8th Workshop on Purple Phototrophic Bacteria in wastewater treatment: challenges, opportunities and potential for resource recovery

CA21146 - Fundamentals and applications of purple bacteria biotechnology for resource recovery from waste (PURPLEGAIN)

 is a four-year networking action that aims at creating a European network to share information, facilitating technology and knowledge transfer between the academic and industrial sectors, related to Purple Photosynthetic Bacteria (PPB) applications for resource recovery from organic waste sources. Resource recovery includes wastewater or organic waste, open or closed environments, in single or chain processes.

The workshop was held at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey, from 1-2 July 2025 and the objective of this event was to foster the dialogue between industry and academia on PPB in environmental biotechnology, with special emphasis on wastewater treatment and resource recovery. The Book of Abstracts is available 

To present findings from the EcoPlastiC project, Prof. Maria A. M. Reis (NOVA) gave an invited lecture titled “Emerging strategies for the bioconversion of wastes into biodegradable polymers”, where she delved into the latest results obtained by 

8th Workshop on PPB in wastewater treatment: challenges, opportunities and potential for resource recovery

The accumulation of plastic waste remains a significant environmental challenge despite the alarming evidence and public efforts, emphasizing the need for biodegradable alternatives and appropriate remediation strategies. In this study, 

 DG19 was evaluated for capacity to degrade a selection of biomaterials that are increasingly penetrating market as readily degradable alternatives. 

 DG19 rapidly degraded poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) films in liquid culture (96% weight loss in 7 days) and demonstrated activity against poly(ε-caprolactone) in both agar-based and liquid culture experiments and against cellulose in Congo red assay. 3-Hydroxybutyrate and lactic acid were also metabolized. Genomic analysis identified a number of enzymes involved in carbohydrate and bioplastic degradation. A putative extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) depolymerase (SmPHBase) containing a variant substrate binding domain, and other enzymes involved in 3-hydroxybutyrate metabolism, were of special interest. The presence of > 30 biosynthetic gene clusters highlights this strain’s potential for upcycling bioplastic-containing waste. Soil burial tests demonstrated substantial weight loss in pure biomaterial films and multilayer consumable items containing PHB, showcasing the applicability of 

 DG19 as a composting enhancer. Overall, the findings highlight the pertinence of specialized bacterial strains to biomaterial recycling and upcycling.

Degradation of biomaterials by Streptomyces microflavus DG19: depolymerization activity, genome mining, and soil burial assessment

 conference was held at NOVA School of Science and Technology of NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA FCT) from the 17-18 June 2025. The objective of this event was to showcase the research developed at NOVA FCT, creating the opportunity to establish new collaborations between colleagues working at this institution. More than just a presentation of results, this event aims to be a true space for sharing, inspiration and building bridges between researchers from different fields.

NOVA presented two posters showcasing the results obtained within the 

Poster “Biotechnology for Circularity: Sustainable Solutions from Waste” was presented by Mónica Carvalheira and Cristiana A. V. Torres:

Poster “Microbial products: the solution for a sustainable future” was presented by Filomena Freitas and Diana Araújo:

The NOVA FCT Science Days also aim to stimulate the collective ambition of the Portuguese scientific community. By learning about the journeys of colleagues who have secured competitive funding, they can strengthen their motivation to aim higher, as they want everyone to feel inspired to turn ideas into strong and successful proposals, like the EcoPlastiC project.

EcoPlastiC at NOVA FCT Science Days