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Pestalotiopsis microspora is a species of endophytic fungus capable of breaking down and digesting polyurethane.[1] Originally identified in 1880 in fallen foliage of common ivy (Hedera helix) in Buenos Aires,[2] it also causes leaf spot in Hypericum 'Hidcote' (Hypericum patulum) shrubs in Japan.[3]
| Pestalotiopsis microspora | |
|---|---|
_G.C._Zhao_&_N._Li_(517923).jpg) | |
| Conidia of Pestalotiopsis microspora | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Amphisphaeriales |
| Family: | Sporocadaceae |
| Genus: | Pestalotiopsis |
| Species: | P. microspora |
| Binomial name | |
| Pestalotiopsis microspora | |
| Synonyms | |
Pestalotiopsis microspora | |
|---|---|
 | Hymenium attachment is not applicable |
| Lacks a stipe |
 | Spore print is blackish-brown |
 | Ecology is parasitic |
 | Edibility is unknown |
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'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.[4]
Pestalotiopsis microspora was originally described from Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1880 by mycologist Carlo Luigi Spegazzini, who named it Pestalotia microspora.[5]
In 1996 Julie C. Lee first isolated Torreyanic acid, a dimeric quinone, from P. microspora, and noted that the species is likely the cause of the decline of Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia), an endangered species of a tree that is related to the paclitaxel-producing yew tree Taxus brevifolia.[6]
Pestalotiopsis microspora is a fungus that is known to be the most effective when it comes to penetrating the exterior of a polymer product or polyurethane and dissolving it through the oxidizing enzymes that it possesses. Although this is an amazing discovery, it has mostly been monitored in laboratory settings and still needs more experimentation to use on a wide scale for landfills and clean-up areas.
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- Plastivore
- Aspergillus tubingensis, another fungus that can digest polyurethane
- Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacterium capable of breaking down PET
- Galleria mellonella, a caterpillar that can digest polyethylene
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