Newly studied bacterium eats over half of compostable plastic in 45 days
Swamy TMC, Nagarathna SV, Reddy PV, Nayak AS
Soil Health
The compostable mulch films and bags many gardeners bury in beds and compost piles often break down slowly, and bacteria like this one point toward faster, cleaner breakdown in your soil.
Researchers found a bacterium that lives on compostable plastic and uses it as its only food. In 45 days it consumed about 53% of the plastic's weight, splitting it into small building blocks it then digested. That makes it a promising helper for cleaning up plastics that don't vanish as quickly as their labels suggest.
Key Findings
Gordonia sp. CN2K used PBAT as its sole carbon and energy source, with cell density rising from 1.26 × 10^8 to 6.26 × 10^8 CFU/mL over 90 days.
PBAT lost 52.8% of its weight within 45 days, with FTIR showing ester bond cleavage and SEM showing progressive surface erosion.
Breakdown products terephthalic acid and adipic acid each supported growth, 1,4-butanediol was not detected, and esterase plus ring-cleaving enzymes (protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase, catechol 1,2-dioxygenase) were active.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A soil-type bacterium called Gordonia sp. CN2K can eat a common compostable plastic, breaking down more than half of it in 45 days. It could help clean up biodegradable plastic waste that lingers in soil and compost.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Biodegradation and metabolic assimilation of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) by Gordonia sp. CN2K.
The increasing environmental burden of biodegradable plastics such as poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) necessitates a detailed understanding of their microbial degradation mechanisms...
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