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Metabolic rewiring of Phanerochaete chrysosporium to enhance tolerance and degradation of aged polystyrene microplastics: Pyruvate metabolism and actin polarization
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Scientists found that when polystyrene microplastics (a common plastic) get "weathered" by sunlight, a wood-rotting fungus becomes much better at breaking them down—boosting degradation from about 14% to 21%. This matters because it suggests that plastics degrading in real-world sunlight may be more vulnerable to natural cleanup by fungi than lab studies have shown, offering a potential path toward reducing the microplastic pollution that's increasingly found in our food, water, and even our bodies.
Recalcitrant microplastics (MPs) persist in the environment due to the chemical inertness. However, there is a lack of in-depth understanding regarding the environmental fate of MPs after aging, particularly with respect to the effects of biotransformation. This study investigates the potential for degradation of polystyrene MPs (PSMPs) by P. chrysosporium following photoaging. Results indicate that photoaging enhanced the hydrophilicity (the contact angle decreased from 98.00 ± 0.15° to 74.95 ± 0.75°) and specific surface area of PSMPs by promoting fragmentation, surface roughening, and the incorporation of oxygen-containing functional groups (the carbonyl index and hydroxyl index were increased by 5.74-fold and 2.28-fold, respectively). These changes in MPs characteristics facilitated mycelial colonization and enzymatic degradation, resulting in a significant increase in the biodegradation efficiency of PSMPs from 13.76% (pre-aging) to 20.92% (post-aging) (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, aged MPs leached cytotoxic compounds (such as phenols and additives) and exacerbated the oxidative stress in P. chrysosporium. Furthermore, analysis based on transcriptomic data, P. chrysosporium alleviates oxidative stress caused by the leachate by upregulating the expression of genes such as katE and CAT (upregulated by 2.31-fold in the F+AMPS group), and clears and repairs damaged proteins by upregulating genes such as HSP90 and DOA1 (upregulated by 1.09-fold and 2.92-fold). At the same time, the upregulation of TBP and TFIIF2 (upregulated by 4.67-fold and 1.63-fold) accelerates the overall transcription process, while the upregulation of PDC and adhP (upregulated by 1.15-fold and 1.35-fold) (p < 0.05) ensures the energy supply for transcription and degradation processes, ultimately enhancing degradation efficiency. This study elucidates the positive role of photoaging in biodegradation, providing a theoretical basis for explaining the discrepancy between the environmental fate of recalcitrant MPs in natural settings and laboratory results.
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Towards microplastic bioremediation: Fungal degradation of pristine and pretreated high-density polyethylene and polystyrene
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Scientists found that a common fungus can break down two of the most widespread plastics (HDPE and PS) into smaller pieces over 70 days, and pre-treating the plastic with UV light (like sunlight exposure) made the fungus even better at breaking it down. This matters because microplastics are showing up in our food, water, and even our bodies, and finding natural, low-cost ways to break them down could help reduce this widespread contamination over time. That said, this is early-stage lab research, so it's not yet a real-world solution for cleaning up plastic pollution.
Mechanistic insights into UV/H2O2-aged polystyrene enable an optimized protocol for fungal biodegradation
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Researchers treated polystyrene plastic film with UV light and hydrogen peroxide, then exposed it to a fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) in lab tests. This pretreatment caused up to 25.75% mass loss and helped the fungus break down the plastic more effectively through several chemical pathways.
Biodegradation of Plastic by Pestalotiopsis Microspora
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Scientists have found that a certain fungus (Pestalotiopsis microspora) can actually break down plastic waste, including plastic types that normally take centuries to decompose, while also soaking up some of the carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change. This matters because plastic pollution is linked to microplastics ending up in our food, water, and even our bodies, so finding natural ways to break plastic down safely could reduce that exposure over time. The research is still early-stage, but it points to a promising, eco-friendly tool for tackling both plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions at once.
From Microplastics to “Mycoplastics”: Enzymatic Conversion of Oxidized Polystyrene into Humic Acid-like Products
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Scientists discovered that a natural enzyme from fungi can transform harmful chemicals that leak from broken-down plastic waste into safer, soil-like compounds. This process could help clean up plastic pollution in the environment by converting toxic plastic byproducts into materials that might actually help remove other pollutants from soil and water. The finding offers hope for new ways to tackle the growing problem of microplastics and their harmful effects on ecosystems and potentially human health.
Plastic-Colonizing Fungi in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: Community Structure and Physiological and Transcriptional Responses of Aspergillus to Pristine and Weathered PET
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Scientists found that fungi—including some types of mold—naturally colonize plastic debris floating in the Mediterranean Sea, with certain fungi actually able to break down plastic and even attach to it more after it's been weathered by sun exposure. This matters because these fungi could eventually help us develop ways to biodegrade plastic waste, but it also raises questions about whether plastic debris in the ocean is becoming a floating habitat for organisms that might affect marine food chains, since plastic-eating fungi could enter the food web that ultimately reaches our plates.
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