Fast-eating Hawaiian fungi may speed up plastic degradation process – Interesting Engineering

The researchers tested the isolated fungi to see if they could break down polyurethane. 2 days ago2 days ago2 days ago2 days ago2 days ago2 days ago2 days ago3 days ago3 days ago3 days ago20 minutes agoan hour ago2 hours ago18 hours ago19 hours ago20 hours ago20 hours ago20 hours ago21 hours agoa day agoMrigakshi DixitA variety of colorful marine fungi grown in petri dishes in Anthony Amend’s lab. Syrena Whitner, University of Hawai’i

 Fungi have been recognized as potential allies in the fight against plastic pollution for a while now. These microorganisms have a unique ability to eat materials that other organisms can’t. Thus, fungi are nature’s recyclers and could be useful in eating up tiny bits of plastics. Interesting Engineering has covered various such developments in the past, and now there’s new research. Researchers at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa have found that Hawaiian marine fungi can degrade plastic, and some can be made to do so more quickly.“Plastic in the environment today is extremely long-lived, and is nearly impossible to degrade using existing technologies,” said Ronja Steinbach, lead author from the UH Mānoa College of Natural Sciences.“Our research highlights marine fungi as a promising and largely untapped group to investigate for new ways to recycle and remove plastic from nature. Very few people study fungi in the ocean, and we estimated that fewer than one percent of marine fungi are currently described,” Steinbach. Plastics are cheap and useful, but their waste is a major problem as these materials are hard to decompose. Researchers have been exploring the use of microbes, including bacteria and fungi, to break down plastics. In this new study, the team focused on marine fungi collected from sand, seaweed, corals, and sponges in Hawai’i’s nearshore.The researchers tested the isolated fungi to see if they could break down polyurethane, a type of plastic commonly found in medical and industrial products.They selectively bred the fastest-growing fungi to see if increased exposure to polyurethane would lead to faster and more efficient plastic degradation.“We were shocked to find that more than 60% of the fungi we collected from the ocean had some ability to eat plastic and transform it into fungi,” said Steinbach.“We were also impressed to see how quickly fungi were able to adapt. It was very exciting to see that in just three months, a relatively short amount of time, some of the fungi were able to increase their feeding rates by as much as 15%.”After this work, the team aims to target more difficult-to-degrade plastics, such as polyethylene and PET. Both of these plastics are significant contributors to ocean pollution.Moreover, they are working to understand the cellular and molecular processes fungi use to degrade these compounds.“We hope to collaborate with engineers, chemists, and oceanographers who can leverage these findings into actual solutions to clean up our beaches and oceans,” added Steinbach in the press release. Millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean annually, forming massive garbage patches and degrading into harmful microplastics.Hawai’i’s location in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre means ocean currents bring plastic waste from across the globe to its shores. Moreover, it is located near the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the North Pacific Ocean. This patch is the world’s largest accumulation of floating plastic and debris, concentrated by ocean currents. It is located between Hawaii and California.The Ocean Cleanup estimates that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains over 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic.Last year, Interesting Engineering reported on the discovery of Parengyodontium album, a marine fungus found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that can break down polyethylene. This could be used to accelerate the plastic degrading process and help clean up oceans. The findings were published in the journal Mycologia.Mrigakshi Dixit Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.Stay up-to-date on engineering, tech, space, and science news with The Blueprint.By clicking sign up, you confirm that you accept this site’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy2 days ago2 days ago2 days ago2 days agoPremiumIE PROFollow

Source: https://interestingengineering.com/science/marine-fungi-found-to-degrade-plastic