Do lixo ao lanche: fungos podem fazer banquete com plástico

From Trash to Snack: “Trained” Marine Fungi Can Feast on Ocean Plastics!

Written by Sara Aquino

Published on 10/07/2025 at 08:29

Updated on 10/07/2025 at 08:30

Foto Divulgação iGUi Ecologia.

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Scientists Discover That Marine Fungi Can Be Used To Degrade Plastics In The Oceans. Natural Solution Could Change The Environmental Game.

Scientists are teaching marine fungi to consume plastics that pollute the oceans. The process involves controlled adaptation in the laboratory and has shown promising results.

This new front in the fight against pollution could revolutionize the fate of marine waste. The discovery reignites hope for an ecological and self-sustaining cleanup.

Fungi at the Table: An Unusual Plastic Diet

Researchers have identified species of marine fungi capable of metabolizing plastic materials. By exposing the microorganisms to waste such as polyethylene, they began to recognize it as a carbon source.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Biotechnology with a Salty Flavor

The training process involves gradual exposure to polymers, allowing the fungi to develop specific enzymes. This approach is already used in other contexts, such as in the treatment of agricultural waste.

The novelty is the application in the saline and extreme environment of the oceans. Marine fungi exhibit greater resistance than their terrestrial counterparts.

Cleaner Ocean, Greener Science

It is estimated that around 11 million tons of plastic enter the oceans every year.

From Trash to Treasure: “Trained” Marine Fungi Can Feast on Ocean Plastics! Photo Courtesy of FreePik.

The possibility of reducing this number using biological agents represents a leap in environmental technology.

Furthermore, the fungi do not produce toxic waste in the process. This reinforces the appeal for solutions that do not create new problems.

Next Steps: From Laboratories to the Seas

The future goal is to create floating platforms or submerged systems with fungi that act in situ. This will require research on ecological impacts and safety for marine species.

If feasible, the method could be integrated into ocean cleanup policies. Nature and science can, together, repair what humanity has damaged.

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From Trash to Snack: “Trained” Marine Fungi Can Feast on Ocean Plastics!

Scientists Discover That Marine Fungi Can Be Used To Degrade Plastics In The Oceans. Natural Solution Could Change The Environmental Game.

Fungi at the Table: An Unusual Plastic Diet

Biotechnology with a Salty Flavor

Cleaner Ocean, Greener Science

Next Steps: From Laboratories to the Seas

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From Trash to Snack: “Trained” Marine Fungi Can Feast on Ocean Plastics!

Scientists Discover That Marine Fungi Can Be Used To Degrade Plastics In The Oceans. Natural Solution Could Change The Environmental Game.

Fungi at the Table: An Unusual Plastic Diet

Biotechnology with a Salty Flavor

Cleaner Ocean, Greener Science

Next Steps: From Laboratories to the Seas

Engineers want to carve through Africa with a giant canal to bring water from the world’s second-largest river to a dying lake on the edge of the Sahara Desert that has already lost 90% of its water.

A giant brown band visible from space, approximately 8,850 kilometers long, connected Africa to America in the Atlantic Ocean, and satellites revealed that it is neither land nor pollution, but the largest accumulation of seaweed in the world, which broke records in 2025.

Workers were opening a modern road in Dover when they found, 6 meters below the asphalt, a 3,500-year-old boat made of stitched oak and plant fibers.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

In just one cast, fishermen are surprised to capture 14,096 mullets in Bombinhas and close a historic season with 58,000 fish; scene recorded in the Santa Catarina paradise marks the last day of the 2026 season.

Consumers eat six times more chicken than in the 1960s, global meat supply quadruples in 60 years, and FAO report reveals the invisible cost on the plate: livestock could drive 80% of the increase in agricultural emissions over the next decade.

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