Table 1.
Isolate names, their species identity, and vouchered/published GenBank accessions showed the highest percent similarity, the host plant species that the isolate originated.
Fig 1.
Decaying wood-associated fungal isolates showing clustering based on the variation in percent weight loss.
Darker the color intensity, the higher the weight loss. Isolates used for LDPE degradation were shown with an asterisk. Isolates having lignin degradation abilities were shown in a # mark.
Fig 2.
Enzyme activity of the LDPE degrading salt medium and wood-enriched salt medium after the 45-day incubation period.
(A) Laccase (B) Lignin peroxidase and (C) Manganese peroxidase activities. Whiskers show one standard error (n = 3).
Table 2.
Mean pH change in the LDPE degradation medium inoculated with selected fungal isolates (not showing unidentified species) after the 45-day incubation period.
Fig 3.
Percentage weight loss (A), and deterioration kinetics (B) of LDPE sheets in salt and wood enriched salt media after a 45-day incubation period. Whiskers show one standard error (n = 3).
Fig 4.
Reduction in mechanical properties; the percent reduction in maximum tensile stress and percent reduction in tensile stress at yield by each fungal isolate in each medium.
Whiskers show one standard error (n = 3).
Fig 5.
Comparison of means of contact angle of 37.5-micron LDPE deteriorated by fungal isolates after a 45-day incubation period in salt and wood amended salt medium.
Whiskers show one standard error (n = 3).
Fig 6.
FTIR of biodegraded LDPE strips in the salt medium after 45 days of the incubation period.
(A) P. flavidoalba (KH2), (B) S. commune (DLP_1), (C) C. bipellis (DD16) treated LDPE. LDPE sheets treated with P. flavidoalba showed peaks at 3200–3600 cm-1 indicating OH stretching. Further, peaks at 1000–1200 cm-1 corresponded to -C-O stretch due to carboxylic acids, esters and ethers. New peaks appeared at 1639 cm-1 corresponding to C = O in aldehydes/ketones and at 1297 cm-1 corresponding to COC of ether in LDPE sheets incubated with P. flavidoalba in wood enriched media.
Fig 7.
Scanning Electron Microscopy, mycelial aggregation, and distortions in degraded low-density polyethylene strips after 45 days.
(A) Control, (B) P. tephrophora (DD18), (C) Xylaria sp. DD 27, (D) X. freejensis DD28, (E) Phlebiopsis sp. DD 31, (F) P. flavidoalba KH2 treated microns 37.5 stripes. (G) and (H) Mycelia attached to the LDPE (un washed LDPE sheet with mycelia), (I) to (J) macroscopic distortions of P. flavidoalba KH2 and Xylaria sp. DD 27 treated LDPE. Scale bars represent the 10 μm length.
Fig 8.
Evolution of CO2 by P. flavidoalba after degrading (A) Crystalline micro cellulose and (B) 37.5-micron LDPE sheets.
Table 3.
Percentage biodeterioration and biodegradation of LDPE and the crystalline cellulose by P. flavidoalba in the salt medium calculated in terms of weight loss and release of CO2.
Table 4.
Correlations among enzymes, degradation parameters, and pH in the salt medium (absence of wood).