Researchers isolated a Bacillus subtilis strain from agricultural soil and tested its ability to produce PHB, a biodegradable polyester used as a sustainable plastic alternative. When grown on different carbon sources, honey yielded the highest PHB titer at 0.2669 g/L, beating glucose and LB medium. The polymer's structure and thermal properties matched commercial PHB, confirmed by FTIR, GC-MS, XRD, and thermal analysis. The study, published in BMC Microbiology, suggests honey could serve as an effective feedstock for bioplastic production. While the yields are still low for industrial scale, the work highlights a potential path to use agricultural byproducts or natural sugars for renewable plastics. The strain, designated MUST-MWS1, was identified via 16S rRNA sequencing and biochemical tests.
