Centre for Global Sustainability Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia.
School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 18;19(4):e0300929. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300929. eCollection 2024.
The expanding urbanization of coastal areas has led to increased ocean sprawl, which has had both physical and chemical adverse effects on marine and coastal ecosystems. To maintain the health and functionality of these ecosystems, it is imperative to develop effective solutions. One such solution involves the use of biodegradable polymers as bioactive coatings to enhance the bioreceptivity of marine and coastal infrastructures. Our study aimed to explore two main objectives: (1) investigate PHA-degrading bacteria on polymer-coated surfaces and in surrounding seawater, and (2) comparing biofilm colonization between surfaces with and without the polymer coating. We applied poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)) coatings on concrete surfaces at concentrations of 1% and 6% w/v, with varying numbers of coating cycles (1, 3, and 6). Our findings revealed that the addition of P(3HB) indeed promoted accelerated biofilm growth on the coated surfaces, resulting in an occupied area approximately 50% to 100% larger than that observed in the negative control. This indicates a remarkable enhancement, with the biofilm expanding at a rate roughly 1.5 to 2 times faster than the untreated surfaces. We observed noteworthy distinctions in biofilm growth patterns based on varying concentration and number of coating cycles. Interestingly, treatments with low concentration and high coating cycles exhibited comparable biofilm enhancements to those with high concentrations and low coating cycles. Further investigation into the bacterial communities responsible for the degradation of P(3HB) coatings identified mostly common and widespread strains but found no relation between the concentration and coating cycles. Nevertheless, this microbial degradation process was found to be highly efficient, manifesting noticeable effects within a single month. While these initial findings are promising, it's essential to conduct tests under natural conditions to validate the applicability of this approach. Nonetheless, our study represents a novel and bio-based ecological engineering strategy for enhancing the bioreceptivity of marine and coastal structures.
沿海地区不断扩大的城市化进程导致了海洋扩张，这对海洋和沿海生态系统造成了物理和化学的不利影响。为了维持这些生态系统的健康和功能，必须开发有效的解决方案。一种这样的解决方案涉及使用可生物降解聚合物作为生物活性涂层，以提高海洋和沿海基础设施的生物可接受性。我们的研究旨在探索两个主要目标：(1) 研究聚合物涂层表面和周围海水中的 PHB 降解细菌，(2) 比较有和没有聚合物涂层的表面的生物膜定植。我们将聚(3-羟基丁酸酯)[P(3HB)]涂层涂覆在混凝土表面上，浓度分别为 1%和 6%w/v，涂层循环次数不同(1、3 和 6)。我们的研究结果表明，P(3HB)的添加确实促进了涂层表面生物膜的快速生长，导致占据面积比阴性对照增加了约 50%至 100%。这表明了显著的增强，生物膜的扩展速度比未处理的表面快 1.5 到 2 倍左右。我们观察到，基于浓度和涂层循环次数的不同，生物膜的生长模式存在显著差异。有趣的是，低浓度和高涂层循环次数的处理与高浓度和低涂层循环次数的处理相比，生物膜增强效果相当。对负责 P(3HB)涂层降解的细菌群落的进一步研究发现了大多数常见和广泛存在的菌株，但没有发现浓度和涂层循环之间的关系。然而，这个微生物降解过程非常高效，在一个月内就表现出了显著的效果。虽然这些初步发现很有希望，但在自然条件下进行测试以验证这种方法的适用性是至关重要的。尽管如此，我们的研究代表了一种增强海洋和沿海结构生物可接受性的新颖的生物基生态工程策略。
