Microbe‐mediated biodegradation of microplastics from wastes

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) with slow degradation rates carry toxins and pathogens from surroundings, accumulate and pollute the environment. They bio‐accumulate on humans and other lifeforms leading to health concerns, including inflammatory lesions, oxidative stress and increased cancer risk, thus requiring immediate remediation actions. This review summarizes, categorizes and analyses recent findings on MP source, transit and environmental toxicity and explores their microbe‐mediated breakdown. Various micro‐organisms such as fungi, bacteria, algae and protists interact with and build biofilm on MP surfaces and alter their surface morphology for their degradation. Pure strains and microbial consortia have been successfully able to degrade MPs. Extracellular enzymes are produced by these micro‐organisms that convert the complex recalcitrant polymeric structure of MP to simpler forms. Further, knowledge of factors associated with MP degradation along with the development of genetic tools enhances the rate of microbial degradation with consortium having an advantage over single bacterium‐mediated MP transformation, which has been discussed.

Microplastic emerging pollutants – impact on microbiological diversity, diarrhea, antibiotic resistance, and bioremediation

“…Depending on the organisms, molecular mass and size of MPs and other environmental attributes greatly inuence the microbes-assisted transformation. 20,21 Microplastic recently got tremendous attention from researchers of biological and ecological domains. Although the term microplastic is debatable, 22 the environmental impact of microplastics has been extensively studied.…”