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Degradation of polystyrene by tropical bacterial and fungal isolates
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This study isolated bacteria and fungi from tropical soil and tested their ability to degrade polystyrene plastic as a sole carbon source, finding measurable weight reduction and chemical breakdown products after seven weeks. Identifying tropical microorganisms capable of biodegrading plastic is a step toward biological solutions for plastic waste management.
Plastic waste is one of the major contributing factors to the growth of municipal solid wastes globally. It is a threat to public health and negatively impact the aquatic and terrestrial animals due to its persistence in the environment. Bacterial and fungal isolates were tested for their ability to degrade polystyrene. The cultures were grown on mineral salts medium supplemented with polystyrene as the sole carbon source in 250 mL conical flasks. The polystyrene reduced from 1 g (week 0) to 0.7g (week 7). Statistical analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) shows a significant difference between the reduction in weight of polystyrene in the experimental flask compared to the control (P<0.05). Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis of biodegradation products shows that some toxic polystyrene constituents such as O-xylene, cis-9-hexadecenal and 3-phenol pentadecyl were removed.
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Researchers investigated whether soil bacteria could biodegrade polystyrene, a plastic historically considered highly resistant to natural degradation since studies dating to the 1970s first examined its environmental persistence. They found evidence that certain soil bacterial communities can break down polystyrene, suggesting a potential biological pathway for remediating this persistent plastic pollutant in terrestrial and marine environments.
Degradation and potential metabolism pathway of polystyrene by bacteria from landfill site
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This study identified bacteria from landfill soil capable of degrading polystyrene microplastics, characterizing the microbial community involved and elucidating potential metabolic pathways for polystyrene breakdown. The findings support the potential for bioremediation of this otherwise recalcitrant plastic.
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Researchers isolated psychrotrophic bacteria from Antarctic soil and evaluated their ability to deteriorate untreated commercial polystyrene, demonstrating that polar microorganisms can utilize polystyrene microplastics as a carbon source for biodegradation.
Biodegradation and Bioremediation of Polymer by Microbial Assisted Novel Process
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Researchers isolated bacteria from sewage soil and tested their ability to degrade polystyrene and polyurethane foams, identifying two strains — Pseudomonas aeruginosa and another species — with degradation potential. Microbial degradation of plastic foams could offer a biological tool for reducing plastic waste before it fragments into microplastics.
Polystyrene Microplastics Degradation by Microbial Consortium From Jakarta Bay
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Researchers isolated microbial consortia from Jakarta Bay that demonstrated the ability to degrade polystyrene microplastics. The bacterial communities, sourced from biofilm-covered plastic waste in the bay, showed measurable degradation of polystyrene over the study period. The findings suggest that naturally occurring marine microorganisms in polluted environments may have evolved capabilities that could be harnessed for bioremediation of plastic waste.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.