Weight decrease of degradable plastic in soil
There was a contrast between the degradation rate of starch-based bioplastic and oxo-degradable plastic. After 30 days, bioplastic weight was reduced by 55.61%. The weight reduction was less drastic afterward, with a 73.65% weight decrease by day 120 (Fig. 1). A study done by Accinelli et al. [27], in which a corn starch-based bioplastic bags was buried at 25°C in the dark, also reported a 43% decrease in plastic weight after 90 days of incubation in compost soil. In contrast, oxo-degradable plastic weight was only reduced by 2.84% even after 120 days. Similarly, Mantia et al. [28] showed that the oxo-degradable plastic degradation rate was only around 1-1.5% after 120 days burial in soil, even in combination with photooxidation pre-treatment.
The starch content in bioplastic may be more readily used as a carbon source by soil bacteria [10] compared to the organic component in oxo-degradable plastic, and therefore the former was degraded faster in soil. The degradability of starch-based bioplastic also dependent on its starch content [29]. A study by Liew and Khor [30] showed that higher starch content led to higher degradation rates of starch-based bioplastic. Microbial activities, particularly degradation in this context, are affected by many factors, including soil moisture, temperature, and humidity [31]. The soil pH (8.6±0.2) and temperature (25°C) of soil in this study, however, remained constant at all time points, meaning that the introduction of neither starch-based bioplastic nor oxo-degradable plastic affected both environmental parameters. In the case of oxo-degradable plastic degradation, it should also be noted that the UV sterilization step prior to plastic burial might led to slight physical degradation. The metallic ions added in oxo-degradable plastic acted as prooxidants [12] that are further photo-oxidized by UV light. Martín-Closas et al. [31] demonstrated that UV light exposure induced the oxidative cleavage of the polyethylene chain in oxo-degradable plastic.
Diversity indices
The diversity and richness of bacterial OTUs were quantified and expressed as Shannon and Simpson indices, respectively [32]. While the Shannon index fluctuated over time in soil with no plastic treatment, the bacterial diversity within soil introduced to both starch-based bioplastic and oxo-degradable plastic was directly proportional to the incubation time, in which the lowest diversity index was observed on day 30 (Bt30 and Ot30) and the highest on day 120 (Bt 120 and Ot120) (Table 1). Compared to the control group, soil treated with both types of plastic showed higher diversity over time, except on day 60. The Simpson index in soil treated with both types of plastic also showed that their presence led to a slight increase in bacterial richness over time.
Table 1. Diversity and richness of bacteria in soil following starch-based bioplastic and oxo-degradable plastic burial
Sample name
|
Treatment
|
Shannon index
|
Simpson index
|
Ct0
|
No plastic exposure (control)
|
7.263
|
0.952
|
Ct30
|
7.386
|
0.970
|
Ct60
|
8.014
|
0.985
|
Ct90
|
7.749
|
0.982
|
Ct120
|
7.537
|
0.972
|
Bt30
|
Starch-based bioplastic
|
7.503
|
0.969
|
Bt60
|
7.801
|
0.977
|
Bt90
|
7.908
|
0.982
|
Bt120
|
8.055
|
0.984
|
Ot30
|
Oxo-degradable plastic
|
7.407
|
0.971
|
Ot60
|
7.589
|
0.972
|
Ot90
|
8.232
|
0.987
|
Ot120
|
8.591
|
0.990
|
Numbers following each sample code indicate the length of plastic burial in days. The value of Shannon index represents bacterial diversity, in which higher numbers indicate higher diversity. The Simpson index has a maximum value of 1, which signifies that all members of the population are present in equal abundance.
Bacterial community in compost soil introduced with starch-based bioplastic
The most dominant phyla in control soil and soil introduced with starch-based bioplastic were Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. This is in line with a report by Meng et al. [33] that explored microbial succession during cow manure and corn straw composting. Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria abundance increased in soil over time regardless of the introduction of starch-based bioplastic (Fig. 2a). The increase of Actinobacteria abundance in control soil was relatively higher than those in soil introduced with starch-based bioplastic, especially on day 90 (Ct90) and day 120 (Ct120). Firmicutes and Acidobacteria were relatively more abundant in soil introduced with starch-based bioplastic than in control soil. Cyanobacteria in the initial control soil (C0) is relatively abundant compared to all soil samples. Nanoarchaeota was detected in all samples (Fig. 2a), but it was more abundant on day 30 (Bt30) and 60 (Bt60) in soil with bioplastic than in the control soil and decreased on day 90 (Bt90) and 120 (Bt120).
Prevalent bacterial genera varied across all time points and some of these genera are known for their ability to degrade starch (Fig 2b). Various species belonging to Klebsiella, which was detected in abundance on day 30, are known to produce enzymes for starch degradation, such as α-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase, α-amylase, and pullulanase [34]. Longispora was abundant on day 90 and 120. Longispora fulfa tested positive in starch hydrolysis assay [35]. Meanwhile, Longispora, Bacillus, and Nitrospira were abundant on day 120. Many Bacillus species are known to hydrolyze starch through the activity of α-amylase, an enzyme that cleaves the α-1,4 glycosidic bonds in starch [36, 37]. A study on functional genes among the tropical peat swamp bacterial community by Kanokratana et al. [38] indicated the prevalence of amylolytic genes belonging to Nitrospira, which indicates that members of this group play a role in starch degradation in the environment.
In contrast, there is a lack of evidence for starch degradation for some other bacterial genera that increased in abundance following the introduction of starch-based bioplastic. Past studies have shown that Zobellela and Truepera (day 30) play a role in the decomposition of high-carbohydrate organic materials. Maity et al. [39] demonstrated the use of Zobellela tiwanensis strain DD5 to produce polyhydroxy butyrate using the starch-rich banana peels as a substrate. Meanwhile, Truepera was reported to thrive in compost enrichment samples [40, 41]. On day 60, there was an increase of Saccharimonadales abundance. There is limited information on how Saccharimonadales may play a role in starch degradation. Saccharimonadales belongs to phylum Saccharibacteria, which is a member of superphylum Patescibacteria. Functional genome analysis showed that some members of Saccharibacteria were missing genes for de novo biosynthesis of essential amino acids, nucleotides, fatty acids, and cofactors [42], which indicated that they might require co-metabolism with other bacteria to survive in the environment. A member of Saccharibacteria isolated from wild oats rhizosphere showed that it feeds of plant exudates and its genome also indicates the prevalence of starch/glycogen and trehalose breakdown gene for D-glucose production [43]. With the exception of Longispora, Bacillus and Nitrospira, all of the other genera that increased in abundance on day 120, including Megamonas, Steroidobacter, Veillonella, and Bryobacter, have not been associated with starch hydrolysis thus far. There is, however, an indication that they made indirect contribution to starch degradation and/or organic material decomposition in general. Megamonas is mainly found in human faeces and the human gut microbiome. In an in vitro pea starch digestion model, Cui et al. [44] reported that Megamonas was found in a large number after 8 hours of digestion. Veillonella thrives in the gut of gnotobiotic rats fed with amylomaize starch by utilizing starch degradation products derived by the amylolytic bacteria Eubacterium [45]. V. atypica was also reported to co-exist and communicate with Streptococcus godonii during the early formation of dental plaque biofilm [46]. This study showed that the presence of V. atypica increased the expression of the amylase-encoding gene amyB in S. godonii. Bryobacter aggregatus gen. nov., sp. nov., was reported to grow on starch, glucose, and maltose medium [47]. While Bryobacter have no reported amylase activity [47], it is possible that Bryobacter in soil with starch-based bioplastic used the starch degradation products such as maltose and glucose produced by starch degrading bacteria. Overall, this suggests that even though the above bacterial genera might not be involved in starch-based bioplastic degradation directly, they might thrive in soil by utilizing starch degradation intermediates or through other interactions within the bacterial community.
Bacterial community in compost soil introduced with oxo-degradable plastic
Similar to the observation for starch-based bioplastic treatment, dominant phyla in soil introduced with oxo-degradable plastic were Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. While there was an increase in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria abundance, Bacteriodota abundance fluctuated over time (Fig. 3a). The introduction of oxo-degradable plastic affected non-dominant phyla within the bacterial community. The phyla that were increased in abundance following oxo-degradable plastic introduction were Patescibacteria, Planctomycetes, and Acidobacteria while a decrease was observed for Myxococcota and Firmicutes.
Several bacterial genera that may be associated with the degradation of the polyethylene backbone of oxo-degradable plastic emerged following its introduction in soil. Serratia, which was abundant on day 60 (Fig. 3b), was reported to degrade polyethylene [48, 49]. Faster degradation of polyethylene was achieved when the cell-free supernatant of Serratia marcescens, compared to the viable bacterial cells, was applied to the plastic film [48]. This showed that the bacterium produced extracellular enzyme(s) to degrade polyethylene.
Despite the lack of information on their direct contribution to polyethylene degradation, several genera that have been detected in polyethylene- or microplastic-rich environment also arose at various time points. Saccharimonadales (day 60) was detected in microplastic-contaminated soil [50]. Similarly, Rheinheimera (day 90) was reported in abundance in microplastic-infested water [51]. Pantoea (day 120) was found in the gut of the polyethylene-degrading Galleria mellonella and Tenebrio molitor larvae that were kept on polyethylene-rich diet [52, 53]. Portibacter (day 90 and 120) was identified among major bacterial colonizers of polyethylene plastic debris [54]. Interestingly, as observed for starch-based bioplastic, no particular bacteria thrived continuously across all time points in soil introduced to oxo-degradable plastic. This indicate that both starch-based bioplastic and oxo-degradable plastic degradation require a multitude of bacteria that will continue to shift over time.
This study is focused on bacterial community profiles during the degradation of commercially available starch-based bioplastic and oxo-degradable plastic, yet this process may involve a plethora of other microorganisms such as fungi. Fungal diversity analysis was not included as the availability of database and non-bias universal primers are lacking for this group of microorganisms at the time this study was conducted. In the future, prolonged incubation up to the point that the plastics are fully degraded will provide a more in-depth view on microbial dynamics, particularly for the oxo-degradable plastic, which requires longer time to degrade.