The extensive use of plastics in daily life has led to the generation of huge amounts of plastic waste, which causes an enormous burden on the environment. More than half of the plastic waste ends up in the landfill, and about one-fifth of waste is managed by incineration. Only about one-tenth of plastic waste is recycled, and the rest, about one-fifth of mismanaged plastic waste, ends up in the terrestrial and aquatic environment. Here, we review how the deterioration of plastics leads to the formation of microplastics and nanoplastics, which are now found abundantly and are contaminating aquatic life and water bodies. It observed that increasing experimental evidence provides data about the presence of these microplastics in food items, terrestrial environment, and even the human body. The harmful effects of microplastics on human health still need to be substantiated with more precise experimental studies. However, measures can be taken to reduce the production of microplastics by improving the methods used for plastic degradation. This review focuses on the use of genetic engineering, genome editing, synthetic biology, and system biology approaches to increase the potential of microorganisms to degrade plastics.

Plastic pollution is a universal problem, and microbial management of plastic waste represents a promising area of biotechnological research. This study investigated the ability of bacterial strains which were isolated from landfill soil to degrade Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE). Strains obtained via serial dilution were screened for LDPE degradation on Minimal Essential Medium (MEM) with hexadecane. Nine isolates producing clearance zones on hexadecane-supplemented MEM were further tested for biofilm formation on LDPE sheets. High cell surface hydrophobicity isolates (>10%) were selected for detailed biodegradation studies. The C-8 bacterial isolate showed the highest LDPE weight loss (3.57%) and exhibited maximum laccase (0.0219 U/mL) and lipase activity (19 mm) among all bacterial isolates after 30 days. Weight loss was further validated by FTIR and SEM analysis. FTIR analysis revealed that in comparison to control, changes in peak were observed at 719 cm-1 (C-H bending), 875.67 cm-1 (C-C vibrations), 1307.07 cm-1 (C-O stretching), 1464.21 cm-1 (C-H bending), 2000-1650 cm-1 (C-H bending), 2849.85 cm-1 (C-H stretching) in microbial treated LDPE sheets. The treated LDPE also displayed increase in carbonyl index (upto 2.5 to 3 folds), double bond index (1 to 2-fold) and internal double bond index (2 to 2.5-fold) indicating oxidation and chain scission in the LDPE backbone. SEM analysis showed substantial micrometric surface damage on the LDPE film, with visible cracks and grooves. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the C-8, C-11, C-15 and C-19 isolate were identified as Bacillus paramycoides, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus siamensis and Lysinibacillus capsica, respectively.

Keeping quality is an important parameter for evaluation of cut flower quality, for both in export and domestic markets. Holding solution should contain chemical preservatives to prolong the vase-life

Stevioside obtained from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana (Bert) is regarded as a valuable natural sweetening agent because of its relatively good taste and chemical stability. But Seed germination of the