20.500.12556/RUL-153057 Degradation of polypropylene by fungi Coniochaeta hoffmannii and Pleurostoma richardsiae The urgent need for better disposal and recycling of plastics has motivated a search for microbes with the ability to degrade synthetic polymers. While microbes capable of metabolizing polyurethane and polyethylene terephthalate have been discovered and even leveraged in enzymatic recycling approaches, microbial degradation of additive-free polypropylene (PP) remains elusive. Here we report the isolation and characterization of two fungal strains with the potential to degrade pure PP. Twenty-seven fungal strains, many isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated sites, were screened for degradation of commercially used textile plastic. Of the candidate strains, two identified as Coniochaeta hoffmannii and Pleurostoma richardsiae were found to colonize the plastic fibers using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Further experiments probing degradation of pure PP films were performed using C. hoffmannii and P. richardsiae and analyzed using SEM, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR). The results showed that the selected fungi were active against pure PP, with distinct differences in the bonds targeted and the degree to which each was altered. Whole genome and transcriptome sequencing was conducted for both strains and the abundance of carbohydrate active enzymes, GC content, and codon usage bias were analyzed in predicted proteomes for each. Enzymatic assays were conducted to assess each strain’s ability to degrade naturally occurring compounds as well as synthetic polymers. These investigations revealed potential adaptations to hydrocarbon-rich environments and provide a foundation for further investigation of PP degrading activity in C. hoffmannii and P. richardsiae. biodegradation plastic hydrocarbons enzymes genomes spectroscopy fungi biorazgradnja plastika ogljikovodiki encimi genomi true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2023-12-15 11:27:02 2023-12-15 11:27:03 2023-12-16 03:49:05 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2023 0 0 18 str. art. 127507 Vol. 277 2023 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 502:582.28 1618-0623 10.1016/j.micres.2023.127507 166567683 1-s2.0-S0944501323002094-main.pdf 1-s2.0-S0944501323002094-main.pdf 1 5EC53C6EC1350AAD2CFFC5599589FD99 a199f55d9e047b56ebf83acbec5dfa07d4fb141a5e3a76909d8b68ace57d9056 e8262dca-9b34-11ee-bebf-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=178853 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944501323002094 0 7dbd45fd-9b34-11ee-bebf-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=178852 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0