ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
Sriram Thiruvengadam , Challaraj Emmanuel E.S, Niranjana Rajesh, Jaya Bisht, Ignatius Raymond Peter L, Treesa Thomas, Nipi Pappachan, Aleena Saju and Keerthana Sajith
Department of Life Sciences, School of Biological and Forensic Sciences, Kristu Jayanti
(Deemed to be University), Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Article Number: 10805 | © The Author(s). 2026
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2026;20(1):400-413. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.20.1.26
Received: 26 July 2025 | Accepted: 14 January 2026 | Published online: 25 February 2026
Issue online: March 2026
Abstract

Plastics contribute significantly to global environmental pollution due to their non-biodegradable nature. Biopolymers like polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), synthesized by microorganisms, offer an eco-friendly alternative. This study reports the isolation and characterization of PHB-producing bacteria from untreated sewage, identifying one potent isolate as Bacillus tequilensis via 16S rRNA sequencing. Preliminary screening using Sudan Black B confirmed PHB accumulation. Optimization of growth conditions revealed that glucose and tryptone were the most effective carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, yielding 0.10 g of PHB under optimal conditions (pH 7, 37 °C, 48 hours). Notably, substituting glucose with watermelon rind, a sustainable fruit waste, enhanced PHB production to 0.34 g, demonstrating a 3.4-fold increase. The extracted PHB was characterized using FT-IR, confirming the presence of functional groups typical of PHB. This study highlights a dual environmental benefit: valorization of sewage-derived bacteria and agro-industrial waste for sustainable bioplastic production. These findings present a novel approach for cost-effective and eco-friendly PHB synthesis.

Keywords

Polyhydroxybutyrate, PHB, Plastics, Bacillus tequilensis

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© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.