Screening and Characterization of Microbial Consortia for Biodegradation of High-Salt and High-Oil Food Waste

Screening and Characterization of Microbial Consortia for Biodegradation of High-Salt and High-Oil Food Waste | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Screening and Characterization of Microbial Consortia for Biodegradation of High-Salt and High-Oil Food Waste Meng wang, Lirong Xia, Minghui Yang, Hua Yang, Zhongsheng Tang, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7933988/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In response to the low efficiency of traditional landfill and incineration methods for food waste, as well as the poor biodegradation rates caused by its high-salt and high-oil components, this study focused on screening microbial strains with tolerance to such extreme environments and the capacity to produce amylase, aiming to enhance biodegradation efficiency. Through systematic isolation, purification, gradient salt-oil tolerance screening, and characterization, highly efficient degrading strains were selectively isolated from food waste, and molecular biology techniques were employed for species identification. Additionally, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted on the degradation characteristics of each strain (including key indicators such as amylase activity, emulsification ability, and degradation rate) and the application performance of the composite microbial agent in simulated fermentation systems. The study successfully screened four highly efficient degrading strains: M1-1 (Kocuria marina, Kocuria genus), M3-2 (Raoultella ornithinolytica, Ornithinolytica genus), Y4-2 (Candida tropicalis, Tropicalis yeast), and Y4-4 (Trichosporonsp., Trichosporon genus). Experimental data revealed that their volatile solids (VS) degradation efficiency reached up to 9.2 times that of the control group. These strains not only demonstrated strong tolerance to high-salt (≤ 5%) and high-oil (≤ 5%) environments but also exhibited remarkable amylase production capacity (enzyme activity of 93.87 U/mL) and excellent emulsification performance (emulsification coefficient approaching 100% after 40 hours of cultivation). Furthermore, in simulated fermentation systems, the composite microbial agent formulated with a bacterial-to-fungal ratio of M:Y = 1:2 (i.e., bacteria:fungi = 1:2) demonstrated optimal performance—achieving a 26.8% reduction rate within 5 days and a significant decrease in the E4/E6 ratio, indicating substantial resource recovery potential. This study represents the first successful isolation and identification of a specific bacterial-fungal consortium capable of synergistically and efficiently degrading high-salt and high-oil components in food waste, with the optimal ratio (M:Y = 1:2) clearly defined. The constructed composite agent significantly enhanced degradation efficiency through synergistic microbial interactions, providing not only essential microbial resources and theoretical support for the industrial application of food waste bio-treatment technologies but also critical scientific foundations for advancing green and low-carbon treatment approaches. This research holds significant practical value and innovative importance. Food waste Degradation Microorganisms Characterization studies Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 11 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 23 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7933988","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":553212345,"identity":"c7ac6627-5b46-4001-895a-9f5e5fb8fa2a","order_by":0,"name":"Meng wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Guangdong Ocean University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Meng","middleName":"","lastName":"wang","suffix":""},{"id":553212346,"identity":"a30ddd4b-7cb9-438e-be57-b63e8e854fdb","order_by":1,"name":"Lirong Xia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Guangdong Ocean 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Waste","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"waste-disposal-and-sustainable-energy","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"wdse","sideBox":"Learn more about [Waste Disposal \u0026 Sustainable Energy](https://www.springer.com/journal/42768)","snPcode":"42768","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/42768/3","title":"Waste Disposal \u0026 Sustainable Energy","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Food waste, Degradation, Microorganisms, Characterization studies","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7933988/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7933988/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn response to the low efficiency of traditional landfill and incineration methods for food waste, as well as the poor biodegradation rates caused by its high-salt and high-oil components, this study focused on screening microbial strains with tolerance to such extreme environments and the capacity to produce amylase, aiming to enhance biodegradation efficiency. Through systematic isolation, purification, gradient salt-oil tolerance screening, and characterization, highly efficient degrading strains were selectively isolated from food waste, and molecular biology techniques were employed for species identification. Additionally, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted on the degradation characteristics of each strain (including key indicators such as amylase activity, emulsification ability, and degradation rate) and the application performance of the composite microbial agent in simulated fermentation systems.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study successfully screened four highly efficient degrading strains: M1-1 (Kocuria marina, Kocuria genus), M3-2 (Raoultella ornithinolytica, Ornithinolytica genus), Y4-2 (Candida tropicalis, Tropicalis yeast), and Y4-4 (Trichosporonsp., Trichosporon genus). Experimental data revealed that their volatile solids (VS) degradation efficiency reached up to 9.2 times that of the control group. These strains not only demonstrated strong tolerance to high-salt (\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;5%) and high-oil (\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;5%) environments but also exhibited remarkable amylase production capacity (enzyme activity of 93.87 U/mL) and excellent emulsification performance (emulsification coefficient approaching 100% after 40 hours of cultivation). Furthermore, in simulated fermentation systems, the composite microbial agent formulated with a bacterial-to-fungal ratio of M:Y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:2 (i.e., bacteria:fungi\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:2) demonstrated optimal performance\u0026mdash;achieving a 26.8% reduction rate within 5 days and a significant decrease in the E4/E6 ratio, indicating substantial resource recovery potential.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study represents the first successful isolation and identification of a specific bacterial-fungal consortium capable of synergistically and efficiently degrading high-salt and high-oil components in food waste, with the optimal ratio (M:Y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:2) clearly defined. The constructed composite agent significantly enhanced degradation efficiency through synergistic microbial interactions, providing not only essential microbial resources and theoretical support for the industrial application of food waste bio-treatment technologies but also critical scientific foundations for advancing green and low-carbon treatment approaches. This research holds significant practical value and innovative importance.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Screening and Characterization of Microbial Consortia for Biodegradation of High-Salt and High-Oil Food Waste","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-03 08:56:59","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7933988/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-11T08:58:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-07T12:48:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-20T11:29:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"286853984820354565885385706652539998416","date":"2025-12-19T06:57:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"1510519620182968640200376038233225783","date":"2025-12-16T13:10:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"70500533920897531883999916647036301895","date":"2025-12-01T07:24:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-30T20:12:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-01T10:52:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-10-28T07:51:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Waste Disposal \u0026 Sustainable Energy","date":"2025-10-23T16:07:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"waste-disposal-and-sustainable-energy","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"wdse","sideBox":"Learn more about [Waste Disposal \u0026 Sustainable Energy](https://www.springer.com/journal/42768)","snPcode":"42768","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/42768/3","title":"Waste Disposal \u0026 Sustainable Energy","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1139d5cd-68d8-46d2-8b99-f097bc784552","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 3rd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-25T02:08:43+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-03 08:56:59","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7933988","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7933988","identity":"rs-7933988","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}