Biodegradation最新文献

{"title":"Rapid isolation of indigenous degraders combined with autochthonous bioaugmentation for in situ remediation of groundwater contaminated with complex organic pollutants: a pilot-scale study","authors":"Zefan Liu,&nbsp;Qianbin Pan,&nbsp;Yulong Fu,&nbsp;Jiawen Yang,&nbsp;Hao Leng,&nbsp;Chaofeng Shen","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10321-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10321-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Organic contamination of groundwater associated with active industrial operations is becoming increasingly prominent. In situ bioremediation is widely considered an environmentally friendly and economically feasible remediation strategy. However, wastewater and solid wastes generated by certain industries, such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, often exhibit highly complex compositions, making the direct application of conventional bioaugmentation to contaminated groundwater challenging. Autochthonous bioaugmentation (ABA) represents a promising alternative approach that relies on the rapid acquisition of efficient indigenous degrading bacteria, although its engineering application potential has not yet been fully validated. In this study, a limiting dilution method for rapid isolation of indigenous degraders was employed using contaminated groundwater as the selective medium. Within one week, 30 potential indigenous chemical oxygen demand (COD) degrading strains were successfully isolated, including a <i>Bacillus</i> strain LH1 capable of rapidly removing COD. Subsequently, an in situ remediation experiment was conducted at the contaminated site. After 12 days, COD removal rates reached 46.4–70.9% at multiple monitoring points, with COD concentrations in several areas declining below the regulatory threshold established for the industrial park. This study presents a successful case of rapidly acquiring indigenous degrading bacteria to support ABA, providing an engineering-ready rapid technical pathway for the bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with complex organic pollutants.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148146900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification by Pseudomonas sp. HE-16: performance and mechanism for nitrogen and phosphorus removal","authors":"Yuhong Zhang,&nbsp;Fengyu Che,&nbsp;Jiaqi Xu,&nbsp;Jiabao Wang,&nbsp;Jiacheng Cai","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10318-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10318-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>To obtain efficient microbial resources for Simultaneous Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal (SNPR), <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. HE-16 was isolated and screened from the aerobic tank of the Yingkou Sewage Treatment Plant in China. This study, for the first time, systematically investigated its aerobic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal performance, metabolic pathways, and genomic characteristics. The results showed that strain HE-16 possesses strong heterotrophic nitrification, aerobic denitrification, and aerobic phosphorus removal abilities, achieving high removal efficiencies for NH₄^⁺–N, NO₃^⁻–N, NO₂^⁻–N, and PO₄^3⁻–P. Environmental factors-including carbon source, C/N, P/N, pH, temperature, shaking speed, and inoculation volume-were optimized using Plackett–Burman design, steepest ascent experiments, and response surface methodology (RSM), through which the optimal conditions were identified. Optimal conditions is C/N 7, pH 7, 34.15 ℃, shaking speed 140.27 r/min. Under optimal conditions, the removal efficiencies of NH₄⁺–N and PO₄^3⁻–P reached 56.24 ± 1.37 and 77.18 ± 0.65%, respectively, within 6 h. Whole-genome sequencing combined with functional gene annotation elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying N and P removal. Strain HE-16 demonstrates strong potential for practical applications under low C/N conditions relative to conventional HN-AD strains (C/N 7–9), which is lower than most reported HN-AD strains.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000<div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture><span>The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.</span></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148142278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Melatonin-mediated regulation of fruit quality and physicochemical attributes: current advances and future perspectives","authors":"Hossam S. El-Beltagi,&nbsp;Hongying Du,&nbsp;Nagwa Khedr,&nbsp;Mohamed S. Al Saikhan,&nbsp;Tarek A. Shalaby,&nbsp;Emad H. Khedr","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10314-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10314-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fruit composition and quality vary widely with environmental conditions and postharvest handling, with substantial losses occurring during harvest, transport, and storage. Melatonin (MT), a multifunctional indoleamine, has recently gained attention as a natural, eco-friendly treatment to enhance fruit quality and extend storage life. This review summarizes recent studies on MT applications in various horticultural fruits, including peach, grape, strawberry, mango, kiwifruit, apple, cherry, jujube, pomegranate, banana, tomato, and citrus. MT is typically applied via immersion, spraying, or dipping, frequently in combination with refrigerated or controlled-atmosphere storage conditions. Across fruit types, MT consistently improves firmness, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity, while preserving bioactive compounds and reducing weight loss, respiration rate, ethylene production, and oxidative stress indicators such as malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. Protective effects are linked to enhanced defense enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, POD, APX), improved membrane stability, regulation of phenylpropanoid metabolism and the ascorbate–glutathione cycle, and suppression of senescence-related gene expression. Overall, evidence supports MT as a promising, sustainable postharvest treatment to improve fruit quality and prolong shelf life in commercial supply chains.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148142286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biodegradation of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/poly (lactic acid) under food waste composting: CO2 emissions and compost maturity characteristics","authors":"Jingying Shang,&nbsp;Ziyi Liu,&nbsp;Shunli Wang,&nbsp;Xingyuan Yang,&nbsp;Lili Han,&nbsp;Lili Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10300-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10300-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Substituting conventional plastics with biodegradable plastics represents a promising mitigation strategy for plastic pollution. However, the non-degraded bioplastics can partially result in a heterogeneous, diffusion-limited, and metabolically suppressed state in the compost, thus leading to the composting unstability. This study employed three levels of additions (2, 8 and 16%) of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/poly (lactic acid) (PBAT/PLA) bioplastics to canteen food waste to investigate the impact of biodegradable plastics addition on bioplastic degradation efficiency and compost quality. Results showed that 2, 8, and 16% of PBAT/PLA addition had the biodegradation rates of 59.49, 20.99, and 16.72%, respectively. Water-soluble substances and humic acid (5.32 g/kg and 0.94 g/kg) are generated from the treatment of 2% addition, however, 16% of PBAT/PLA addition significantly reduced the formation of water-soluble substances and humic acid with 4.89 g/kg and 0.73 g/kg. Finally, the potential application scenarios for this co-compost are discussed. It is suggested to be used as a soil conditioner in urban greening and public spaces, thereby reducing municipal maintenance and fertilizer procurement costs. This work provides operational thresholds for efficient biodegradable plastic waste treatment via co-composting and advances sustainable development paradigms within the plastics industry, aligning with circular economy principles.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148051727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainable activated biochar as a high-performance adsorbent/filter for effective p-nitrophenol (PNP) sequestration from wastewater","authors":"Ayman H. Mansee,&nbsp;Doaa M. Abdelgawad,&nbsp;Maher E. Saleh","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10315-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10315-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>An activated sugarcane bagasse biochar (ASCBB) was used for constructing a filter module to remove <i>p</i>-nitrophenol (PNP) from contaminated water to introduce applicable tools for remediating pollutants. The PNP adsorption on the ASCBB filter was studied at different flow rates, pollutant dose levels, and ASCBB amounts. The PNP adsorption efficiency of ASCBB was evaluated and compared with its raw precursor, sugarcane bagasse (SCB). Furthermore, the reusability and regeneration potential of the ASCBB filter were investigated to ensure its long-term efficacy in removing PNP from aqueous solutions. A one-gram ASCBB filter achieved 94.98% removal of 50 mg/L PNP at a flow rate of 2 mL/min. Increasing the ASCBB adsorbent amount from 1 to 2 g improved the removal of 500 mg/L PNP from 75.96% to 92.84% at 2 mL/min. Furthermore, the two-gram ASCBB filter can remove 85.60% of high tested concentration (1000 mg/L) of PNP when pursuing a flow rate of 2 ml/min. The results indicate that the ASCBB filter (2 gm) demonstrated good reusability by retaining 113 mg out of 150 mg of PNP after five separate cycles without regeneration. The ASCBB filter was restored completely after a simple regeneration process to be capable of retaining 68.2 mg out of 90 mg of PNP after three cycles without any further regeneration. This finding proved that the ASCBB filter can be used as a promising, sustainable, and reusable filter for removing the PNP from contaminated water.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000<div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture><span>The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.</span></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148025606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plastic pollution and its global environmental impacts: a comprehensive review of microbial biodegradation mechanisms, plastic-degrading enzymes, emerging biotechnological strategies and artificial intelligence-driven approaches for sustainable plastic waste management","authors":"Rahel Debbarma,&nbsp;Bibhab Kumar Lodh,&nbsp;Tarun Kanti Bandyopadhyay,&nbsp;Swarup Biswas,&nbsp;Soma Nag","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10317-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10317-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Plastic pollution has emerged as a critical global environmental challenge due to the persistence, chemical complexity and resistance of synthetic polymers to natural degradation, resulting in the widespread accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Conventional plastic management approaches, including landfilling, incineration and physicochemical treatments, remain limited due to high energy demands, economic constraints and the generation of secondary pollutants. This review critically synthesizes current advances in microbial biodegradation, focusing on mechanistic pathways encompassing abiotic pretreatment, enzymatic depolymerization and microbial assimilation. It further emphasizes the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the microbial degradation pathways providing a novel perspective that bridges experimental microbiology with data-driven enzyme discovery and process optimization. AI-based tools are critically evaluated for their ability to predict enzyme function, design microbial consortia and optimize degradation pathways, while also addressing current limitations related to data quality, model interpretability and experimental validation. Furthermore, this review identifies key research gaps, including the lack of standardized methodologies, limited scalability of laboratory findings and insufficient techno-economic assessments. These interdisciplinary advancements contribute toward the practice of sustainable plastic waste management and align strongly with the goals of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly, SDG 6 for clean water and sanitation, SDG 12 for responsible consumption and production of plastic polymers and SDG 13 for sustainable climate.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147986049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In situ biotransformation of synthetic glutamate to γ-amino butyric acid by an auxotrophic Lactococcus lactis in polysorbate-mediated thermoaerobic process","authors":"Siaknder Ali,&nbsp;Kinza Arif,&nbsp;Qaiser Farid Khan,&nbsp;Muhammad Usman Ahmad,&nbsp;Ifrah Shabbir,&nbsp;Iram Liaqat,&nbsp;Tawaf Ali Shah,&nbsp;Gehan M. Elossaily,&nbsp;Yousef A. Bin Jardan","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10313-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10313-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study focused on the in situ biotransformation to γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from synthetic glutamate using a specialized <i>Lactococcus lactis</i> strain that is auxotrophic, facilitated by a polysorbate-assisted thermoaerobic fermentation approach. Physical mutagenesis was applied in the wild-type ISL-7 strain using ultraviolet (UV) light, and various experimental conditions were explored, including different concentrations of L-tryptophan (0.005 to 0.03%, w/v), ultraviolet exposure times (5 to 30 min), and distances (5 to 30 cm). Out of 34 mutant strains evaluated for their ability to produce GABA, mutant strain, named UV-L-cys-3, demonstrated notably enhanced GABA synthesis (137.70 ± 6.88 mM) in contrast to the wild type ISL-7 strain, which produced 24.36 ± 1.22 mM. Fermentation conditions using monosodium glutamate (MSG) as the primary substrate were subsequently optimized for both the wild-type and mutant strains under submerged cultivation. The wild-type strain produced 214.36 ± 10.71 mM GABA at 30 °C with 45 min of reaction time in a medium containing 1.25% yeast extract, 1.5% MSG, and 10% glucose at a pH of 7.2. In contrast, the UV-L-cys-3 strain achieved a basal optimal yield of 344.36 mM GABA in a medium with 1% yeast extract, 1% MSG, and 4% glucose under its optimal conditions. Additionally, the effects of various reaction mediators and growth stimulators including L-ascorbic acid, methanol, and polysorbate were assessed. Methanol and polysorbate significantly enhanced GABA production, yielding peak concentrations of 260.36 and 450.03 mM in ISL-7 and UV-L-cys-3, respectively. L-ascorbic acid was found to have an inhibitory effect on GABA yield under the tested conditions. The UV-L-cys-3 mutant strain exhibited a significant improvement, producing 1.73 times more GABA than the wild-type strain, with high statistical significance (p ≤ 0.05), indicating its promising potential for scale-up and industrial-level GABA production applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148003973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In vitro and in silico study of the endosulfan degradation by Bacillus subtilis sp. strain UAMC","authors":"Adriana Casanova,&nbsp;Sergio Hernández,&nbsp;Diego A. Esquivel-Hernández,&nbsp;Sergio Revah,&nbsp;Irmene Ortíz","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10312-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10312-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The widespread use of endosulfan, a persistent organochlorine pesticide, has raised significant environmental and health concerns due to its toxicity and potential for bioaccumulation. This study investigated the degradation pathway of endosulfan by <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> sp. strain UAMC, combining in vitro and in silico approaches. These degradation assays revealed preferential degradation of α-endosulfan (97.6%) over β-endosulfan (69.45%), and identified key metabolites. The toxic endosulfan sulfate metabolite was not detected, suggesting a hydrolytic degradation mechanism. Molecular docking simulations highlighted interactions between endosulfan metabolites and enzymes such as laccase (3ZDW), which possess the necessary structural plasticity to recognize and transform endosulfan, even though they were not evolved for that specific purpose. These findings provided a mechanistic understanding of endosulfan biodegradation and underscore the potential of <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> sp. strain UAMC for pesticide bioremediation applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13183696/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147969414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Co-application of biochar, vermicompost and silicon mitigates salinity stress and enhances maize productivity in saline-calcareous soils","authors":"Fahim Qasim,&nbsp;Moazzam Jamil,&nbsp;Maqshoof Ahmed,&nbsp;Ghulam Hassan Abbasi,&nbsp;Hassan Mehmood,&nbsp;Usman Zulfiqar,&nbsp;Imran Haider,&nbsp;Hossam S. El-Beltagi,&nbsp;Khalid H. Alamer,&nbsp;Gamal Awad El-Shaboury","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10308-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10308-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Soil salinity severely constrains maize productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid regions with calcareous and salt-affected soils. Conventional strategies often fail to restore soil health and sustainably enhance crop resilience. Although biochar, vermicompost and silicon individually alleviate salinity stress, their integrated use under naturally saline field conditions remains underexplored. This study evaluated whether their combined application could synergistically improve maize performance by enhancing ionic homeostasis, antioxidant defense and water and nutrient status. A field trial was conducted on naturally saline soil (EC = 9.6 dS m⁻¹; pH = 8.2; sandy loam) using salt-tolerant (Dekalb-8148) and salt-sensitive (S-626) maize genotypes. Treatments included: control, 60 t ha⁻¹ biochar (6% w/w), 50 t ha⁻¹ vermicompost (5% w/w), 100 kg ha⁻¹ silicon (as calcium silicate) and their combinations. Co-application significantly improved root/shoot biomass, leaf area (by 125.7% in Dekalb-8148 and 81.3% in S-626) and photosynthetic efficiency (higher SPAD values). These gains were mechanistically linked to enhanced relative water content (27.9–81.5%), membrane stability (23.5–48.2%) and K⁺/Na⁺ ratios (36.6% and 69.0%, respectively). Antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, POD, CAT and APX) markedly increased, especially in S-626, indicating superior oxidative stress mitigation. There was also a significant increase in the yield components (cob length, 100-grain weight and grain yield per cob), where S-626 showed a greater relative response. Principal component and correlation analyses supported the close association between growth, physiological, biochemical and yield characteristics. The results showed that organic and inorganic amendments complemented each other in reducing the effects of salinity in agroecosystems and this effect offers a viable and sustainable solution for improving the tolerance of maize and facilitating genotype-specific control of salt agroecosystems.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147938528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bioprospecting of waste dump site reveals degradation potential among Bacillus cereus KRS102 and Bacillus tropicus KRS236 against UV-treated polypropylene","authors":"Swati Rani,&nbsp;Himalaya Panwar,&nbsp;Kartikey Kumar Gupta","doi":"10.1007/s10532-026-10311-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10532-026-10311-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The present work aims to achieve degradation of UV treated Polypropylene (PP) by utilizing the capabilities of two bacterial strains designated as KRS102 and KRS236. Both strains were isolated from a waste dump site in Rishikesh (India), identified through 16S rDNA sequencing and compared for PP degradation ability. Detection of biosurfactant production and hydrophobicity assessment validated biodegradation potential of the isolated strains while 16S rDNA secondary structure prediction using RNAfold confirmed their thermodynamic stability. The biodegradation of PP films in terms of percent weight loss by <i>Bacillus cereus</i> KRS102 and <i>Bacillus tropicus</i> KRS236 was found to be 3.4 ± 0.20% and 2.9 ± 0.18%, respectively following 90 days of incubation period. Strain KRS102 exhibited faster depolymerization dynamics than KRS236, as indicated by its higher biomass (protein content: 9.64 ± 3.3 µg mL⁻¹), greater degradation rate constant (0.000384 day⁻¹), and shorter half-life (1805 days) as determined by kinetic modeling. EDX analysis indicated oxidative cleavage of the polymer chains. The KRS102-treated film showed a marked increase in oxygen content (27.74%) and a corresponding decrease in carbon (72.26%), reflecting extensive oxidative modification. In contrast, the control PP film exhibited minimal oxygen (0.94%) and was predominantly composed of carbon (99.10%). The FTIR study revealed changed functional group intensities and an increase in the carbonyl index. These alterations show that the biofilm matrix promotes substrate enzymatic interactions and biochemical transformations, indicating increased metabolic activity in the microbial biofilm. GC–MS and SEM analysis corroborated these findings through degradation intermediates and visible surface alterations respectively. Overall, <i>Bacillus cereus</i> KRS102 exhibited higher biodegradation efficiency than <i>Bacillus tropicus</i> KRS236, highlighting its potential as environment friendly PP degrader.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000<div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture><span>The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.</span></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":486,"journal":{"name":"Biodegradation","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147938720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}