Biodegradation of Low Density Polyethylene by the Fungus Cladosporium sp. Recovered from a Landfill Site

• Published in: Journal of fungi (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 6; p. 605
• Main Authors: Gong, Zhu, Jin, Long, Yu, Xingye, Wang, Baoteng, Hu, Shuang, Ruan, Honghua, Sung, Yun-Ju, Lee, Hyung-Gwan, Jin, Fengjie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24-05-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Bacteria; Biodegradation; Bioremediation; Carbon; Cladosporium; Cladosporium sp. CPEF-6; Depolymerization; Environmental changes; Environmental degradation; Enzymes; Fungi; Heat treatments; Infrared spectroscopy; Inoculation; Investigations; laccase; Landfill; LDPE degradation; Low density polyethylenes; Metabolism; Metabolites; Microorganisms; Organic acids; Plastic pollution; plastic-degrading fungi; Pollutants; Polyethylene; Polymers; Scanning electron microscopy; Weight; China; biodegradation; Cladosporium sp. CPEF-6; LDPE degradation; plastic-degrading fungi; laccase
• ISSN: 2309-608X; 2309-608X
• DOI: 10.3390/jof9060605

Low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been widely used commercially for decades; however, as a non-degradable material, its continuous accumulation has contributed to serious environmental issues. A fungal strain,
sp. CPEF-6 exhibiting a significant growth advantage on MSM-LDPE (minimal salt medium), was isolated and selected for biodegradation analysis. LDPE biodegradation was analyzed by weight loss percent, change in pH during fungal growth, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Inoculation with the strain
sp. CPEF-6 resulted in a 0.30 ± 0.06% decrease in the weight of untreated LDPE (U-LDPE). After heat treatment (T-LDPE), the weight loss of LDPE increased significantly and reached 0.43 ± 0.01% after 30 days of culture. The pH of the medium was measured during LDPE degradation to assess the environmental changes caused by enzymes and organic acids secreted by the fungus. The fungal degradation of LDPE sheets was characterized by ESEM analysis of topographical alterations, such as cracks, pits, voids, and roughness. FTIR analysis of U-LDPE and T-LDPE revealed the appearance of novel functional groups associated with hydrocarbon biodegradation as well as changes in the polymer carbon chain, confirming the depolymerization of LDPE. This is the first report demonstrating the capacity of
sp. to degrade LDPE, with the expectation that this finding can be used to ameliorate the negative impact of plastics on the environment.