Plastic Biodegradation Potential of Soil Mangrove Mold Isolated from Wonorejo, Indonesia

Background: Plastic has become one of the most significant environmental threats, especially in mangrove areas due to their non-biodegradable nature. This indicates that there is a need to find alternative degradation methods for these materials, such as the use of mold. Therefore, this study aims to isolate potential plastic degradation mold from the Wonorejo mangrove sediments. Methods: The isolates were identified based on their morphological characteristic and ITS rDNA sequence. Plastic degradation ability of the samples was evaluated using parameters of plastic dry weight loss, FTIR pattern, SEM, and AFM image. Results: A total of eight sediment mold were identified, including Perenniporia spp., Trametes polyzona, Aspergillus terreus, Porostereum spadiceum, Leptosphaerulina chartarum, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Hypocreales sp. Among these molds, the best activity was exhibited by Aspergillus terreus, which degraded 12.5% LDPE and 4.9% white plastic after 30 days, followed by Perenniporia sp. with 10.6% LDPE and 3.4% white plastic degradation. Furthermore, the SEM and AFM images showed that the surface of plastic was damaged after incubation. There were also several attenuations of particular peaks, which indicated the occurrence of chemical changes along plastic chains belonging to the C-H alkane group at wavenumber 2914.94, 2847.38, and 1471 cm-1. Enzyme produced by mold in this study were measured qualitatively. Perenniporia sp. produced laccase, manganese peroxidase, alkane hydroxylase, and lipase. Trametes polyzona also secreted similar enzyme, except lipase, while Porostereum spadiceum was negative for alkane hydroxylase. Aspergillus terreus isolates were positive for lipase and alkane hydroxylase, but Aspergillus fumigatus only produced lipase. Conclusion: In this study, 8 mold with plastic biodegradation potential by producing various enzyme were identified.