Phys.org June 3, 2024
Plastic may serve as a potential carbon and energy source for microbes, yet the contribution of marine microbes, especially marine fungi to plastic degradation is not well constrained. An international team of researchers (the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Switzerland) isolated the fungus Parengyodontium album from floating plastic debris and measured fungal-mediated mineralization rates (conversion to CO2) of polyethylene (PE). When the PE was pretreated with UV light, the biodegradation rate of the initially added PE was 0.044 %/day. They traced the incorporation of PE-derived 13C carbon into P. album biomass. Despite the high mineralization rate incorporation of PE-derived 13C into fungal cells was minor. Their results revealed the potential of P. album to degrade PE in the marine environment and to mineralize it to CO2. However, the initial photodegradation of PE was crucial for P. album to metabolize the PE-derived carbon… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Graphical abstract. Credit: Science of The Total Environment, Volume 934, 15 July 2024, 172819Â