Potential of fungi isolated from the dumping sites mangrove rhizosphere soil to degrade polythene

Abstract

Polythene is the most widely used plastic around the globe. Among the total plastic waste generated, polythene contributes the maximum share (64%). Various strategies/methods are being utilized to deal with the increasing rate of plastic waste, but among all the methods, bioremediation is regarded as the ecofriendly and widely accepted method. In the current investigation, we have attempted to discover the elite polythene deteriorating fungi (isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Avicennia marina ). From 12 different eco-geographical locations along the West Coast of India, total 109 fungal isolates were recorded. The polythene deteriorating fungi were screened at varied pH (3.5, 7 and 9.5) based on changes in weight and tensile strength of the treated polythene at ambient temperature with continuous shaking for 60 days. BAYF5 isolate (pH 7) results in maximum reduction in weight (58.51 ± 8.14) whereas PNPF15 (pH 3.5) recorded highest reduction in tensile strength (94.44 ± 2.40). Surprisingly, we have also reported weight gain, with highest percent weight gain (28.41 ± 6.99) with MANGF13 at pH 9.5. To test the reproducibility of the results, the elite polythene degrading fungal isolates based on weight loss and reduction in tensile strength were only used for repetition experiment and the results based on the reduction in tensile strength were found only reproducible. Polythene biodegradation was further confirmed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The most efficient polythene deteriorating fungal isolates were identified as Aspergillus terreus strain MANGF1/WL and Aspergillus sydowii strain PNPF15/TS using both morphological keys and molecular tools.

The Status of Soil Microbiome as Affected by the Application of Phosphorus Biofertilizer: Fertilizer Enriched with Beneficial Bacterial Strains

“…The most dominant Penicillium species was P. simplicissimum and it is worth noting that the relative abundance of this fungus increased for the FA60 treatment as compared to the control soil. According to Sangale et al [106] P. simplicissimum is capable of degrading polyethylene and can induce resistance against Cucumber mosaic virus in tobacco plants and in Arabidopsis thaliana [107].…”

Evaluation of the Potential of Sewage Sludge Mycobiome to Degrade High Diclofenac and Bisphenol-A Concentrations

“…Many other ascomycete species have shown degradation of EPs, such as of P. oxalicum, which have been studied under several sources including real hospital wastewater [ 68 ]. This fungus, commonly found in soil and water, has been used under laboratory conditions to degrade polythene [ 74 ], 4,6-trinitrotoluene [ 75 ], and chlorinated PAHs [ 76 ]. However, some of the species reported here have not been reported before in DFC removal, but some related strains ( Aspergillus terreus CCS2B, Talaromyces spectabilis CCS12 ) degraded mixtures of PAHs [ 51 ] and pyrene oxidation by Syncephalastrum racemosum [ 76 ].…”

The use of previous crops as sustainable and eco-friendly management to fight Fusarium oxysporum in sesame plants

“…Soil washing techniques described by Xiao et al (2019) and soil dilution were used to isolate bacteria and fungi from the sesame rhizosphere, as described by Sangale et al (2019 . For collecting the soil samples, healthy sesame plants (4–6 week-old) with roots were carefully drought, the excess soil gently shaken off, discarded, and the sticky soil with root system was left.…”