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Ensifer YF2 + Sphingobacterium Y2 Polyethylene-degrading Consortium

Community ID CommunityMech:000299
Ecological State ENGINEERED
Environment plastic-contaminated agricultural soil
ENVO:00002116

Synthetic bacterial consortium for polyethylene (PE) biodegradation, built from three strains-Ensifer sp. YF2, Sphingobacterium sp. Y2, and Chryseobacterium sp. MF1-isolated from plastic-contaminated agricultural soils. A dual-strain consortium of YF2 and Y2 degraded PE more efficiently than individual strains or the full three-strain combination, using PE as the sole carbon source and inducing oxidative modifications and physical erosion of the polymer. Genomic analysis showed a complementary enzymatic division of labor - YF2 (oxidases LadA, AlkB, CYP450) performs backbone cleavage as the primary degrader, while Y2 (esterases and lipases) carries out intermediate metabolism through cross-feeding.

Taxonomy

Taxon Ontology ID Functional Roles Abundance
Ensifer sp. YF2 NCBITaxon:106591
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
N/A
  • PMID:41996795 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Three bacterial strains-Ensifer sp. YF2, Sphingobacterium sp. Y2, and Chryseobacterium sp. MF1-were isolated from plastic-contaminated soils."
Sphingobacterium sp. Y2 NCBITaxon:28453
SECONDARY_FERMENTER CROSS_FEEDER
N/A
  • PMID:41996795 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Three bacterial strains-Ensifer sp. YF2, Sphingobacterium sp. Y2, and Chryseobacterium sp. MF1-were isolated from plastic-contaminated soils."
Chryseobacterium sp. MF1 NCBITaxon:59732 N/A
  • PMID:41996795 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Three bacterial strains-Ensifer sp. YF2, Sphingobacterium sp. Y2, and Chryseobacterium sp. MF1-were isolated from plastic-contaminated soils."

Ecological Interactions

Ecological interaction network for Ensifer YF2 + Sphingobacterium Y2 Polyethylene-degrading Consortium Bipartite graph where circle nodes represent taxa and colored rectangles represent ecological interactions (cross-feeding, mutualism, syntrophy, competition, commensalism).
Taxon
Cross-feeding
Mutualism
Syntrophy
Competition
Commensalism
Niche partitioning
Colonization facilitation
Strain competition
Predation

Metabolic division of labor in polyethylene degradation

CROSS_FEEDING

Source Taxon: Ensifer sp. YF2

Target Taxon: Sphingobacterium sp. Y2

Evidence

  • PMID:41996795 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "YF2, encoding key oxidases (LadA, AlkB, CYP450), served as the primary degrader for backbone cleavage, while Y2, enriched with esterases and lipases, facilitated intermediate metabolism through cross-feeding."

Synergistic enhancement of PE degradation in the dual-strain consortium

MUTUALISM

Source Taxon: Ensifer sp. YF2

Target Taxon: Sphingobacterium sp. Y2

Evidence

  • PMID:41996795 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "A dual-strain consortium (YF2 +Y2) demonstrated enhanced degradation compared to individual strains and the three-strain combination, indicating that functional compatibility rather than taxonomic richness drives consortium performance."

Growth Media

polyethylene as sole carbon source (medium composition not specified in abstract)

Preparation notes: Consortium cultivated with polyethylene (PE) provided as the sole carbon source; full medium, temperature and pH are not reported in the open-access abstract (article paywalled).

Evidence

PMID:41996795

"The consortium utilized PE as the sole carbon source, inducing oxidative modifications and physical erosion of the polymer surface."