Pestalotiopsis microspora

Pestalotiopsis microspora is a species of endophytic fungus capable of breaking down and digesting polyurethane. Originally identified in 1880 in fallen foliage of common ivy (Hedera helix) in Buenos Aires, it also causes leaf spot in Hypericum 'Hidcote' (Hypericum patulum) shrubs in Japan. However, its polyurethane degradation activity was discovered only in the 2010s in two distinct P. microspora strains isolated from plant stems in the Yasuni National Forest within the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest by a group of student researchers led by molecular biochemistry professor Scott Strobel as part of Yale University's annual Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory. It is the first fungus species found to be able to subsist on polyurethane in anaerobic conditions. This makes the fungus a potential candidate for bioremediation projects involving large quantities of plastic. Pestalotiopsis microspora was originally described from Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1880 by mycologist Carlo Luigi Spegaz......read more on Wikipedia.