Parengyodontium album : Marine Fungus
A marine fungus called Parengyodontium album has been discovered to break down plastic polyethene (PE) in the ocean.
- Parengyodontium album is a marine fungus that can break down plastic polyethene (PE), the most common plastic in the ocean.
- It was discovered by Marine microbiologists from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).
- In this bioremediation process, the PE-derived carbon is converted into the fungal biomass of album, serving as its energy source.
- Initial photodegradation of PE by UV sunlight is crucial for this process. It makes the fungus useful to degrade the floating oceanic plastic litter.
- Humans produce over 400 billion kilograms of plastic annually, much of which ends up in the ocean.
- Considering fungi as the ‘masters of degradation’ that they utilise a plethora of digestive enzymes for plastic degradation, researchers expect that there could be more plastic-degrading fungi in the deeper parts of the ocean.
