A soil derived microbial consortium of polyethylene transformation Metagenome
Bacteria, microbial consortium of polyethylene transformationPlastic pollution is a persistent global environmental problem, and polyethylene (PE) is among its most abundant and recalcitrant components. Although microbial PE deterioration and transformation have been increasingly reported, the ecological organization of these processes remains poorly understood, particularly in complex environmental consortia. We enriched a PE-transforming microbial consortium from plastic-contaminated soil and examined its physicochemical effects on PE together with its temporal community dynamics and cultivable bacterial members. By combining physicochemical characterization, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, shotgun metagenomics, and cultivation-based isolate screening, we investigated (i) physicochemical alteration of PE during consortium incubation, (ii) temporal succession of bacterial and fungal populations, (iii) stage-associated functional signatures linked to early oxidative conditioning and later assimilation, and (iv) phenotypic differentiation among cultivable bacterial members recovered from the consortium.Public description Cross-kingdom succession and early bacterial functional heterogeneity shape polyethylene transformation in a soil-derived microbial consortium