Bioprospecting microbes for polyvinyl chloride plastic biodegradation: Potential and challenges

The implementation of microbes in plastic biodegradation

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Researchers reviewed the role of microorganisms in breaking down plastics, finding that certain bacteria and fungi can degrade specific plastic polymers — a promising but still limited natural mechanism that could inform future biotechnology solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.

Plastic Degradation and Utilization by Microbes: Challenges and Scope

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Plastic overaccumulation in ecosystems has driven interest in microbial degradation as a natural remediation tool, though the slow rate of natural depolymerization and the specificity of plastic-degrading enzymes remain major challenges. Expanding our understanding of microbial plastic utilization pathways could unlock biological strategies for reducing the microplastic precursors that fragment from larger plastic waste.

Unveiling a novel Neobacillus strain: Optimization, metabolomic, and genomic insights into polyvinyl chloride microplastic biodegradation

Microbial Biodegradation of Plastics and Microplastics: Recent Development

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Researchers reviewed recent advances in microbial biodegradation of plastics and microplastics, identifying key bacterial and fungal species capable of breaking down synthetic polymers and highlighting the biological mechanisms that could underpin scalable plastic waste remediation strategies.

Biodegradation of the Macroplastic Waste Using Microbial Approach

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Microbial biodegradation offers a promising approach to breaking down the growing tide of macroplastic waste entering ocean environments, with certain microorganisms capable of enzymatically depolymerizing synthetic polymers. Understanding and harnessing these microbial pathways is critical for reducing the downstream fragmentation of plastics into microplastics that contaminate marine food webs.