factors, namely the type of bacterial isolate (Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579, Luteimonas sp.ZGLJ41, and control without bacteria), and plastic type (silver plastic mulch-HDPE, polybag-LDPE, fertilizer bag-PET, straw-PP) with 3 replicates, resulting in 36 experimental units.The results showed that the combination of Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and polybag-LDPE resulted in the highest plastic degradation (3.08%) and an increase in plant phosphorus uptake (66.6%) compared to the control.The Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 isolate showed the highest microplastic reduction, with an average degradation of 2.43% over 45 days, supported by a high bacterial population density.The type of plastic that degraded most easily was LDPE polybags, with a degradation percentage of 1.78%.