The widespread use of plastics has led to their increasing presence in the environment and
subsequent pollution. Some microorganisms degrade plastics in natural ecosystems and the
associated metabolic pathways can be studied to understand the degradation mechanisms.
Polystyrene (PS) is one of the more recalcitrant plastic polymers that is degraded by only a
few bacteria. Exiguobacterium is a genus of Gram-positive poly-extremophilic bacteria
known to degrade PS, thus being of biotechnological interest, but its biochemical …