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Phanerochaete chrysosporium hyphae bio-crack, endocytose and metabolize plastic films
Summary
Researchers mapped the complete mineralization pathway of polyethylene plastic film by white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, showing that the fungus first colonizes the film using plastic additives as carbon sources, then secretes enzymes that crack and oxidize the polymer, before sub-microplastic fragments enter fungal cells for final breakdown via beta-oxidation.
Numerous studies have focused on the effect and mechanism of plastic degradation; due to their high persistence, petroleum-based plastics are difficult for microbes to mineralize. Although such plastics have been demonstrated to be mineralized by white rot fungus, the reactions at the molecular level remain unknown. Here, we show the whole mineralization model of polyethylene film, that can be summarized as follows: 1) white rot fungus colonizes on polyethylene film, using additives as dissimilated carbon sources; 2) the fungus secretes extracellular enzymes protein, combining with stearic acid as electron donor, causes oxidation and cracking of polyethylene film; and 3) partial dissociated sub-microplastic debris access to cells, further oxidizes in sequential actions of intracellular enzymes, and ultimately mineralize via β-oxidation. Our study provides new insight into the causes of polyethylene film cracking degradation model.