Deciphering the Enzymatic and Metabolic Functional Potential of Plastisphere Microbiota: Implications for Predictive Bioremediation in Urban Waste Disposal Environments

ABSTRACT The microbial community on plastic surfaces, known as the plastisphere, plays a vital role in the bioremediation of complex environmental pollutants at urban waste disposal sites. Since non‐culturable strains that survive on polymer substrates are very common, only a small group of microbes has been identified to date. This study examined the predictive functional dynamics of beneficial microbial communities associated with the plastisphere at four plastic‐rich urban disposal sites near Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Collection of disposed polyethylene carry bags were followed by biofilm extraction, gDNA isolation, library preparation, and sequencing. Results showed that Betaproteobacteria (0.35%–37.02%), Gammaproteobacteria (3.10%–22.38%), Dehalococcoides sp. (0.05%–10.15%), Flavobacterium sp. (0.02%–8.31%), and Spirulina sp. (0.06%–1.21%) were the most prevalent genera with strong bioremediation potential. Functional profiling identified essential metabolic pathways, such as general function prediction (10.37%–20.45%), followed by amino acid transport and metabolism (13.64%–15.85%), cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis (5.49%–18.18%), and coenzyme transport and metabolism (2.27%–14.29%). Key enzymes like Lipase (0.04%–66.67%), Cytochrome p450 (1.90%–36.63%), OpdA (0.03%–33.33%), and Laccase Dehalogenase (2.46%–15.03%), that aid in environmental pollutant remediation were also predicted. The present study provides a comprehensive metagenomic profiling to identify key microbial taxa and their functional genes involved in pollutant degradation in the said locations. This work offers insights for developing a predictive framework for targeted bioremediation strategies in pollution mitigation.