Isolation and identification of bacteria in ruminants that can degrade polyethylene terephthalate to protect the environment and adapt bacteria to work as bioremediation

Given the widespread use of plastics in both industry and daily life, their global production has been on the rise over the past few decades. Despite the fact that synthetic plastics have many benefits, from construction and electronics to packaging, their low biodegradability causes plastic pollution that is harmful to the environment, human health and the ecological cycle. About 40% of all plastics are made from polyethylene (PE), yet biodegradation seems to be the most attractive and environmentally responsible solution to address this expanding environmental problem. In this review the objective of this study was to investigate the capacity of Pseudomonas to digest plastic under various settings, while examining the genes involved for this biodegradation process. The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of Pseudomonas to digest plastic in various environments and to examine the genes involved in this biodegradation process. The plastic powder used in the study was prepared from commercially available polyethylene plastic.. A total of 155 swabs were collected from the stomachs of cows, sheep and goats and immediately sent to the laboratory for culture. The swabs were placed on blood agar and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were classified according to their morphological and biochemical characteristics. The results obtained revealed the optimal conditions for bacterial growth and cell proliferation. Accordingly, changes in cell counts were detected under varying plastic concentrations at different pH levels (5, 6, 7 and 8) and temperatures (23°C, 30°C, 37°C and 44°C). The optimal conditions for P. aeruginosa were pH 7, concentration 1 ml and temperature 37°C. The results also show the degradation capacity of the bacteria by measuring the population of viable bacteria growing on MSM. The number of viable Pseudomonas initially increased on the first day and then decreased throughout the experiment. The biodegradation percentage for P. aeruginosa was 59.31%. PCR amplification products obtained using primer sets specifically designed for genes (16S RNA) were compared with the products of reference strains in DNA amplification. The presence of the appropriate gene was confirmed by the detection of positive bands of a specific length (956bp). Twenty (100%) of the P. aeruginosa isolates were identified as having the 16s RNA gene as a virulence factor. The findings of this study will serve as a foundation for the biodegradation of polyethylene by bacterial communities within the ecosystem, offering an ecologically sustainable approach for environmental management.