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Isolation and Characterization of Polyester-Based Plastics-Degrading Bacteria from Compost Soils

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Abstract

Four potential polyester-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from compost soils in Thailand. These bacteria exhibited strong degradation activity for polyester biodegradable plastics, such as polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), poly-(butylene succinate) (PBS) and polybutylene succinate-co-adipate (PBSA) as substrates. The strains, classified according to phenotypic characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence, belonging to the genera Actinomadura, Streptomyces and Laceyella, demonstrated the best polyester- degrading activities. All strains utilized polyesters as a carbon source, and yeast extract with ammonium sulphate was utilized as a nitrogen source for enzyme production. Optimization for polyester-degrading enzyme production by Actinomadura sp. S14, Actinomadura sp. TF1, Streptomyces sp. APL3 and Laceyella sp. TP4 revealed the highest polyester-degrading activity in culture broth when 1% (w/v) PCL (18 U/mL), 0.5% (w/v) PLA (22.3 U/mL), 1% (w/v) PBS (19.4 U/mL) and 0.5% (w/v) PBSA (6.3 U/mL) were used as carbon sources, respectively. All strains exhibited the highest depolymerase activities between pH 6.0–8.0 and temperature 40–60°C. Partial nucleotides of the polyester depolymerase gene from strain S14, TF1 and APL3 were studied. We determined the amino acids making up the depolymerase enzymes had a highly conserved pentapeptide catalytic triad (Gly-His-Ser-Met-Gly), which has been shown to be part of the esterase-lipase superfamily (serine hydrolase).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand

    P. Sriyapai

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand

    K. Chansiri

  3. Faculty of Environmental Culture and Ecotourism, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand

    T. Sriyapai

  4. Center of Excellence in Biosensors, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand

    P. Sriyapai, K. Chansiri & T. Sriyapai

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  1. P. Sriyapai
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  2. K. Chansiri
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  3. T. Sriyapai
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Correspondence to T. Sriyapai.

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Sriyapai, P., Chansiri, K. & Sriyapai, T. Isolation and Characterization of Polyester-Based Plastics-Degrading Bacteria from Compost Soils. Microbiology 87, 290–300 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261718020157

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