Isolation of PET-degrading Bacteria from an Old Garbage Dump and Investigation of Their PET-degrading Potential

Authors : Esma Ceylan, Aleyna Nalcaoglu Senocak, Dilsat Nigar Colak, Ali Osman Beldüz, Kadriye İnan, Nuran Kahriman, Sabriye Çanakçı

Pages : 229-252

Doi:10.35206/jan.1749818

View : 101 | Download : 190

Publication Date : 2025-12-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The increased use of plastic materials, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), has caused serious environmental pollution. Due to the lack of effective methods for PET degradation and recycling, new methods such as microbial plastic degradation are being investigated. In this study, soil samples were collected from an old waste dumping site located in Trabzon/Turkiye and screened for PET-degrading bacteria. Three isolates were determined to use PET as sole carbon source. Based on 16S rRNA sequences, strain PETDeg 3 and 4 were identified as Bacillus licheniformis, and strain PETDeg 5 as Acinetobacter junii. Biodegradation of PET by bacteria was assessed using weight loss, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) methods. In a 28 days of degradation study using PET films, incubation with PETDeg 3, PETDeg 4, and PETDeg 5 resulted in 0.42%, 0.75%, and 0.25% of weight loss respectively. SEM revealed obvious structural changes such as roughness, fissures and cracks on the surfaces of the PET films.
Keywords : Acinetobacter junii, Bacillus licheniformis, Biyobozunum, FTIR, PET, SEM

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