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= Plastic Degrading Bacteria =



= Introduction = Synthetic plastics present in everyday materials constitute the main anthropogenic debris entering the Earth’s oceans. The oceans provide important and valuable resources such as food, energy, and water. They are also the main way of international trade and the main stabilizer of the climate. Hence, changes in the marine ecosystem caused by anthropogenic influences such as plastic pollution can have a dramatic impact on a global scale. Although the problem of plastics still remains unsolved, different ways are being considered to reduce their impact on the environment. Changes in the marine ecosystem caused by anthropogenic factors such as plastic pollution may therefore have a dramatic impact on a global scale. Although the issue of plastics remains unresolved, different ways of raising their impact on the environment are being considered. Petrochemical plastics, such as, polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC),  polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) constitute about 80 percent of total global plastic usage. While plastic materials form an integral part of the global economy, it is impossible to ignore the issues associated with their extensive application. Plastic litter deposition occurs mostly in the marine environment, where it is difficult to locate any area that is not influenced by human influence. Worldwide plastic deposition on the open ocean surface frequently occurs in the accumulation zones of five subtropical ocean basins. It has been estimated that 10 to 20 million tons of plastics leak into the oceans every year. Around 6300 million tons of plastic waste have been produced since 2015, a large percentage of which has made its way into the environment as a result of unregulated waste dumping.One of them is to use plastic degrading microorganisms. A particularly interesting area is the application of microorganisms isolated from medical wastes in view of their unique characteristics. Nevertheless, the interactions between plastic and microorganisms are still poorly known.

= Types of microorgansims found in medical wastes =

It is commonly known that medical wastes are a source of a diverse range of microbes, mostly pathogenic. Common species found among medical wastes are Bacillus, Staphylococcus ,Proteus, Klebsiella, Streptococcus .These are sources of various serious infections for patients as well. These are a source of a variety of antibiotic resistant bacteria as well (Methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus, Vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, etc).However, one of the striking feature of these pathogens are that as harmful as they are to humans, they have series of other utilities as well. For example, Klebsiella spp and Pseudomonous spp are known nitrogen fixers. Another unusual aspect seen among some species is the ability to produce siderophores or iron sequestration proteins.

Mode of action
Plastic degradation is another interesting aspect displayed by certain bacteria from the genus Halomonous, Pseudomonous, Bacillus etc. Plastics are one of the most common source pollution in today’s modern age. Plastics are mainly Polyethylenes, Polypropylines, Poly Vinyl chlorides, Polystyrene, etc. Polyethylene is a polymer made up of repeating units of ethylene monomers.It causes serious threats to the environment both during it’s production and after it’s disposal.The microbes utilize these plastic polymers as a carbon source, and thereby degrade the polymer, detaching monomeric units from the chain.

= Conclusion =

A beneficial and lesser known side to these otherwise infectious microbes could be found from the various studies conducted. Utilization of these organisms derived from medical wastes can lead to novel approaches of tackling the problems of pollution or avoiding chemical degradation for various polymers and compounds.

= References =
 * Drahl, C. (2018, June 18). Plastics recycling with microbes and worms is further away than people think﻿﻿﻿. Retrieved from https://cen.acs.org/environment/sustainability/Plastics-recycling-microbes-worms-further/96/i25
 * Explore to understand, share to bring about change. (2016, April 5). Bacterial degradation of synthetic plastics: Explore to understand, share to bring about change. Retrieved from https://oceans.taraexpeditions.org/en/m/science/news/bacterial-degradation-of-synthetic-plastics/
 * Priyanka, N., & Archana, T. (2011). Biodegradability of Polythene and Plastic By The Help of Microorganism: A Way for Brighter Future. Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology, 01(02).
 * Urbanek, A. K., Rymowicz, W., & Mirończuk, A. M. (2018). Degradation of plastics and plastic-degrading bacteria in cold marine habitats. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 102(18), 7669–7678.