M

Maria A. Townes

Yale University

Publishes on biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties, Microplastics and Plastic Pollution, Antimicrobial agents and applications. 1 papers and 534 citations.

1Publications
534Total Citations

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Top publicationsby citations

Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi
Jonathan R. Russell, Jeffrey Huang, Pria Anand et al.|Applied and Environmental Microbiology|2011
Cited by 535Open Access

Bioremediation is an important approach to waste reduction that relies on biological processes to break down a variety of pollutants. This is made possible by the vast metabolic diversity of the microbial world. To explore this diversity for the breakdown of plastic, we screened several dozen endophytic fungi for their ability to degrade the synthetic polymer polyester polyurethane (PUR). Several organisms demonstrated the ability to efficiently degrade PUR in both solid and liquid suspensions. Particularly robust activity was observed among several isolates in the genus Pestalotiopsis, although it was not a universal feature of this genus. Two Pestalotiopsis microspora isolates were uniquely able to grow on PUR as the sole carbon source under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Molecular characterization of this activity suggests that a serine hydrolase is responsible for degradation of PUR. The broad distribution of activity observed and the unprecedented case of anaerobic growth using PUR as the sole carbon source suggest that endophytes are a promising source of biodiversity from which to screen for metabolic properties useful for bioremediation.