Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate Biosynthesis by Bacillus megaterium Utilizing a Pleustophytic Ecological Plague in the Legendary Source of River Nile as the Sole Carbon Source

Environmental isolates, genetically manipulated organisms, plants, animals and their products and economical methods are being expertly explored to biosynthesize poly-3-hydroxybutyrate plastics of comparable properties to petroplastics. This study assessed a hypothesized feasibility of utilizing water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laubach) from Lake Victoria (Uganda) as a potential carbon source for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesis. The poly-3-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesizing bacteria (Bacillus megaterium) was isolated from municipal sewage sludge and harnessed for batch fermentation of acid-catalysed water hyacinth biomass. Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate formed in the cytoplasm of the bacterial cells was extracted by chloroform extraction method, and thereof confirmed and quantified by UV spectroscopy. Batch fermentation was carried out in 100 ml of the culture media for different times (48, 96, 144 and 192 h) to determine the best incubation time for maximum yield. A maximum yield of 61.3% was realized after 96 h of fermentation beyond which the bioplastic yield started decreasing. Utilization of this ecological plague for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesis is a promising strategy for regulating the weed population along the length of River Nile and the Victorian basin.