Living in a bottle: Bacteria from sediment-associated Mediterranean
waste and potential growth on polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Abstract
Ocean pollution is a worldwide environmental challenge that could be
partially tackled through microbial applications. To shed light on the
diversity and applications of the bacterial communities that inhabit the
sediments trapped in artificial containers, we analyzed residues
(Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and aluminum cans) collected
from the Mediterranean Sea by scanning electron microscopy and Next
Generation Sequencing. Moreover, we set a collection of culturable
bacteria from the plastisphere that were screened for their ability to
use PET as a carbon source. Our results reveal that Proteobacteria are
the predominant phylum in all the samples and that Rhodobacteraceae,
Woeseia, Actinomarinales, or Vibrio are also abundant in these residues.
Moreover, we identified marine isolates with enhanced growth in the
presence of PET: Aquimarina intermedia, Citricoccus spp., and
Micrococcus spp. Our results suggest that the marine environment is a
source of biotechnologically promising bacterial isolates that may use
PET or PET additives as carbon sources.