Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable polymers produced by microbes under nutrient-deprived conditions. These polymers act as food reserves of the organism to survive under adverse environmental conditions. These molecules show high similarity with petroleum-based plastics. Hence, these are promoted as biodegradative alternatives to plastics. PHAs are degraded by the depolymerase enzyme primarily to generate energy for microbial growth. Extracellular degradation occurs on the PHA released from the lysed cell. Various factors are known to influence the degradative process such as humidity, temperature, monomeric composition, etc. The PHA degradation accompanies a decline in the polymer molecular weight and an increase in its crystallinity. Microbes involved in the PHA degradation contribute toward maintenance of ecosystem through the carbon cycle. The by-products of PHA degradation process can be subjected to different biological applications, especially in the energy and medical fields.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the Director of CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India, ESC0108 (WUM) and BSC0111 (INDEPTH), for providing the necessary funds, facilities, and moral support. Authors are also thankful to Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi.
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Ray, S., Kalia, V.C. (2017). Biological Significance of Degradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates. In: Kalia, V., Kumar, P. (eds) Microbial Applications Vol.1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52666-9_5
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