Microbial degradation of a widely used model polyethylene is restricted to medium- and long-chain alkanes and their oxidized derivatives.

ABSTRACT: Plastics are widely used materials, yet their chemical stability hinders biodegradation, exacerbating pollution on a global scale. Contaminated soils may foster microbes adapted to degrade plastics or derivatives, and these organisms and their enzymes offer promising avenues for the development of biotechnological recycling strategies. Here, two microbial communities originating from soil collected at a plastic-contaminated site in Norway were enriched to select for bacteria involved in the decomposition of a widely used, model polyethylene (low molecular weight, LMWPE; average carbon chain length of 279). We leveraged genome-resolved metatranscriptomics to identify active populations affiliated with Acinetobacter guillouiae and Pseudomonas sp., showing a suite of upregulated genes (includ

SUBMITTER: Sandholm RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12753306 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature