Detection of degradation of various types of plastic with fungi

Since the mass production of plastics began in the 1950s, more than 9 billion tons have been produced, with approximately 75% of plastic waste ending up in landfills or the natural environment. The accumulation of plastics has significant negative impacts on human and animal health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new strategies for managing plastic waste. One promising yet underexplored approach is the biodegradation of plastics by microorganisms, which offers a more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional methods. Numerous microorganisms have been identified that can degrade different types of plastics. In this study, we aimed to characterize fungal strains with the potential to degrade various types of plastic. We present a screening method to detect plastic degradation by different fungal species. Five types of sterile plastics were used: polyamide (PA), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), and polyurethane (PU). More than 300 fungi from the Mycosmo collection were tested. Plastic served as the sole carbon source. Gas chromatography was performed at the beginning and after four weeks of incubation at 25°C. After initial screening, the best fungal performers were tested on only one type of plastic. Degradation was then confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR). Results demonstrate how gas chromatography and FTIR-ATR data, combined with chemometrics, can be presented. Respirometric CO₂ detection is an effective screening method for fungal plastic biodegradation, but it does not confirm polymer depolymerization. Throughput can be improved by pooled testing. Promising strains should be validated with SEM, FTIR, or Raman spectroscopy, followed by enzyme identification for real-world applications.