Swedish scientists from Lund University studied the effect of small polystyrene particles on bacteria and fungi. It turns out that mushrooms effectively clear the surrounding area of plastic. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Total Environmental Science (STTE).
Previous research has shown that nanoplastics are toxic to a variety of organisms. But until now, little was known about the ecosystem effects of this pollutant in soil.
“At the highest concentrations of nanoplastics, fungi capture most of the fragments in a process we call the ‘hoover effect.’ “Overall, we found that nanoplastics can have direct negative effects on soil microbes,” said biologist Michaela Mafla Endara, who led the study.
The nanoplastic particles adhered to the root system of the fungus in such a way that the environment was virtually free of pollutants. The fungus was able to eliminate large amounts of plastic and then continued to grow without harming itself.
Using fungi together with plastic-degrading bacteria may offer hope for maintaining healthy soils, researchers say.
Previous scientists I learnedIt turned out that billions of nanoplastic particles mix with baby food when heated.