Frontiers in Microbiology : Development of plastic-degrading microbial consortia by induced selection in microcosms

In this link  you have access to the paper recently published in the “Frontier in Microbiology” on the development of plastic-degrading microbial consortia by induced selection in microcosms.

This article argues the need to find biotechnological solutions to address the growing problem of environmental pollution caused by plastic waste.

It explains the strategy used in the framework of the Recover project for the selection of natural consortia, including plastic-contaminated microcosms, followed by selective enrichment, which has resulted in stable consortia with the ability to degrade the target polymer, LLDPE. In addition, mention is made of the development of a sequential and selective enrichment protocol from an artificially contaminated microcosm; a protocol that is postulated as an excellent technique to obtain stable microbial consortia capable of growing at the expense of LLDPE in film or powder form.

The results obtained from the work show that the plastic powder facilitates microbial growth compared to its use in film form. This finding is relevant as it suggests that optimisation of microbial growth conditions is a critical factor in the biodegradation of plastics.

This article published in the journal Frontier in Microbiology is an important contribution to the field of plastic degradation biotechnology.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1143769/full