Characterization of medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoates from Priestia megaterium POD1

Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is the most promising solution to the major ecological problem of plastic accumulation. It is synthesized by bacteria when there is limited availability of nutrients as intracellular granules. The biodegradable and biocompatible properties of PHA make it highly demanding in the biomedical and agricultural field. Among PHA, medium chain length (mcl) PHA has shown more interest because of its favorable properties like having more viscous material, low crystallinity degrees, low melting temperature and low glass transition temperatures for many applications which require flexible material. Therefore, we have isolated a bacterial strain, Priestia megaterium POD1 which can produce mcl PHA very efficiently. The isolate was confirmed to have phaC gene responsible for PHA synthesis. The PHA extracted from the isolate was characterized by FTIR, NMR and GC-MS which revealed the extracted polymer to be a mixture of different mcl PHA. Hence, the present study would provide a potential mcl PHA producer which can be explored for its properties which are demanding in present bioplastic market.