Yale undergraduates have discovered fungi growing in the Amazon Rainforest that can degrade polyurethane, a finding that could lead to innovative ways of reducing waste in the world's landfills.
The research, detailed in the July issue of the journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, is the work of undergraduates who participated in Yale's Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory course, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Students search for and collect endophytes - organisms found in rainforest plants - and then test them for biological activity. They analyze those that show biological activity to see whether they might have other medical or social uses.
On a 2008 trip to Equador, Pria Anand, Class of 2010, decided to see if the endophytes she collected could be used in bioremediation. A rudimentary test showed that a chemical reaction took place when the endophyte was introduced to plastic. Other students found analyzed endophytes to find those that break down chemical bonds most efficiently.
This year, a student discovered that one family of endophytes showed the most promise for bioremediation. Further analysis isolated the enzyme that most efficiently breaks down polyurethane.
While other agents can degrade polyurethane, the enzyme identified by Yale students holds particular promise because it also degrades plastic in the absence of oxygen - a prerequisite for bioremediation of buried trash.
A new crop of undergraduates are analyzing newly discovered endophytes collected during recent rainforest trips to see if they can also degrade more intractable plastics such as polystyrene.
