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Isolation and Screening from Soil Biodiversity for Fungi Involved in the Degradation of Recalcitrant Materials
Published on: May 16, 2022
Fungal microbiota of biodamages of various polymeric materials
Valeri Bagiyan1, Narine Ghazanchyan2, Nune Khachaturyan2
1Microbial Depository Center of the Scientific and Production Center of "Armbiotechnology" of NAS RA, Yerevan, 0056, Armenia. valbeg@mail.ru.
Abstract:
Data on microbial fouling of various synthetic polymer materials, including those used in space technology, are summarized. It has been established that the dominant groups of microbiota of polymer fouling are the genera of mitosporous fungi Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Trichoderma. The enzymatic properties of fungal strains from the collection of microbial cultures of the Microbial Depository Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia were studied. It has been shown that Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. steckii, Juxtiphoma eupyrena and a number of other fungi have biofouling activity towards polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and some other synthetic polymers. New fungal kits have been developed and proposed to evaluate the fungal resistance of polymeric materials. They include fungi isolated from bio-damaged polymers used in space technology and contain 2 to 5 fungal strains instead of 7 to 9 strains in previously used kits. Taking into account the obtained data, a comparative assessment of the fungal resistance of samples of synthetic polymeric materials of various classes that passed accelerated climatic tests has been carried out. It has been established that the kits of biodegradant fungi, composed of cultures of bio-damaged space technology, generally exceeded the activity of the previously used kits, based on which one can judge the obvious advantages of strains isolated from bio-damaged space technology. In the future, these kits could find application not only for biodegradation of polymers, but also for testing the biostability of various polymers, to use for the construction of aviation and space techniques. Moreover, new optimized kits may be developed based on the strains involved in this study.
Insights
Microbial fouling of polymers is dominated by Aspergillus, Penicillium, and other fungi. New fungal kits, using strains from space technology, effectively assess polymer fungal resistance and biostability.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Materials Science
- Space Technology
Background:
- Microbial fouling impacts synthetic polymers, particularly in space technology applications.
- Dominant fouling genera include Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, and Trichoderma.
- Fungal enzymatic properties are key to biofouling activity on polymers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the biofouling activity of specific fungal strains on synthetic polymers.
- To develop and propose novel fungal kits for evaluating polymer fungal resistance.
- To compare the efficacy of new fungal kits with existing ones.
Main Methods:
- Enzymatic property analysis of fungal strains from the Microbial Depository Center.
- Testing biofouling activity of fungi like Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium chrysogenum on polymers.
- Development of new fungal kits with 2-5 strains isolated from bio-damaged space technology polymers.
- Comparative assessment of polymer fungal resistance using accelerated climatic tests.
Main Results:
- Identified specific fungal strains (e.g., Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium chrysogenum) exhibiting biofouling activity on polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate.
- Developed new fungal kits containing 2-5 strains isolated from bio-damaged space technology polymers.
- Demonstrated that the new kits, utilizing strains from bio-damaged space technology, generally exceeded the activity of previously used kits.
- Established the superiority of strains isolated from bio-damaged space technology for assessing polymer biostability.
Conclusions:
- Fungi isolated from bio-damaged space technology polymers offer advantages for assessing polymer fungal resistance.
- The developed fungal kits are effective for evaluating the biostability of various synthetic polymers.
- Optimized fungal kits hold potential for biodegradation testing and biostability assessment in aviation and space applications.
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