{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T06:09:06Z","timestamp":1789711746855,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789689600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Microplastics are persistent contaminants of terrestrial and aquatic environments, creating a need for carefully validated remediation approaches. This laboratory study examined apparent weight loss and surface modification of household waste-derived mixed polyethylene\/polypropylene (PE\/PP) microplastics by\n                    <jats:italic>Bacillus pumilus<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>Aspergillus niger<\/jats:italic>\n                    , and\n                    <jats:italic>Trichoderma harzianum<\/jats:italic>\n                    . The isolates were incubated separately in carbon-deficient mineral salt medium containing microplastics as the only added carbon source. Apparent gravimetric weight loss, microbial growth, and pH were assessed, and\n                    <jats:italic>Bacillus pumilus<\/jats:italic>\n                    -treated particles were further examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).\n                    <jats:italic>Bacillus pumilus<\/jats:italic>\n                    produced the numerically greatest apparent weight loss (40.0% \u00b1 1.1%), followed by\n                    <jats:italic>Aspergillus niger<\/jats:italic>\n                    (30.0% \u00b1 1.0%) and\n                    <jats:italic>Trichoderma harzianum<\/jats:italic>\n                    (20.0% \u00b1 1.0%); however, the overall comparison was not statistically significant (one-way ANOVA,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.243). SEM demonstrated surface roughening, pits, and cracks, while XRD showed lower relative crystallinity in treated particles (48% \u00b1 3%) than in the untreated control (65% \u00b1 2%). FTIR demonstrated spectral changes consistent with oxidative surface modification. The bacterial isolate was placed within the\n                    <jats:italic>Bacillus pumilus<\/jats:italic>\n                    group by 16S rRNA analysis, and preliminary liquid and calcium-alginate formulations were prepared. Because the substrate was a mixed PE\/PP fraction and the analytical endpoints did not directly measure mineralization or molecular-weight reduction, the findings are interpreted as laboratory-scale apparent weight loss and polymer-associated surface and structural modification rather than complete biodegradation.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1926623","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T05:39:06Z","timestamp":1789709946000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Apparent weight loss and surface modification of household waste-derived mixed PE\/PP microplastics by Bacillus pumilus and fungal isolates"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"R.","family":"Rithika","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"PG and Research Department of Microbiology, Sacred Heart College (Autonomous)","place":["Tirupattur, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Prithviraj","family":"Karak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Bankura Christian College","place":["Bankura, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"P.","family":"Saranraj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PG and Research Department of Microbiology, Sacred Heart College (Autonomous)","place":["Tirupattur, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"K.","family":"Gayathri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PG and Research Department of Microbiology, Sacred Heart College (Autonomous)","place":["Tirupattur, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Manigandan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PG and Research Department of Microbiology, Sacred Heart College (Autonomous)","place":["Tirupattur, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sayandeep K.","family":"Das","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Shri B. 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