Bacteria found to eat forever chemicals, and even some of their toxic byproducts

In the quest to take the "forever" out of "forever chemicals," bacteria might be our ally. Most remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) involves adsorbing and trapping them, but certain microbes can actually break apart the strong chemical bonds that allow these chemicals to persist for so long in the environment.

In situ bioremediation - Wikipedia

Study identifies fungus that breaks down ocean plastic

A fungus living in the sea can break down the plastic polyethylene, provided it has first been exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. Researchers from, among others, NIOZ published their results in the journal Science of the Total Environment. They expect that many more plastic degrading fungi are living in deeper parts of the ocean.

Functional and structural responses of a halophilic consortium to oily sludge during biodegradation - Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Biotreatment of oily sludge and the involved microbial communities, particularly in saline environments, have been rarely investigated. We enriched a halophilic bacterial consortium (OS-100) from petroleum refining oily sludge, which degraded almost 86% of the aliphatic hydrocarbon (C10-C30) fraction of the oily sludge within 7 days in the presence of 100 g/L NaCl. Two halophilic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria related to the genera Chromohalobacter and Halomonas were isolated from the OS-100 consortium. Hydrocarbon degradation by the OS-100 consortium was relatively higher compared to the isolated bacteria, indicating potential synergistic interactions among the OS-100 community members. Exclusion of FeCl2, MgCl2, CaCl2, trace elements, and vitamins from the culture medium did not significantly affect the hydrocarbon degradation efficiency of the OS-100 consortium. To the contrary, hydrocarbon biodegradation dropped from 94.1 to 54.4% and 5% when the OS-100 consortium was deprived from phosphate and nitrogen sources in the culture medium, respectively. Quantitative PCR revealed that alkB gene expression increased up to the 3rd day of incubation with 11.277-fold, consistent with the observed increments in hydrocarbon degradation. Illumina-MiSeq sequencing of 16 S rRNA gene fragments revealed that the OS-100 consortium was mainly composed of the genera Halomonas, Idiomarina, Alcanivorax and Chromohalobacter. This community structure changed depending on the culturing conditions. However, remarkable changes in the community structure were not always associated with remarkable shifts in the hydrocarbonoclastic activity and vice versa. The results show that probably synergistic interactions between community members and different subpopulations of the OS-100 consortium contributed to salinity tolerance and hydrocarbon degradation.

Exploring the unseen: Microbial wonders in Earth's saltiest waters

A recent study published in the journal Environmental Science and Ecotechnology explores the largely unknown metabolic capabilities of unclassified microbial species in extreme environments, particularly hypersaline lakes, and their potential applications in biotechnology, medicine, and environmental remediation.