Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1128/aem.01060-23
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Comparative biodegradation analysis of three compostable polyesters by a marine microbial community
Author Meyer Cifuentes, I.E.; Degenhardt, J.; Neumann-Schaal, M.; Jehmlich, N. ORCID logo ; Ngugi, D.K.; Öztürk, B.
Source Titel Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Year 2023
Department MOLSYB
Volume 89
Issue 12
Page From e01060-23
Language englisch
Topic T9 Healthy Planet
Supplements https://journals.asm.org/doi/suppl/10.1128/aem.01060-23/suppl_file/aem.01060-23-s0001.pdf
Keywords plastic; marine microbiology; biodegradation; hydrolase
Abstract Biodegradable plastics are one of the possible solutions for reducing plastic waste, yet the mechanisms and organisms involved in their degradation in the aquatic environment remain understudied. In this study, we have enriched a microbial community from North Sea water and sediment, capable of growing on the polyester poly(butylene succinate). This culture was grown on two other biodegradable polyesters, polycaprolactone and a poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blend. The differences between microbial community structure and biodegradation activity on these three polymers were determined by metagenomics, metaproteomics, and respirometry analysis. In this study, we observed that the polymer type drives the community structure and determines its biodegradation capability. When the PBS-enriched culture grew on the poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blend, the community was more diverse, yet showed the lowest biodegradation percentage, while poly(butylene succinate) and polycaprolactone resulted in a less diverse community but much higher biodegradation activity. The dominating species were Alcanivorax sp., Thalassobius sp., or Pseudomonas sp., depending on the substrate. In general, we have observed that Gammaproteobacteria were more abundant and active within the biofilm on the polymers and Alphaproteobacteria within the free-living fraction of the enrichments. Three putative hydrolases were recombinantly expressed and their hydrolytic activity on all polymers tested was verified. In conclusion, we showed that all three plastics can be biodegraded by bacteria naturally occurring within the marine environment.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=28420
Meyer Cifuentes, I.E., Degenhardt, J., Neumann-Schaal, M., Jehmlich, N., Ngugi, D.K., Öztürk, B. (2023):
Comparative biodegradation analysis of three compostable polyesters by a marine microbial community
Appl. Environ. Microb. 89 (12), e01060-23 10.1128/aem.01060-23