Biology 2 (2015 8) 152-167 ~ ~ ~ УДК 579.66 Biodegradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates in Natural Soils Tatiana G. Volovaa,b Anatoly N. Boyandina,b and Svetlana V. Prudnikovab aInstitute of Biophysics SB RAS *, * 50/50 Akademgorodok, Krasnoyarsk, 660036, Russia b Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia Received 19.01.2015, received in revised form 23.03.2015, accepted 14.04.2015 The review reports studies of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biodegradation behavior in natural soils of different climatic zones. <...> Degradation of different types of PHA is strongly infl uenced by the temperature, humidity, type of soil, amount of precipitation and the density of microbial populations. <...> Micromycetes are considered to be the most effi cient soil PHA degraders, and Penicillium is the most typical genus. <...> But many bacterial species also participate in biodegradation. <...> In all environments most PHA degrading soil microorganisms degrade short-chain PHAs only. <...> Increasing the degrees of crystallinity of degrading PHAs suggests preferential disintegration of their amorphous phase in the soil as compared with crystalline phase. <...> All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: volova45@mail.ru # 152 # Tatiana G. Volova, Anatoly N. Boyandin… Biodegradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates in Natural Soils Биодеградация полигидроксиалканоатов в природных почвах Т. <...> Наиболее эффективными почвенными деструкторами ПГА являются микромицеты, среди которых широко распространены представители рода Penicillium. <...> Introduction Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), representing the developing industry of degradable bioplastics, are good candidates to gradually replace synthetic polymers. <...> As the outputs of PHAs increase, studies examining degradation of these polymers in natural environments acquire increasing signifi cance. <...> Results obtained in laboratory experiments cannot be used to construct prognostic models and predict PHA behavior and degradation in diverse and changeable natural ecosystems. <...> This can only be achieved in integrated studies, which should answer the following key questions: How does the microbial community composition in a given environment infl uence the process of PHA degradation and what microorganisms are the most effective PHA degraders under given conditions? <...> How do the chemical composition of a PHA, the process used to prepare <...>