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Growth kinetics and biodeterioration of polypropylene microplastics by Bacillus sp. and Rhodococcus sp. isolated from mangrove sediment
Summary
Researchers isolated two bacterial strains from mangrove sediments and tested their ability to break down polypropylene microplastics. Both Bacillus and Rhodococcus bacteria were able to use the plastic as a carbon source for growth, reducing the polymer mass by 4-6% over 40 days. The study provides evidence that naturally occurring soil bacteria have some capacity to biodegrade common microplastics, though the process is slow.
Interest in the biodegradation of microplastics is due to their ubiquitous distribution, availability, high persistence in the environment and deleterious impact on marine biota. The present study evaluates the growth response and mechanism of polypropylene (PP) degradation by Bacillus sp. strain 27 and Rhodococcus sp. strain 36 isolated from mangrove sediments upon exposure to PP microplastics. Both bacteria strains were able to utilise PP microplastic for growth as confirmed by the reduction of the polymer mass. The weight loss was 6.4% by Rhodococcus sp. strain 36 and 4.0% by Bacillus sp. strain 27 after 40days of incubation. PP biodegradation was further confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses, which revealed structural and morphological changes in the PP microplastics with microbial treatment. These analyses showed that the isolates can colonise, modify and utilise PP microplastics as carbon source.