Biodegradation of Plastic by Fungi

Plastic is considered to be one of the most used polymers in industries, agriculture, packaging, and household matters. The indiscriminate use and extensive accumulation of plastic wastes in our environment due to the unidirectional use of synthetic polymers without their proper degradation has posed a potent global threat to the environment. The environmental contamination has resulted in urgency for developing new strategies for degrading plastics. In recent years, reports on the biodegradation of synthetic plastics by microorganisms or microbial enzymes have sprung up, and these offer a possibility to develop biological treatment technology for plastic wastes. The unique ability of fungi to invade the polymer substrates with the help of enzymes has attracted the attention of researchers. Moreover, fungi produce a chemical substance termed hydrophobin, which helps in the fungal adhesion to the hydrophobic surface, followed by the penetration of the hyphae into the surface of the substrate. Various fungal species comprising Aspergillusniger, Aspergillusflavus, Fusariumlini, Pycnoporuscinnabarinus, and Mucorrouxiiare are predominantly used for the process of plastic degradation. This chapter will focus on the contribution of various fungal strains in the degradation of macro and microplastics, including synthetic, biodegradable, and oxo-biodegradable plastics, with a special reference to the analytical techniques used for their assessment.