Haloarchaea as Cell Factories to Produce Bioplastics
Lorena Simó-Cabrera,
Salvador García-Chumillas,
Nashwa Hagagy,
Amna Saddiq,
Hend Tag,
Samy Selim,
Hamada AbdElgawad,
Alejandro Arribas Agüero,
Fuensanta Monzó Sánchez,
Verónica Cánovas,
Carmen Pire,
Rosa María Martínez-Espinosa
Affiliations
Lorena Simó-Cabrera
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Division, Department of Agrochemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n-03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Salvador García-Chumillas
Centro Tecnológico del Calzado y del Plástico de la Región de Murcia, Av. Europa 4-5, 30840 Alhama de Murcia, Spain
Nashwa Hagagy
Department of Biology, College of Science and Arts at Khulis, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21921, Saudi Arabia
Amna Saddiq
Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21921, Saudi Arabia
Hend Tag
Department of Biology, College of Science and Arts at Khulis, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21921, Saudi Arabia
Samy Selim
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
Hamada AbdElgawad
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62521, Egypt
Alejandro Arribas Agüero
Centro Tecnológico del Calzado y del Plástico de la Región de Murcia, Av. Europa 4-5, 30840 Alhama de Murcia, Spain
Fuensanta Monzó Sánchez
Centro Tecnológico del Calzado y del Plástico de la Región de Murcia, Av. Europa 4-5, 30840 Alhama de Murcia, Spain
Verónica Cánovas
Centro Tecnológico del Calzado y del Plástico de la Región de Murcia, Av. Europa 4-5, 30840 Alhama de Murcia, Spain
Carmen Pire
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Division, Department of Agrochemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n-03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Rosa María Martínez-Espinosa
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Division, Department of Agrochemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n-03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Plastic pollution is a worldwide concern causing the death of animals (mainly aquatic fauna) and environmental deterioration. Plastic recycling is, in most cases, difficult or even impossible. For this reason, new research lines are emerging to identify highly biodegradable bioplastics or plastic formulations that are more environmentally friendly than current ones. In this context, microbes, capable of synthesizing bioplastics, were revealed to be good models to design strategies in which microorganisms can be used as cell factories. Recently, special interest has been paid to haloarchaea due to the capability of some species to produce significant concentrations of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), and polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) when growing under a specific nutritional status. The growth of those microorganisms at the pilot or industrial scale offers several advantages compared to that of other microbes that are bioplastic producers. This review summarizes the state of the art of bioplastic production and the most recent findings regarding the production of bioplastics by halophilic microorganisms with special emphasis on haloarchaea. Some protocols to produce/analyze bioplastics are highlighted here to shed light on the potential use of haloarchaea at the industrial scale to produce valuable products, thus minimizing environmental pollution by plastics made from petroleum.
