Biodegradable plastics

The limited fossil fuel and nonbiodegradability of conventional petrochemical based plastics prompted scientist for search of environmental friendly alternatives. Bioplastic produced from renewable sources appeared as a better alternative. The bioplastics available in the market are made from polymers such as starch-based, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), polylactic acid (PLA) etc. But attributed by its numerous advantages including those of completely biodegradable, PHAs are considered to be the most desired one. Cyanobacteria are highly promising microorganism for PHA production. This review highlights the basic biology of cyanobacterial PHA production, strains involved, recombinant PHA production and its future prospects. While integrating the existing knowledge and technology, future improvement and progress are to be done before commercial exploitation of cyanobacterial PHA production.