Stefanović Slobodan, Dimitrijević Milena, Mutavdžić Dragosav, Atlagić Kristina, Krnjajić Slobodan, Marjanović Žaklina
Faculty of Applied Ecology FUTURA, Metropolitan University, Požeška 83a, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
University of Belgrade-Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Jun 26;17(13):1772. doi: 10.3390/polym17131772.
Plastic is a major organic pollutant globally but has only recently been recognized for its recalcitrant nature and resistance to degradation. Although vast amounts of plastic debris are overwhelming the planet, the search for solutions to its degradation has only recently begun. One of the most well-known agents of plastic biodegradation is the larvae of , which can alter the structure of polymers like polystyrene. However, while this insect can cause deterioration, its frass, which still consists of polystyrene microplastics, remains a problem. We investigated whether this frass could be further degraded by strains of white rot fungi, specifically and . We introduced two PS derivatives (styrofoam and stirodure) to the fungi in liquid media and evaluated oxidative metabolism enzymes (laccase, Mn-peroxidase, lignin-peroxidase) activities, and the phenolic products of the potential aromatic polymer degradation in the media. Finally, we evaluated FTIR spectra to determine if we could detect changes in polystyrene molecule degradation. Both fungi produced high amounts of enzymes, particularly when the polystyrene was present. Large quantities of phenolic substances were simultaneously detected, some associated with polystyrene degradation. FTIR spectra of different polystyrene products confirmed species-specific mechanisms for their degradation by experimental fungal strains.
塑料是全球主要的有机污染物，但直到最近才因其难降解的性质和抗降解性而被认识到。尽管大量塑料碎片正充斥着地球，但寻找其降解解决方案的工作直到最近才开始。塑料生物降解最知名的媒介之一是 的幼虫，它可以改变聚苯乙烯等聚合物的结构。然而，虽然这种昆虫会导致塑料降解，但它的粪便，其中仍然含有聚苯乙烯微塑料，仍然是一个问题。我们研究了这种粪便是否可以被白腐真菌菌株，特别是 和 进一步降解。我们在液体培养基中向真菌引入了两种聚苯乙烯衍生物（聚苯乙烯泡沫塑料和stirodure），并评估了氧化代谢酶（漆酶、锰过氧化物酶、木质素过氧化物酶）的活性，以及培养基中潜在芳香聚合物降解的酚类产物。最后，我们评估了傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR），以确定是否能检测到聚苯乙烯分子降解的变化。两种真菌都产生了大量的酶，特别是在有聚苯乙烯存在的情况下。同时检测到大量的酚类物质，其中一些与聚苯乙烯降解有关。不同聚苯乙烯产物的FTIR光谱证实了实验真菌菌株对其降解的物种特异性机制。
