Pestalotiopsis microspora | Plastic-Eating Mushroom

Description

Pestalotiopsis microspora is hailed by some as the “Plastic-Eating Mushroom”. That may be an overstatement according to some mycologists, but we’re hoping to build a community around the research of this particular mushroom.

Pestalotiopsis microspora is a species of endophytic fungus capable of digesting polyurethane. The fungus was originally identified in 1880 in fallen foliage of common ivy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In 2012, a class from Yale University discovered that Pestalotiopsis microspora could digest polyurethane while researching ways in which nature might degrade plastics (Mycoremediation). The specimen they were studying was found in the Amazon rain forest on a previous class research trip in 2011 and was purported to be able to survive without oxygen and consume polyurethane as it’s sole carbon source. After leaving the culture in-vitro for an unknown period of time with an unknown amount of polyurethane it was observed that the fungus had nearly or completely digested the polyurethane.

Although there does appear to be some truth and a bit of hope in that claim, many refute the idea (including notable mycologist Alan Rockefeller) and say that, essentially, “mushrooms can’t eat plastic… not even Pestalotiopsis microspora”

Now, although polyurethane is NOT plastic in and of itself. It is a base molecule in many “commodity plastics” such as light weight packaging, food containers, and household products, sponges, etc.  I’ll include an excerpt from Wikipedia for a clarity, but please understand that it’s a pretty big leap to go from the truth that this fungus can degrade polyurethane to saying that it “eats plastic”. There’s a lot of work to be done in understanding exactly what’s going on here but from my own research i can tell you that there have been studies that prove conclusively that this specific fungus produces Taxol which is an anti-cancer adjuvant. Taxol usually is given in combination with other chemotherapy medicines and is used after surgery to: reduce the risk of early-stage breast cancer coming back and treat advanced-stage breast cancer after it stops responding to standard chemotherapy regimens that include an anthracycline.

[from wikipedia.org] : 

Polyurethane (often abbreviated PUR and PU) referes to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from a wide range of starting materials (monomers) and is therefore a class of polymers, rather than a distinct compound. This chemical variety allows for polyurethanes with very different physical properties, leading to an equally wide range of different applications. These include: rigid and flexible foams, varnishes and coatings, adhesives, electrical potting compounds, and fibers such as spandex and PUL. Of these, foams are the largest single application, accounting for 67% of all polyurethane produced in 2016.^[1]

Global production in 2019 was some 25 million metric tons,^[2] accounting for about 6% of all polymers produced in that year. This is a sufficiently high volume for it to be regarded as a commodity plastic