A Thermostable Lipase Isolated from Strain 7 Degrades Ɛ-Polycaprolactone.

The tremendous problem with plastic waste accumulation has determined an interest in biodegradation by effective degraders and their enzymes, such as thermophilic enzymes, which are characterized by high catalytic rates, thermostability, and optimum temperatures close to the melting points of some plastics. In the present work, we report on the ability of a thermophilic lipase, by strain 7, to degrade Ɛ-polycaprolactone (PCL), as well as the enzyme purification, the characterization of its physicochemical properties, the product degradation, and its disruptive effect on the PCL surface. The pure enzyme showed the highest reported optimum temperature at 55 °C and a pH of 7.

Chemical characterization and biological effect of exopolysaccharides synthesized by Antarctic yeasts Cystobasidium ongulense AL and Leucosporidium yakuticum AL on murine innate immune cells.

The current study aimed to investigate exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by two Antarctic yeasts isolated from soil and penguin feathers samples collected on Livingston Island (Antarctica). The strains were identified as belonging to the species Leucosporidium yakuticum (LY) and Cystobasidium ongulense (CO) based on molecular genetic analysis. The EPS production was investigated using submerged cultivation.

Degradation of Poly(ε-caprolactone) by a Thermophilic Community and Strain 7 Isolated from Bulgarian Hot Spring.

The continual plastic accumulation in the environment and the hazardous consequences determine the interest in thermophiles as possible effective plastic degraders, due to their unique metabolic mechanisms and change of plastic properties at elevated temperatures. PCL is one of major biodegradable plastics with promising application to replace existing non-biodegradable polymers. Metagenomic analysis of the phylogenetic diversity in plastic contaminated area of Marikostinovo hot spring, Bulgaria revealed a higher number taxonomic groups (11) in the sample enriched without plastic (Marikostinovo community, control sample, MKC-C) than in that enriched in the presence of poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) (MKC-P), (7).

Plastic Degradation by Extremophilic Bacteria.

Intensive exploitation, poor recycling, low repeatable use, and unusual resistance of plastics to environmental and microbiological action result in accumulation of huge waste amounts in terrestrial and marine environments, causing enormous hazard for human and animal life. In the last decades, much scientific interest has been focused on plastic biodegradation. Due to the comparatively short evolutionary period of their appearance in nature, sufficiently effective enzymes for their biodegradation are not available.

Improved Exopolymer Production by Cultures for Its Potential Cosmeceutical Applications.

Several exopolymers with different chemical composition and correspondingly variety in their physico-chemical properties from halophilic microorganisms have still been described, however, with a low production yield. 28 isolated from Pomorie saltern synthesized an unusual exopolymer (EP) containing 72% γ-polyglutamic acid (PGA), an essential cosmeceutical additive. Current work suggests a novel approach for effective EP synthesis by 28 using continuous cultures.