Biology:Pestalotiopsis microspora
| Pestalotiopsis microspora | |
|---|---|
_G.C._Zhao_%26_N._Li_(517923).jpg)
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| Conidia of Pestalotiopsis microspora | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Amphisphaeriales |
| Family: | Sporocadaceae |
| Genus: | Pestalotiopsis |
| Species: | P. microspora
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| Binomial name | |
| Pestalotiopsis microspora (Speg.) G.C. Zhao & N. Li
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| Synonyms | |
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| Pestalotiopsis microspora | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | hymenium attachment is not applicable |
| lacks a stipe |
 | spore print is blackish-brown |
 | ecology is parasitic |
 | edibility: unknown |
Pestalotiopsis microspora is a species of endophytic fungus capable of breaking down and digesting polyurethane.[1] Originally identified in 1880 in fallen foliage of common ivy (Hedera helix) in Buenos Aires,[2] it also causes leaf spot in Hypericum 'Hidcote' (Hypericum patulum) shrubs in Japan .[3]
However, its polyurethane degradation activity was discovered only in the 2010s in two distinct P. microspora strains isolated from plant stems in the Yasuni National Forest within the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest by a group of student researchers led by molecular biochemistry professor Scott Strobel as part of Yale's annual Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory. It is the first fungus species found to be able to subsist on polyurethane in anaerobic conditions. This makes the fungus a potential candidate for bioremediation projects involving large quantities of plastic.[4]
Pestalotiopsis microspora was originally described from Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1880 by mycologist Carlo Luigi Spegazzini, who named it Pestalotia microspora.[5]
In 1996 Julie C. Lee first isolated Torreyanic acid, a dimeric quinone, from P. microspora, and noted that the species is likely the cause of the decline of Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia), an endangered species of a tree that is related to the paclitaxel-producing yew tree Taxus brevifolia.[6]
See also
- Aspergillus tubingensis, another fungus that can digest polyurethane
- Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacterium capable of breaking down PET
- Galleria mellonella, a caterpillar that can digest polyethylene
References
- ↑ Jonathan R. Russell; Jeffrey Huang; Pria Anand; Kaury Kucera; Amanda G. Sandoval; Kathleen W. Dantzler; DaShawn Hickman; Justin Jee et al. (15 July 2011). "Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi". Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77 (17): 6076–6084. doi:10.1128/AEM.00521-11. ISSN 1098-5336. PMID 21764951. Bibcode: 2011ApEnM..77.6076R.
- ↑ Saccardo, Pier Andrea (1882–1931) (in Latin). Sylloge fungorum omnium hucusque cognitorum. 3. Patavii, sumptibus auctoris. p. 789. https://archive.org/stream/syllogefungorumo03sacc#page/788/mode/2up/search/pestalozzia+microspora.
- ↑ Zhang, M.; Wu, H.Y.; Tsukiboshi, T.; Okabe, I. (August 2010). "First Report of Pestalotiopsis microspora Causing Leaf Spot of Hidcote (Hypericum patulum) in Japan". Plant Disease 94 (8): 1064. doi:10.1094/PDIS-94-8-1064B. PMID 30743469.
- ↑ Anderson, Stacey (December 15, 2014). "The Plastic-Eating Fungi That Could Solve Our Garbage Problem". http://www.newsweek.com/2014/12/26/plastic-eating-fungi-could-solve-our-garbage-problem-291694.html.
- ↑ Spegazzini, C.L. (1880). "Fungi argentini. Pugillus secundus (Continuacion)." (in Latin). Anales de la Sociedad Científica Argentina 10: 5–33. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32326211.
- ↑ Lee, Julie C. (1996). "Torreyanic Acid: A Selectively Cytotoxic Quinone Dimer from the Endophytic Fungus Pestalotiopsis microspora.". The Journal of Organic Chemistry 61 (10): 3232–3233. doi:10.1021/jo960471x.
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q141442 entry
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