Advances in plastic mycoremediation: Focus on the isoenzymes of the lignin degradation complex

This study investigates P. ostreatus and A. bisporus biodegradation capacity of low density polyethylene (LDPE) oxidised to simulate environmental weathering. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyse the degradation of LDPE treated with fungal cultures. Molecular implications of LDPE degradation by P. ostreatus and A. bisporus were evaluated by Reverse transcription followed by quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) of lac, mnp and lip genes expression. After 90 days of incubation, FT-IR analysis showed, for both fungal treatments, an increasing in the intensity of peaks related to the asymmetric C-C-O stretching (1160 to 1000 cm−1) and the -OH stretching (3700 to 3200 cm−1) due to the formation of alcohols and carboxylic acid, indicating depolymerisation of LDPE. This was confirmed by the SEM analysis, where a widespread alteration of the surface morphology was observed for treated LDPE fragments. Results revealed that the exposure of P. ostreatus to oxidised LDPE treatment led to a significant increase in the expression of the lac6, lac7, lac9, lac10 and mnp2 genes, while A. bisporus showed an over-expression in lac2 and lac12 genes. The obtained results offer new perspectives for a biotechnological use of P. ostreatus and A. bisporus for plastic bioremediation. [Display omitted] •LDPE biodegradation occurs when inoculated with P. ostreatus and A. bisporus.•Both fungal treatments induced shifts in LDPE functional groups.•A significant morphological alteration of LDPE was observed after fungal treatments.•The over-expression of Lac and Mnp isoenzymes was assessed for P. ostreatus.•The over-expression of Lac isoenzymes was assessed for A. bisporus.