International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation最新文献

{"title":"Assessing the deteriogenic vascular flora of castles and towers in Campania, Italy","authors":"Alessia Cozzolino ,&nbsp;Giuliano Bonanomi ,&nbsp;Ivana Vitasović-Kosić ,&nbsp;Giandomenico Amoroso ,&nbsp;Riccardo Motti","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106298","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106298","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biodeterioration is defined as the alteration of stone monuments, wall paintings, wood, paper, vegetal/animal fibers, and parchment artworks, caused by the combined action of physical and chemical factors produced by living organisms colonizing these substrates. The present study examines the role of vascular plants in the biodeterioration of castles and towers in Campania (southern Italy), analysing their relationships with building materials (substrates), exposure, distance from the sea, and elevation. The impact of plant colonization was assessed using the Hazard Index (HI), revealing substrate as the most influential factor both for species diversity and biodeterioration risk. Phanerophytes, known as the most aggressive biodeteriogens, decreased with increasing elevation, despite the greater presence of surrounding wooded areas. This pattern is likely related to the higher occurrence of limestone structures at inland and higher-altitude sites, which are less susceptible to colonization. Finally, distance from the sea and elevation showed no consistent effects on HI, although intermediate ranges exhibited lower HI values, possibly reflecting better maintenance practices at these sites. These findings underscore the need for site-specific conservation strategies that consider substrate vulnerability, such as the high bioreceptivity of tuff and the selective colonization of compact materials like piperno by <em>Capparis spinosa</em>, as well as the role of maintenance practices. The lower Hazard Index values observed in coastal and low-elevation sites suggest that regular interventions are effective in limiting plant-induced deterioration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"210 ","pages":"Article 106298"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microbial metabolic remodeling under the electric field: A CUE-centered mechanism for enhanced petroleum bioremediation","authors":"Ruijuan Fan ,&nbsp;Ke Li ,&nbsp;Yang Lin ,&nbsp;Bingyan Yin ,&nbsp;Xingfu Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106307","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106307","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores how bio-electrokinetic remediation (BIO-EK) enhances pollutant degradation by modulating carbon use efficiency (CUE) and microbial functionality. After 100 d, the BIO-EK group achieved a 55.8 ± 1.8% (n = 3) total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) degradation rate, significantly higher than bioremediation (BIO, 39.3 ± 2.0%, n = 3) and electrokinetics (EK, 38.7 ± 1.4%, n = 3), with total carbon (TC) content decreasing from 5.0 ± 0.03% (n = 3) to 3.5 ± 0.03% (n = 3), demonstrating its superior pollutant removal effectiveness. Correspondingly, its microbial CUE increased by 1.2-2.4 times, demonstrating that electrokinetic treatment shifted carbon allocation from respiration to biomass synthesis, which was supported by substantially higher microbial biomass and growth rates. Functionally, electrokinetic treatment enriched the abundance of genes for degrading alkanes, fatty acids, and PAHs, activating core metabolic routes such as β-oxidation and the TCA cycle. This was specifically manifested as a marked increase in the abundance of genes encoding pivotal enzymes and their inferred metabolic potential, particularly those related to medium-chain alkane β-oxidation and aromatic hydrocarbon ring cleavage. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that electrokinetic treatment reversed the metabolic trade-off between CUE and degradation in the BIO group, enabling microbes to allocate carbon to both growth and degradation simultaneously. It also showed that electrokinetics enhanced the statistical associations between soil properties, functional genes, and TPH removal, consistent with the proposed causal model. Thus, BIO-EK establishes a highly efficient degradation pathway through the synergistic regulation of environment, genetics, and microbial metabolism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"210 ","pages":"Article 106307"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"BDE-28 degradation using Perinereis gut bacterium: optimization, pathways, and kinetic study","authors":"Pooja Thathola ,&nbsp;Moumita Bhowmik ,&nbsp;Soumya Haldar","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106316","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106316","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of significant environmental concern due to their toxicity and resistance to degradation. The present study demonstrates the efficient biodegradation of 2,4,4′-tribromodiphenyl ether (BDE-28) through <em>Perinereis</em> sp. associated gut bacterium (PGC-2). Under optimized conditions (pH 7.0, 35 °C, 5% inoculum, 50 mg L⁻¹ BDE-28), complete degradation was achieved within 144 h, following a reductive debromination pathway confirmed by GC-MS analysis. Kinetic modeling revealed concentration-dependent growth behavior best described by Richards and Logistic models at high and low BDE-28 levels, respectively. These findings establish polychaete gut microbiota as a previously unexplored and effective biological resource for the biodegradation and detoxification of brominated flame retardants, advancing sustainable bioremediation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"210 ","pages":"Article 106316"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metabolic strategies of sulfate-reducing microorganisms under energy-limited conditions in oil reservoirs","authors":"Lu Wang ,&nbsp;Panqing Qi ,&nbsp;Aiping Zheng ,&nbsp;Nan Ji ,&nbsp;Minghui Zhou ,&nbsp;Xinmin Song ,&nbsp;Dong Song ,&nbsp;Siqi Li ,&nbsp;Yong Nie ,&nbsp;Weifeng Lv ,&nbsp;Xiao-Lei Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106314","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106314","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs, including both bacteria and archaea taxa) drive bio-corrosion and bio-souring in oil reservoirs. However, the adaptation strategies of SRMs to energy-limited conditions, induced by nutrient competition and metabolic inhibition, challenge the prolonged effectiveness of traditional control strategies. This study provides a comprehensive genomic synthesis of the metabolic strategies employed by SRMs under such constraints to sustain energy metabolism and intracellular redox balance. A total of 752 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from eight oil reservoir blocks were reconstructed and 60 SRM genomes were identified. Phylogenetic and functional analyses revealed pronounced metabolic heterogeneity between oxidative and reductive DsrAB lineages. Beyond canonical sulfate reduction, SRMs encode a diverse array of sulfur–sulfur bond–cleaving enzymes and hydrogenases, which contribute to redox balancing and energy conservation under energy-limited conditions. Furthermore, the widespread presence of conductive structures including pili and outer-membrane multiheme cytochromes encoded within uncultured SRMs suggests a significant potential for direct or flavin-mediated interspecies electron transfer. Collectively, these findings propose a mechanistic framework for understanding SRM resilience under the energy-limited conditions. These genomic insights also advance the fundamental basis for developing targeted strategies for bio-corrosion and bio-souring control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"210 ","pages":"Article 106314"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Subsurface mangrove rhizosphere sediment serving as a sink for endocrine-disrupting compounds and selecting archaea and bacteria and their interacting networks","authors":"Shan Zhang ,&nbsp;Yihe Zhang ,&nbsp;Jiahui Yan ,&nbsp;Guoyong Lu ,&nbsp;Ji-Dong Gu ,&nbsp;Zhong Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106306","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106306","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mangrove sediments are found to be an important sink for endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), but their profiles over sediment depth in relation to archaeal and bacterial communities in the subsurface rhizospheres is still unknown. Here we quantified six EDCs (E1, E2, EE2, E3, NP and BPA) in both rhizosphere (R1–R3) and non-rhizosphere (NR1–NR3) sediment cores (5–20 cm) from a subtropical mangrove and analyzed the 16S rRNA gene sequencing data with co-occurrence network analysis and multivariate statistics. Estrogens and BPA reached much higher concentrations in the subsurface rhizosphere layers than in adjacent non-rhizosphere sediments, whereas NP and BPA also showed a mid-depth accumulation maximum in the non-rhizosphere, indicating a depth-dependent accumulation zone for different EDCs. Rhizosphere sediments hosted a richer but more uneven archaeal and bacterial assemblages, and PCoA revealed a consistent difference between rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere communities. Taxonomic patterns showed that rhizosphere profiles favoured archaeal lineages such as Nitrosopumilaceae, Bathyarchaeia and Woesearchaeales, together with Desulfosarcinaceae among bacteria, while non-rhizosphere sediments contained higher proportions of Bathyarchaeia, the SG8-4 lineage and Anaerolineae. Co-occurrence network results were strongly modular, and Zi–Pi analysis identified only a small set of archaeal and bacterial connector taxa, including Lokiarchaeia, Methanomicrobiaceae, <em>Candidatus Nitrosopelagicus</em>, Methanocella and several sulfate-reducing or syntrophic bacteria, as candidates for keystone roles under EDC exposure. Mantel tests and canonical correspondence analysis indicated that gradients of EDCs together with ammonium and total nitrogen significantly structured rhizosphere communities, whereas non-rhizosphere assemblages were driven mainly by nitrogen species and salinity. These findings highlight subsurface mangrove rhizospheres as functionally important zones where EDC retention is tightly coupled to redox-active microbiota, and they point to specific archaeal and bacterial taxa that can serve as practical targets for understanding and monitoring natural attenuation in coastal wetlands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"210 ","pages":"Article 106306"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biological treatment of sulfate-laden acidic wastewater in a semi-batch reactor: Performance optimization and microbial community dynamics","authors":"Sreekanth Yadav Golla ,&nbsp;Guntakala Venkatanaga Chandra ,&nbsp;Pranab Kumar Ghosh","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106276","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106276","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sulfate-laden acidic wastewater generated from industries and mining activities is a global concern due to its adverse effects. To address this challenge, a bench-scale sulfidogenic semi-batch reactor (SmBR) inoculated with mixed bacterial culture was operated for 281 days to evaluate the effect of sulfate (500–4500 mg/L) and acidic conditions (pH 6.0-1.85) on sulfate removal and microbial communities. The optimum <span><math><mrow><mtext>COD</mtext><mo>/</mo><msubsup><mtext>SO</mtext><mn>4</mn><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>‐</mo></mrow></msubsup></mrow></math></span> ratio and HRT were found to be 0.7 and 4 days, respectively. The SmBR achieved a sulfate and COD removal of 80 % and 87 %, respectively, with an influent sulfate concentration of 4500 mg/L and a <span><math><mrow><mtext>COD</mtext><mo>/</mo><msubsup><mtext>SO</mtext><mn>4</mn><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>‐</mo></mrow></msubsup></mrow></math></span> ratio of 0.7, and the effluent pH increased from 2.0 to 7.2. Further decreasing the feed pH to 1.85 resulted in a sharp decline in the reactor performance, which was recovered within 30 days by adjusting operational conditions. Electron flow from lactate to sulfate reduction varied between 86 % and 91 %, demonstrating the effective utilization of substrate. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that the decrease in influent pH from 6.0 to 2.5 led to a shift in microbial diversity towards a specialized group of SRB, particularly <em>Desulfobacterota (Desulfovibrio genus),</em> which increased from 12 to 45 %, emphasizing their crucial role in sulfate removal. The mixed bacterial culture developed in the SmBR could be suitable for treating industrial sulfate-laden acidic wastewaters such as acid mine drainage, lead acid battery manufacturing wastewater, and secondary lead smelting plant wastewater. The findings of this study offer a sustainable bioremediation approach for treating sulfate-laden acidic wastewater.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 106276"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145922623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification and characterization of a novel monooxygenase for 5-hydroxypicolinic acid degradation in gram-positive bacteria","authors":"Qimiao Xu ,&nbsp;Fuyu Song ,&nbsp;Yinhu Jiang ,&nbsp;Ye Song ,&nbsp;Qi Zhao ,&nbsp;Jian He ,&nbsp;Lingling Zhao ,&nbsp;Jiguo Qiu","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106286","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106286","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>5-Hydroxypicolinic acid (5-HPA) is a naturally occurring pyridine derivative endowed with notable antimicrobial activity and substantial pharmaceutical relevance. Despite its significance, the microbial catabolism of 5-HPA was not fully elucidated, especially in Gram-positive bacteria. In this study, we identified and characterized HppM, a novel NADH/FAD-dependent monooxygenase from <em>Rhodococcus rhodochrous</em>, which catalyzes the conversion of 5-HPA to 2,5-dihydroxypyridine (2,5-DHP). HppM shares approximately 38 % sequence identity with another 5-HPA monooxygenase from <em>Alcaligenes faecalis</em>. HppM exhibited strict substrate specificity for 5-HPA with an apparent <em>K</em>_m value of 121.7 μΜ, and showed no detectable activity against several structural analogs. AutoDock modeling identified Gln43 and His220 in catalysis, a prediction that was validated by site-directed mutagenesis: Ala substitutions at either position completely abolished activity. Bioinformatic surveys revealed that <em>hppM</em>, located within a gene cluster (<em>hpp</em>), is widely distributed across diverse Gram-positive genera, including <em>Dietzia</em>, <em>Janibacter</em>, <em>Mycobacterium</em>, and <em>Nesterenkonia</em>. These findings extend current understanding of microbial 5-HPA catabolic diversity and lay the groundwork for engineering of Gram-positive biocatalysts for 5-HPA degradation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 106286"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mineralization of 13C-labeled polyethylene by marine Bacillus velezensis MT9","authors":"Kejvin Bajo ,&nbsp;Boris Kolvenbach ,&nbsp;Philippe F.-X. Corvini ,&nbsp;Fabio Fava ,&nbsp;Noura Raddadi","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106294","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106294","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the marine environment, plastic debris breaks down into smaller entities known as microplastics. Polyethylene (PE) is the main source of microplastics. In a previous study, we showed that marine <em>Bacillus</em> MT9 and <em>Vreelandella</em> strains (MT1, MT11) were able to degrade untreated PE based on SEM, gravimetric weight loss and FTIR analysis. In this study, we performed stable isotope tracing assays, measuring the production of ¹³CO₂ from ¹³C-PE powder (untreated or UV-treated) incubated with <em>B. velezensis</em> MT9, <em>V. titanicae</em> MT11 or <em>V. venusta</em> MT1 isolates under aerobic conditions in the presence and absence of yeast extract as co-nutrient source. Only <em>B. velezensis</em> MT9 exhibited mineralization activities towards untreated and UV-treated ¹³C-PE with the highest ¹³C-mass loss of 0.199% recorded for UV-treated ¹³C-PE with yeast extract, after 14 days incubation. In this study, we demonstrated the mineralization of ¹³C-PE by <em>B. velezensis</em> MT9. Furthermore, we also confirmed that photodegradation of plastic is a key process to enhance the biodegradation of PE. These findings suggest that <em>Bacillus</em> sp. could potentially degrade PE plastic waste in marine environment, as they can slowly mineralize PE even when other nutrients are present.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 106294"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146170010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From macro-to microplastics: marine microalgae drive polystyrene degradation via EOM-mediated photochemical aging","authors":"Sufang Zhao ,&nbsp;Xuezhe Wen ,&nbsp;Haiming Xu ,&nbsp;Renju Liu ,&nbsp;Jiannan Wang ,&nbsp;Bin Zhi ,&nbsp;Xingyi Ma ,&nbsp;Zongze Shao","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106288","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106288","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The process of degradation and fragmentation of plastic into microplastics (MPs) by algae has been rarely addressed. Here we reported two marine algae capable of degrading polystyrene (PS) characterized as <em>Pseudochloris wilhelmii</em> K1 and <em>Jaaginema</em> sp. S1. Their PS degradation activity was confirmed by changes in plastic weight, chemical groups, and physical properties. K1 and S1 generated peak microplastic concentrations of 1.06 × 10⁷ and 2.23 × 10⁷ particles/L in light incubators, versus 7.33 × 10⁶ and 1.07 × 10⁷ particles/L under natural light. The results show that light exerted obvious influences on microplastic generation. The algal extracellular organic matter (EOM), particularly the humic acid-like fraction, significantly enhanced the photochemical aging of PS-MPs under natural sunlight irradiation. This aging process of MPs was predominantly mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by marine algal EOM, leading to 3.3–3.8 % weight loss, MPs changes including increased oxygen-containing functional groups, and a significant reduction in particle size. Therefore, the widespread marine algae unprecedently participate in plastic degradation, fragmentation and aggregation, thereby interfering with the fate of plastic debris in marine environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 106288"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) biodegradation efficiency of Bacillus pacificus SBAA07 isolated from Sundarbans mangrove sediments","authors":"Sumit Banerjee ,&nbsp;Subhajit Bisui ,&nbsp;Shidharth Sankar Ram ,&nbsp;Ivy Kanungo ,&nbsp;Anulipi Aich","doi":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106287","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ibiod.2026.106287","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) contamination in the environment poses a significant ecological threat and harm to human health, prompting extensive research into effective remediation strategies using both chemical and biological approaches. Among these, bioremediation using bacterial species isolated from diverse habitats has shown considerable promise. Recent studies indicate that the microbiota of mangrove ecosystems, shaped by extreme and stressed environmental conditions, may exhibit enhanced plastic-degrading capabilities. This study aims to isolate and characterize potent LDPE-degrading bacteria from the unique stressed sediments of the Sundarbans mangrove forest, India. Unlike earlier studies that primarily screened microbes using conventional enrichment method, the present work employed a targeted screening strategy based on lipolytic activity to identify efficient LDPE-degrading bacteria. The strain <em>Bacillus pacificus</em> SBAA07 (NCBI accession number: PQ626050) was isolated and characterized during this study. Unlike terrestrial isolates which often require pretreatment this strain effectively colonizes and degrades LDPE films achieving a notable 13.08 % ± 0.01 dry weight reduction in 42 days without any pretreatment. The biodegradation mechanism was comprehensively investigated using multiple analytical techniques. Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy suggests the oxidation of the polymer, showing the formation of carbonyl (1718 cm⁻¹) and hydroxyl groups. Raman spectroscopy further suggests possible biomolecular-like signature peaks associated with LDPE surface modifications on the treated film. Furthermore, a range of microscopic analyses using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed a significant topographical alteration including the formation of pits, cracks, and extensive surface erosion on the treated films compared to the smoother control. AFM showed that root mean square roughness (Rq) of the treated film was increased by 99.8 %. These findings collectively highlight <em>Bacillus pacificus</em> SBAA07 as a promising microbial species for future plastic bioremediation strategies and underscoring mangrove ecosystems as a valuable source for novel biocatalysts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13643,"journal":{"name":"International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 106287"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}