Publication detail

Biodegradation of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate after soil inoculation with microbial consortium: Soil microbiome and plant responses to the changed environment

BRTNICKÝ, M. PECINA, V. KUCERIK, J. HAMMERSCHMIEDT, T. MUSTAFA, A. KINTL, A. SERA, J. KOUTNY, M. BALTAZAR, T. HOLATKO, J.

Original Title

Biodegradation of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate after soil inoculation with microbial consortium: Soil microbiome and plant responses to the changed environment

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

Biodegradable plastics play a vital role in addressing global plastics disposal challenges. Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB) is a biodegradable bacterial intracellular storage polymer with substantial usage potential in agriculture. Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate and its degradation products are non-toxic; however, previous studies suggest that P3HB biodegradation negatively affects plant growth because the microorganisms compete with plants for nutrients. One possible solution to this issue could be inoculating soil with a consortium of plant growth-promoting and Nfixing microorganisms. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a pot experiment using lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata L.) grown in soil amended with two doses (1 % and 5 % w/w) of P3HB and microbial inoculant (MI). We tested five experimental variations: P3HB 1 %, P3HB 1 % + MI, P3HB 5 %, P3HB 5 % + MI, and MI, to assess the impact of added microorganisms on plant growth and P3HB biodegradation. The efficient P3HB degradation, which was directly dependent on the amount of bioplastics added, was coupled with the preferential utilization of P3HB as a carbon (C) source. Due to the increased demand for nutrients in P3HB-amended soil by microbial degraders, respiration and enzyme activities were enhanced. This indicated an increased mineralisation of C as well as nitrogen (N), sulphur (S), and phosphorus (P). Microbial inoculation introduced specific bacterial taxa that further improved degradation efficiency and nutrient turnover (N, S, and P) in P3HB-amended soil. Notably, soil acidification related to P3HB was not the primary factor affecting plant growth inhibition. However, despite plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and N2-fixing microorganisms originating from MI, plant biomass yield remained limited, suggesting that these microorganisms were not entirely successful in mitigating the growth inhibition caused by P3HB.

Keywords

Bioplastics; PGPR; Soil nutrients; Plant growth inhibition; Plastic pollution; Agricultural production

Authors

BRTNICKÝ, M.; PECINA, V.; KUCERIK, J.; HAMMERSCHMIEDT, T.; MUSTAFA, A.; KINTL, A.; SERA, J.; KOUTNY, M.; BALTAZAR, T.; HOLATKO, J.

Released

28. 6. 2024

Publisher

ELSEVIER

Location

AMSTERDAM

ISBN

1879-1026

Periodical

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT

Year of study

946

Number

10

State

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Pages count

11

URL

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724044760

BibTex

@article{BUT189155,
  author="BRTNICKÝ, M. and PECINA, V. and KUCERIK, J. and HAMMERSCHMIEDT, T. and MUSTAFA, A. and KINTL, A. and SERA, J. and KOUTNY, M. and BALTAZAR, T. and HOLATKO, J.",
  title="Biodegradation of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate after soil inoculation with microbial consortium: Soil microbiome and plant responses to the changed environment",
  journal="SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT",
  year="2024",
  volume="946",
  number="10",
  pages="11",
  doi="10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174328",
  issn="1879-1026",
  url="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724044760"
}

Responsibility: Ing. Marek Strakoš