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Microorganisms can metabolize organic components of the polymer in plastic

26.07.2018

Plastic materials are widely used in agricultural applications to achieve food security for the growing world population. The use of biodegradable instead of nonbiodegradable polymers in single-use agricultural applications, including plastic mulching, promises to reduce plastic accumulation in the environment.

A research team from the University of Zurich and from the University of Vienna present a novel approach that allows tracking of carbon from biodegradable polymers into CO2 and microbial biomass. The approach is based on 13C-labeled polymers and on isotope-specific analytical methods, including nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). [read more]

 

In "Science Advances": Biodegradation of synthetic polymers in soils: Tracking carbon into CO2 and microbial biomass: Michael Thomas Zumstein, Arno Schintlmeister, Taylor Frederick Nelson, Rebekka Baumgartner, Dagmar Woebken, Michael Wagner, Hans-Peter E. Kohler, Kristopher McNeill, Michael Sander, Science Advances 4, eaas9024 (2018) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aas9024 

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NanoSIMS analysis of the 13C-labeled polymer (in blue): In green, fungal hyphae that have incorporated the polymer carbon into their biomass (© University of Vienna / Large-Instrument Facility for Advanced Isotope Research).