Polyhydroxybutyrate production by a sugarcane growth promoter bacterium

Background The plastics derived from petrochemicals have many applications. However, public concern and environmental laws led to conservation policies and establish programs that stimulate the research and use of new products based on renewable resources. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biopolymers synthesized by microorganisms under conditions of nutrient stress with similar properties to conventional plastics and are completely biodegradable. One of the PHAs is polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), which accumulated in several bacteria [1]. Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus is a plant-growth-promoting bacterium, which interacts and lives within sugarcane plants [2]. Genome annotation of this bacterium offers a new scenario to better understand plant-bacteria interactions and reveals novel potential bioproducts. Sugarcane is cultivated mostly for sugar and fuel ethanol production. In this work, we propose the production of biodegradable plastics from sugarcane coupled to its natural partner growth promoter bacterium, G. diazotrophicus.