KAIST Uncovers Divergent Fates of Biodegradable Plastics and Identifies Potential Microbial Degraders in Landfill Leachate (IMAGE)
Caption
Figure 4. Microbial activity associated with biodegradable plastic degradation in landfill leachate: Selective community enrichment, depolymerase-related gene transcription, and the gap between genetic potential and expression.
This figure summarizes the multi-omics analyses of microbial communities associated with biodegradable plastic degradation in landfill leachate.
Left: Plastic-surface biofilm communities showed lower diversity than the corresponding free-living communities in leachate, while RNA-based communities showed lower diversity than the DNA-based communities. These differences are consistent with selective enrichment of subsets of the broader microbial community.
Center: Transcription of genes associated with PHB and PLA depolymerization was more pronounced in plastic-surface biofilms than in the surrounding leachate, linking candidate degradation-related gene expression to microorganisms at the biofilm–polymer interface.
Right: Among 238 reconstructed microbial genomes, 118 contained candidate PHB- or PLA-depolymerase genes, but only 49 showed transcriptional evidence for these genes. The results demonstrate a substantial difference between genetic potential and detectable gene expression; they do not, on their own, establish the enzymatic activity of individual candidates.
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