St. Pius X College, Rajapuram, Kasaragod, Kerala, Pin- 671532, India.
Department of Biotechnology, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bangalore, Karnataka, Pin 560078, India.
J Hazard Mater. 2022 Mar 15;426:128086. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128086. Epub 2021 Dec 16.
The conventional methods of plastic waste management such as mechanical and chemical recycling, landfill complemented by incineration and pyrosis have limited scope. Thus, microbiological-based approaches by the application of microbial consortia or cocultures are appropriate, cost-effective, and eco-friendly to manage plastic wastes. Screening of novel plastic degrading microorganisms, the formulation of microbial consortia, and utilisation of their enzymes probably play a role in plastic waste management. The by-products of microbial degradation of plastic waste can be used as bio-energy sources, that aids in the development of cost-effective bio-digesters. The recent advancements in computational biology and bioinformatics play a vital role in understanding the molecular basis of enzymatic degradation of plastic polymers by microorganisms. Understanding the three-dimensional structures of plastic degrading enzymes and their metabolic pathways play a vital role in studying the microbial degradation of plastics. The present review highlights the scope of various microorganisms and their enzymes in plastic degradation. The review emphasizes the applications of co-cultures or microbial consortia-based approaches for the enhanced degradation of plastic polymers and the production of value-added end products that can be used as the prototypes of bioenergy sources. The review also provides a comprehensive outlook on the applications of data sciences, computational biology, and bioinformatics resources, and web-based tools towards the study of microbial degradation of plastic polymers.
传统的塑料废物管理方法，如机械和化学回收、辅以焚烧和热解的垃圾填埋，其应用范围有限。因此，基于微生物的方法，如应用微生物群落或共培养物，是合适的、具有成本效益的且环保的，可用于管理塑料废物。筛选新型塑料降解微生物、制定微生物群落以及利用其酶可能在塑料废物管理中发挥作用。微生物降解塑料废物的副产物可用作生物能源来源，有助于开发具有成本效益的生物消化器。计算生物学和生物信息学的最新进展在理解微生物对塑料聚合物的酶促降解的分子基础方面发挥了重要作用。了解塑料降解酶的三维结构及其代谢途径对于研究微生物降解塑料至关重要。本综述强调了各种微生物及其酶在塑料降解中的作用。综述强调了共培养物或基于微生物群落的方法在增强塑料聚合物降解和生产附加值终产物方面的应用，这些终产物可用作生物能源来源的原型。综述还全面展望了数据科学、计算生物学和生物信息学资源以及基于网络的工具在研究微生物降解塑料聚合物方面的应用。
