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The Ability of Ascomycetes to Transform Polyethylene Terephthalate

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Abstract

The ability of the soil-inhabiting ascomycetes Lecanicillium aphanocladii, Talaromyces sayulitensis, Trichoderma harzianum and Fusarium oxysporum to use polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a sole carbon and energy source has been shown. Utilization of PET by the studied fungi, except for L. aphanocladii, was accompanied by the production of emulsifying compounds. All fungi exhibited the activity of cutinase, the key PET depolymerization enzyme, and a number of oxidoreductases, which apparently catalyze the oxidation of the resulting products: peroxidases in F. oxysporum and T. harzianum, as well as peroxidases and oxidases in L. aphanocladii and Tal. sayulitensis. The data we obtained can be used to develop environmental biotechnologies and contribute to understanding of the processes of degradation/conversion of plastics in natural ecosystems.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to Doctor (Biol.) Professor V.A. Terekhova (Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences) for providing the Trichoderma harzianum strain.

Funding

The work was carried out within the framework of the state assignment no. GR 121031700141-7.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Saratov Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBPPM RAS), 410049, Saratov, Russia

    N. N. Pozdnyakova, A. M. Burov & O. V. Turkovskaya

  2. Department of Biology, Moscow State University, 119234, Moscow, Russia

    E. A. Antonov & A. V. Aleksandrova

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  1. N. N. Pozdnyakova
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  2. A. M. Burov
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  3. E. A. Antonov
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  4. A. V. Aleksandrova
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Correspondence to N. N. Pozdnyakova.

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Abbreviations: ABTS, 2,2ʹ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate); OD600, optical density at a wavelength of 600 nm; PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; PET, polyethylene terephthalate.

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Pozdnyakova, N.N., Burov, A.M., Antonov, E.A. et al. The Ability of Ascomycetes to Transform Polyethylene Terephthalate. Appl Biochem Microbiol 59, 1192–1200 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0003683823090077

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