Synergistic bioremediation: Fungal-bacterial partnership degrades LDPE microplastics twice as fast

Abstract

Microplastics have recently emerged as one of the most critical environmental problems. LDPE has become one of the most extensively used plastic polymers, and it has a significant potential for microplastic production. The present study used a fungal-bacterial co-culture (Bacillus velezensis EBL50 and Sarocladium strictum EBL60) to degrade microplastics. The co-culture resulted in 26.3 % weight loss after 60 days—double that of fungal mono-cultures (13.2 %) and four times that of bacterial mono-cultures (6.8 %)—reducing LDPE's half-life from 602 days (bacteria alone) to 134 days. SEM revealed significant surface erosion, while FTIR and TGA indicated structural and thermal destabilisation. GC–MS analysis revealed the presence of oxidative degradation products, indicating enzymatic degradation. The findings highlight fungal-bacterial synergism as a potent and environmentally friendly method for accelerating microplastic bioremediation.