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Biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in the South China Sea and identification of PHA-degrading bacteria

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Abstract

The biodegradation patterns of two types of PHA, a 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-PHB) polymer and a 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate (3-PHB/3-PHV) copolymer, were studied in tropical marine environments (Dam Bay, South China Sea, Nha Trang, Vietnam). No reliable differences in the degradation of 3-PHB and 3-PHB/3-PHV were revealed. It was shown that the degradation process depended mainly on the shape of a polymer product and its production method: the degradation of polymer films was found to be more active than that of molded solids. A decrease in the molecular mass of both types of PHA was detected in the course of the degradation of PHA samples. However, the degree of PHA crystallinity did not change; that is, the levels of degradation of both the amorphous and crystalline phases of PHA were almost the same. Among microbial PHA degraders, three bacterial strains, Bacillus sp. IBP-V002, Enterobacter cloacae sp. IBP-V001, and Gracilibacillus sp. IBP-V003, were identified based on the results of morphological, biochemical, and molecular phylogenetic analyses. The ability of the representatives of the genera Gracilibacillus and Enterobacter to degrade PHA was revealed for the first time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoyarsk, Russia

    T. G. Volova, A. N. Boyandin & I. I. Gitel’zon

  2. Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia

    T. G. Volova, A. N. Boyandin, I. V. Kozhevnikov & S. V. Prudnikova

  3. Kirensky Institute of Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoyarsk, Russia

    A. D. Vasil’ev

  4. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    V. A. Karpov

  5. Marine Department, Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Test Center, Nha Trang, Vietnam

    V. P. Rudnev, Büi Bá Xuån & Vũ Viet Dũng

Authors
  1. T. G. Volova
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  2. A. N. Boyandin
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  3. A. D. Vasil’ev
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  9. VÅ© Viet DÅ©ng
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  10. I. I. Gitel’zon
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Correspondence to T. G. Volova.

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Original Russian Text © T.G. Volova, A.N. Boyandin, A.D. Vasil’ev, V. A. Karpov, I. V. Kozhevnikov, S.V. Prudnikova, V.P. Rudnev, Büi Bá Xuån, Vũ Vi\( \mathop e\limits^ \circ \)t Dũng, I.I. Gitel’zon, 2011, published in Mikrobiologiya, 2011, Vol. 80, No. 2, pp. 266–274.

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Volova, T.G., Boyandin, A.N., Vasil’ev, A.D. et al. Biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in the South China Sea and identification of PHA-degrading bacteria. Microbiology 80, 252–260 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261711020184

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261711020184

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