Popular Science reports that a group of students from Yale found the fungus during an expedition to Ecuador and learned it breaks down polyurethane.
This plastic is one of those modern chemical compounds found in so many products and it is prized for both its flexibility and rigidity. The problem is that like many other polymers, it does not break down readily. This means it persists in landfills and causes environmental deadlock. It burns pretty well, but that releases carbon monoxide and other gases into the atmosphere, so it’s a nonstarter in most situations. Something that can degrade it naturally would be a better solution.
The fungus called Pestalotiopsis microspora can live on a diet of polyurethane alone, and do so in an anaerobic environment, according to the researchers who found it. The Yale team isolated the enzyme that enables this fungus to do its work and noted it could be used for bioremediation.
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