Work

Microbial degradation of microplastics: Effectiveness, challenges, and sustainable solutions

Year: 2025

Type: review

Abstract: • Bacteria and fungi possess specialized enzymatic systems capable of degrading diverse microplastic polymers, including PET, PE, and PP. • The efficiency of microbial degradation is influenced by polymer physicochemical properties, environmental conditions, and microbial strains • Major limitations include slow degradation kinetics, incomplete mineralization, and accumulation of toxic intermediate compounds. • Advances in enzyme engineering, microbial consortia optimization, and synthetic biology offer promising avenues to enhance microplastic biodegradation. • A deeper understanding of microbial ecology, metabolic pathways, and interspecies interactions is essential for microplastic mitigation Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic particles ranging from 1 µm to 5 mm, have emerged as pervasive contaminants in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, posing significant ecological and human health risks. Their sources are broadly categorized as primary, such as microbeads, microfibres, paints and pharmaceutical additives, and secondary, which result from the degradation of larger plastic products. This growing concern of MPs led to development of different mitigation techniques but the recent advancements in microbial biodegradation present a promising approach to mitigating MPs pollution. Thus, microbial biodegradation could play a crucial role in developing sustainable solutions to tackle global MPs pollution. This review explores the potential of various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and algae, in degrading MPs through enzymatic processes, thereby shortening the half-life of these pollutants. A detailed examination of the degradation mechanisms of commonly used polymers such as polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride highlights the efficacy and limitations of microbial biodegradation. Despite the promising capabilities of certain strains, the overall weight loss rate of MPs remains quite low, typically ranging from 0 to 15%, necessitating further investigation into optimizing enzymatic activity and environmental conditions. Advancements in metagenomics and enzyme engineering offer pathways to enhance degradation efficiency, potentially achieving up to 90% degradation within 10 hrs under optimized conditions. This review underscores the need for comprehensive research to identify key microbial strains and enzymes involved, understand their degradation pathways, and investigate the influence of different environmental matrices on biodegradation processes.

Source: Current Research in Microbial Sciences

DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100495

Authors: Priya Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Kirpa Ram, Ajay Kumar, Rajan Kumar Gupta, Laurent Dufossé

Institutions: Banaras Hindu University, Amity University, University of Reunion Island

Language: English

Topic: Microplastics and Plastic Pollution

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Responsible consumption and production, Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,680