  Despite its remoteness from other continents, the Antarctic region cannot
escape the aftermath of human activities as it is highly influenced by
anthropogenic impacts that occur both in the regional and global context.
Contamination by microplastics, mostly caused by the improper disposal of
plastic waste, is widely recognised as a serious environmental threat due to
its ubiquity. In recent years, most researchers have focused on microplastic
pollution in the marine ecosystem of Antarctica, while pollution in the
terrestrial environment continues to be neglected. This study was conducted to
investigate the ability of Antarctic soil bacteria to use polypropylene (PP)
microplastics as the sole carbon source. Bushnell Haas (BH) medium inoculated
with bacteria and supplemented PP-microplastics as the sole carbon source was
used in the utilisation test. In this study, the growth response of Dermacoccus
sp. strain AYDL3 was assessed after exposure to PP-microplastics in a basal
medium for 40 days. The weight reduction of the polymer was determined to
further support the growth response. The highest and lowest weight loss
percentages were observed on day 20 (23.0%) and day 10 (7.75%), respectively.
Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) analyses were used to confirm the utilisation of
PP-microplastics by strain AYDL3. Results indicate that the soil bacteria
possess a mechanism for breaking down microplastics allowing them to utilise
plastics as energy sources without any pre-treatment. This emphasises the
significance of these soil bacteria to adapt and subsequently manage the
plastic fragments in the soil in the future.
