Biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in tropical coastal waters and identification of PHA-degrading bacteria

Biodegradability patterns of two PHAs: a polymer of 3-hydroxybutyric acid (3-PHB) and a copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyric and 3-hydroxyvaleric acids (3-PHB/3-PHV) containing 11 mol% of hydroxyvalerate, were studied in the tropical marine environment, in the South China Sea (Nha Trang, Vietnam). No significant differences have been observed between degradation rates of 3-PHB and 3-PHB/3-PHV specimens; it has been found that under study conditions, biodegradation is rather influenced by the shape of the polymer item and the preparation technique than by the chemical composition of the polymer. Biodegradation rates of polymer films in seawater have been found to be higher than those of compacted pellets. As 3-PHB and 3-PHB/3-PHV are degraded and the specimens lose their mass, molecular weight of both polymers is decreased, i.e. polymer chains get destroyed. The polydispersity index of the PHAs grows significantly. However, the degree of crystallinity of both PHAs remains unchanged, i.e. the amorphous phase and the crystalline one are equally disintegrated. PHA-degrading microorganisms were isolated using the clear-zone technique, by inoculating the isolates onto mineral agar that contained PHA as sole carbon source. Based on the 16S rRNA analysis, the PHA-degrading strains were identified as Enterobacter sp. (four strains), Bacillus sp. and Gracilibacillus sp.