A fungus called Parengyodontium album, found in the North Pacific Ocean, can decompose plastic trash, particularly polyethylene, at a rate of 0.05% per day after UV radiation pretreatment, with negligible greenhouse gas release.
Researchers from NIOZ isolated the fungus from plastic pollution hotspots in the North Pacific Ocean and used labeled carbon isotopes to accurately trace the degradation process.
The fungus converts the polyethylene into carbon dioxide, releasing the latter in amounts that cause no environmental concern.
Bacteria were already known to be able to degrade plastic. Researchers believe that undiscovered species of marine fungi may decompose plastic in deeper ocean layers, as P. album is among only four known marine fungi capable of degrading plastic.
The discovery of the plastic-eating fungus P. album offers hope in the fight against plastic pollution, though the slow rate of lab-grown breakdown is not enough to solve the Great Pacific Garbage Patch issue.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Science Times, Interesting Engineering , Laboratory Equipment Environmental News Network, Phys.org, Technology Networks , Scienmag