Degradation of low-density poly ethylene (LDPE) by Enterobacter cloacae AKS7: a potential step towards sustainable envir
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Degradation of low‑density poly ethylene (LDPE) by Enterobacter cloacae AKS7: a potential step towards sustainable environmental remediation Ranojit Kumar Sarker1 · Poulomi Chakraborty1 · Payel Paul1 · Ahana Chatterjee1 · Prosun Tribedi1 Received: 3 April 2020 / Revised: 19 May 2020 / Accepted: 26 May 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Plastics composed of polyethylene are non-biodegradable and are mostly harmful to the environment. Literature studies documented that the extent of microbial degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) seems to be insufficient and the underlying mechanisms of such degradation remain unexplored. In the present study, efforts were given to degrade LDPE by a recently isolated bacteria Enterobacter cloacae AKS7. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image, tensile strength, and weight loss analysis confirmed the efficient degradation of LDPE by AKS7. To investigate the mechanism, it was observed that with the progression of time, the extent of microbial colonization got increased considerably over the LDPE surface. It was also observed that the organism (AKS7) gradually increased the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) suggesting the formation of efficient biofilm over the LDPE surface. Furthermore, to comprehend the role of cell-surface hydrophobicity towards biofilm formation, two mutants of AKS7 were screened that showed a considerable reduction in cell-surface hydrophobicity in contrast to its wild type. The result showed that the mutants revealed compromised LDPE degradation than wild-type cells of AKS7. Further investigation revealed that the mutant cells of AKS7 were incapable of adhering to LDPE in contrast to wild-type cells. Thus, the results demonstrated that the cell-surface hydrophobicity of AKS7 favors the development of microbial biofilm over LDPE that leads to the enhanced degradation of LDPE by AKS7. Therefore, the organism holds the assurance to be considered as a promising bio-remediating agent for the sustainable degradation of polythene-based hazardous waste. Keywords Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) · Biodegradation · Enterobacter cloacae AKS7 · Biofilm · Cell-surface hydrophobicity Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.
Introduction
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-020-01926-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Plastics, a common derivative of petrochemicals have been widely used in several sectors including food packaging, instrument panels, jars, pipes, trays, etc. (Dey and Tribedi 2018). However, it is alarming to note that in the last three decades, the use of plastics, in general, has amplified at a petrifying rate as the plastic molecules are found to be malleable, cost effective, light weight, durable, and strong (Mukherjee et al. 2011). It was reported that nearly 57 million tons of plastic wastes are being generated globally (Balasubramanian et al. 2010). In this regard, a
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