Influence of inocula microbial composition on bioplastic degradation

n order to gain deeper insight into the biodegradation mechanisms, the microbial composition of the different inocula was characterized to identify the bacterial taxa potentially involved in the degradation processes. High-throughput sequencing analyses allowed the assessment of microbial diversity and relative abundance, enabling the identification of specific bacterial groups associated with the biodegradation of the tested microplastics. This characterization provided valuable information on how differences in microbial community structure may influence biodegradation performance, supporting the role of inoculum composition as a key factor driving variability in biodegradation assays.