Biodegradable plastic polymers in ocean coastal waters – degrader communities and their enzymes

Marine litter, in particular plastic litter is a key threat for world ocean ecosystems, with coastal ocean receiving the majority of pollution. Petrochemical plastics do not degrade in marine environment but also biodegradable plastic materials may degrade slowly. Systematic knowledge on degradation rates and the biological basis of degradation in coastal ocean is lacking. Micro-organisms are at the core of degradation process in microbial biofilms on bioplastic surfaces and possess specialized enzymes for bioplastic degradation. The BIPOD project studies biodegradation, biofilm community formation, functional strategies and enzymes of coastal microbes on biodegradable plastics coastal waters of four coastal ecosystems across Europe (Finland, Wales, Sicily, Svalbard).