We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Hydrophobins from Aspergillus MediateFungal Interactions with Microplastics
Summary
Researchers investigated how hydrophobins from Aspergillus fungi mediate colonization and biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces, examining the molecular mechanisms by which these surface-active proteins facilitate fungal attachment to hydrophobic polymer particles. The study found that hydrophobins play a key role in fungal-microplastic interactions, with implications for understanding the 'plastisphere' and potential mycoremediation applications.
Microplastics cause negative environmental consequences such as the release of toxic additive leachates, increased greenhouse gas emissions during degradation, and threaten food chains. Microplastic particles are known to serve as a vector for the transport of microbes (fungi and bacteria) to new environments, threatening biodiversity. Robust biofilm formation makes fungi candidates for collecting and remediating environmental microplastics. However, fungal-microplastic colonization mechanisms have not yet been explored. In this work, we aim to understand which fungal molecules mediate microplastic binding. We examine the common fungal genus Aspergillus, which we found binds microplastics tightly, removing particles from suspension. Upon inoculation of Aspergilli with microplastic particles, up to 3.85 ± 1.48 g of microplastics were flocculated per gram of dry fungal biomass; this phenomenon was observed across various plastics ranging in size from 0.05 to 5 mm. Gene knockouts revealed that hydrophobins drive microplastic-fungi binding, evidenced by a decrease in flocculation relative to that of wild-type Aspergillus fumigatus. Moreover, purified hydrophobins flocculated microplastics independently of the fungus, validating their ability to bind to microplastics. Our work elucidates a role for hydrophobins in fungal colonization of microplastics and highlights a target for mitigating the harm of microplastics through engineered fungal-microplastic interactions.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Hydrophobins from Aspergillus MediateFungal Interactions with Microplastics
Researchers investigated how hydrophobins from Aspergillus fungi mediate colonization and biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces, examining the molecular mechanisms by which these surface-active proteins facilitate fungal attachment to hydrophobic polymer particles. The study found that hydrophobins play a key role in fungal-microplastic interactions, with implications for understanding the 'plastisphere' and potential mycoremediation applications.
Hydrophobins from Aspergillus MediateFungal Interactions with Microplastics
Researchers investigated how hydrophobins from Aspergillus fungi mediate colonization and biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces, examining the molecular mechanisms by which these surface-active proteins facilitate fungal attachment to hydrophobic polymer particles. The study found that hydrophobins play a key role in fungal-microplastic interactions, with implications for understanding the 'plastisphere' and potential mycoremediation applications.
Hydrophobins from Aspergillus Mediate Fungal Interactions with Microplastics
Researchers found that Aspergillus fungi colonize microplastic surfaces through hydrophobin proteins — surface-active compounds that mediate adhesion to hydrophobic materials — providing the first mechanistic explanation for how fungi form biofilms on plastic particles in the environment.
Hydrophobins from Aspergillus mediate fungal interactions with microplastics
Researchers discovered that the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus and related species can tightly bind to microplastic particles, with up to 3.85 grams of plastic bound per gram of fungi. They identified hydrophobin proteins on the fungal surface as the key molecules mediating this attachment to plastics. The findings suggest that microplastics may serve as vectors for pathogenic fungi in food chains, raising concerns about how plastic pollution could facilitate the spread of opportunistic infections.
The removal capacities of three filamentous fungi to remediate floating microplastic particles
Three common filamentous fungi — Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, and Penicillium rubens — were found to remove 59–67% of polyamide microplastic particles from liquid environments within 24–72 hours through surface adhesion rather than biodegradation. This passive removal mechanism is far faster than full plastic degradation and suggests that fungi could be harnessed as a practical, low-cost tool for microplastic remediation.