Newly Discovered Fungus Capable of Degrading Plastic

Additionally, fish, birds and turtles can become entangled in plastic items such as fishing nets and plastic bags, leading to injuries, impaired movement and sometimes drowning or suffocation. Plastic also contributes to habitat destruction. For example, coral reefs can be smothered by plastic debris, blocking sunlight and hindering their growth, while plastic accumulating on the seabed disrupts the habitats of bottom-dwelling organisms. And counteractively, while it destroys natural habitats, it forms others. This is especially apparent in areas such as the Pacific garbage patch, where organisms that should not be far out from the coast have found new surfaces to attach to and live on.

When plastics are transported in aquatic ecosystems, they can also carry along many species and facilitate the transport of invasive species and pathogens that disrupt local ecosystems.

In addition, as larger plastic items break down, they form microplastics, which are ingested by a wide range of smaller marine organisms. While some studies into the effects of micro and nanoplastics do exist, far more research is needed.

I am particularly intrigued by the use of microbes to mitigate environmental issues. The resilience and adaptability of microbes offer a unique and powerful tool for addressing environmental challenges. Discovering and harnessing plastic-degrading microbes can improve the understanding of what happens in nature: which microbes live on plastic, and which can then potentially break it down. In the future, microbes may offer a solution to reducing plastic waste.  

This allows us to measure plastic degradation in less than a week.

In nature, plastics take decades to break down and many require even longer.

We used nanoscale mass spectrometry for high-resolution imaging and precise chemical analysis. Such methods are crucial for understanding the intricate processes involved in plastic degradation at a very detailed level. However, our results showed that the 13C tag from plastic is mainly found in CO₂ and to a lesser extent in biomass, indicating that P. album does not use it for growth.

We also used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which allowed us to see detailed surface structures and the morphology of biomass at the microscale. This is crucial for understanding how microorganisms and biofilms attach to and interact with surfaces, including plastics.

Furthermore, as large amounts of plastic end up in our oceans, focusing there and identifying new microbes and pathways can give a holistic understanding and illustrate what happens to the plastics in the marine environment. This can help answer questions on how the break down is facilitated, how the total ecosystem is impacted and the process of biodegradation.