I. Kleeberg et al., BIODEGRADATION OF ALIPHATIC-AROMATIC COPOLYESTERS BY THERMOMONOSPORA-FUSCA AND OTHER THERMOPHILIC COMPOST ISOLATES, Applied and environmental microbiology, 64(5), 1998, pp. 1731-1735
Random aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters synthesized from 1,4-butanediol
, adipic acid, and terephthalic acid (BTA) have excellent thermal and
mechanical properties and are biodegradable by mixed cultures (e.g., i
n compost). Over 20 BTA-degrading strains were isolated by using compo
st as a microbial source. Among these microorganisms, thermophilic act
inomycetes obviously play an outstanding role and appear to dominate t
he initial degradation step. Two actinomycete strains exhibited about
20-fold higher BTA degradation rates than usually observed in a common
compost test. These isolates were identified as Thermomonospora fusca
strains. They appeared to be particularly suitable for establishment
of rapid degradation tests and were used in comparative studies on the
biodegradation of various polyesters.