Biodegradation of PET by fungi associated with leaf-cutting ants

Abstract

Due to the stable chemical nature and great durability of plastic polymers, tons of this waste that accumulate annually is an environmental challenge to be faced. One strategy that has received attention employs the metabolic capacity of microorganisms in the degradation of plastics. These polymers have structural components with physicochemical properties similar to plant polymers, such as a carbon skeleton with similar chemical bonds, hydrophobic properties and crystalline and amorphous regions. Thus, microorganisms that degrade plant material have metabolic pathways that could be used in the degradation of plastic polymers. Several microorganisms that degrade plant material seem to inhabit the fungus garden of leaf-cutting ants, insects that cultivate fungi for food. The microbiota associated with the garden encodes metabolic pathways for the degradation of plant material, instigating the possibility of their application in biodegradation processes of plastic polymers. This project seeks to assess whether fungi found in leaf-cutting ant colonies would be able to grow using commercial polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the sole carbon source. We intend to assess whether the eventual growth would result in alterations on the surface of plastic fragments, in addition to taxonomically identify such microorganisms. (AU)