Is this mold on a mission?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Could fungi help clean up our plastic pollution mess?
Victor Gambarini at the University of Auckland studied a soil fungus called Clonostachys rosea. After looking at all of its genes, his team identified twelve genes linked to plastic breakdown.
When the fungus was fed a plastic called PCL, those genes switched on. They chopped PCL into smaller molecules. It showed similar activity towards the type of plastic used in bottles.
It’s no accident that this fungus thrives on plastic waste. Its specialized genetic tools could fight plastic pollution.
Plastic may last centuries, but fungus just clocked in for cleanup duty.
Reference: Gambarini V, Pavlov N, Young P, Dawes S, Auffret A, Kingsbury JM, Donaldson LA, Smith DA, Weaver L, Pantos O, Handley KM, Lear G. 2025. Molecular mechanisms of plastic biodegradation by the fungus Clonostachys rosea. mBio 16:e00335-25. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00335-25