Polymer composites are attractive for structural applications in the built environment due to their lightweight and high strength properties but suffer from degradation due to environmental factors. While abiotic factors like temperature, moisture, and ultraviolet light are well studied, little is known about the impacts of naturally occurring microbial communities on their structural integrity. Here we apply complementary time-series multi-omics of biofilms growing on polymer composites and materials characterization to elucidate the processes driving their degradation. We measured a reduction in mechanical properties due to biologically driven molecular chain breakage of esters and reconstructed 121 microbial genomes to describe microbial diversity and pathways associated with polymer composite degradation. The polymer composite microbiome is dominated by four bacterial groups including the Candidate Phyla Radiation that possess pathways for breakdown of acrylate, esters, and bisphenol, abundant in composites. We provide a foundation for understanding interactions of next-generation structural materials with their natural environment that can predict their durability and drive future designs.

聚合物复合材料由于其轻质和高强度特性而在建筑环境中的结构应用中具有吸引力，但由于环境因素而导致降解。尽管对非生物因素（例如温度，湿度和紫外线）进行了充分研究，但对天然存在的微生物群落对其结构完整性的影响知之甚少。在这里，我们应用在聚合物复合材料上生长的生物膜的互补时间序列多组学和材料表征来阐明驱动其降解的过程。我们测量了由于生物驱动的酯分子链断裂而导致的机械性能下降，并重建了121个微生物基因组来描述微生物多样性和与聚合物复合材料降解相关的途径。聚合物复合微生物组主要由四个细菌组成，其中包括候选Phyla辐射，这些细菌具有降解复合物中丰富的丙烯酸酯，酯和双酚的途径。我们为了解下一代结构材料与其自然环境之间的相互作用提供了基础，这些相互作用可以预测其耐用性并推动未来的设计。