Bioremediation of plastic by fungi

Abstract

Problem zagađenja okoliša plastikom ponukao je znanstvenike na istraživanje biodegradacije plastike te je pokazano da su neke vrste gljiva sposobne razgraditi plastiku svojim enzimima i koristiti je kao izvor ugljika. U ovome preglednom radu navedene su dosad često korištene metode utvrđivanja degradacije plastike gljivama, kao i svojte gljiva na kojima je provedeno više istraživanja ili su značajnije po svom utjecaju, odnosno često se spominju u literaturi. Za predodžbu o degradacijskoj efikasnosti pojedinih vrsta navedeni su podatci iz prethodnih radova koji nam govore o promjeni suhe mase, odnosno molekularne mase sintetičkog polimera nakon razgradnje gljivom kroz određeni vremenski period. Potrebno je nastaviti istraživati i preispitivati degradacijsku učinkovitost gljiva, detaljno preispitati aktivnosti njihovih enzima te uvjete u kojima je razgradnja pospješena, kako bi postavili temelje za primjenu gljiva u bioremedijaciji plastike.The problem of plastic contamination has prompted scientists to investigate the biodegradation of plastics and it has been shown that some species of fungi are capable of degrading plastic with their enzymes and using degradation compounds as source of carbon. This paper presents the most frequently used methods of determining the degradation of plastic by fungi, as well as the fungi species which have been examined for their plastic degradation potential, or are often mentioned in the relevant literature. The degradation efficiency exhibited by certain species was shown through the data from previous works, that refer to the change of the dry weight or molecular weight of the synthetic polymer after decomposition by the fungus for a certain period of time. It is necessary to continue to examine the degradation efficiency of fungi and their enzymatic activity, as well as the conditions in which the degradation can be improved to set the foundation for the application of fungi in the bioremediation of plastics