Setting new standards

Multiphasic analysis of microplastic mineralization by fungi

verfasst von

Stephan Rohrbach, Gerasimos Gkoutselis, Anika Mauel, Nihal Telli, Jürgen Senker, Adrian Ho Kah Wye, Gerhard Rambold, Marcus Andreas Horn

Abstract

Plastic materials provide numerous benefits. However, properties such as durability and resistance to degradation that make plastic attractive for variable applications likewise foster accumulation in the environment. Fragmentation of plastics leads to the formation of potentially hazardous microplastic, of which a considerable amount derives from polystyrene. Here, we investigated the biodegradation of polystyrene by the tropical sooty mold fungus Capnodium coffeae in different experimental setups. Growth of C. coffeae was stimulated significantly when cultured in presence of plastic polymers rather than in its absence. Stable isotope tracing using

¹³C-enriched polystyrene particles combined with cavity ring-down spectroscopy showed that the fungus mineralized polystyrene traces. However, phospholipid fatty acid stable isotope probing indicated only marginal assimilation of polystyrene-

¹³C by C. coffeae in liquid cultures. NMR spectroscopic analysis of residual styrene contents prior to and after incubation revealed negligible changes in concentration. Thus, this study suggests a plastiphilic life style of C. coffeae despite minor usage of plastic as a carbon source and the general capability of sooty mold fungi to stimulate polystyrene mineralization, and proposes new standards to identify and unambiguously demonstrate plastic degrading capabilities of microbes.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Mikrobiologie

Externe Organisation(en)

Universität Bayreuth

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Chemosphere

Band

349

ISSN

0045-6535

Publikationsdatum

02.2024

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Öffentliche Gesundheit, Umwelt- und Arbeitsmedizin, Umweltverschmutzung, Chemie (insg.), Gesundheit, Toxikologie und Mutagenese, Environmental engineering, Umweltchemie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 3 – Gute Gesundheit und Wohlergehen

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.141025 (Zugang: Offen)