Isolation and characterization of poly(butylene succinate)-degrading fungi

We isolated 12 poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu)-degrading fungi from various soil environments. Among the isolates, the NKCM1706 strain exhibited the fastest degradation rate for the PBSu film (10.5 μg cm−2 h−1). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this strain is closely related to Aspergillus fumigatus (internal transcribed spacer (ITS) identity, 100%). Further, this strain exhibited PBSu-hydrolytic activity in the presence of poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL), PBSu, and poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA). On adding this strain into the soil sample, the PBSu degradation rate accelerated approximately sixfold, suggesting that this strain plays a crucial role in PBSu degradation in actual soil environments. In addition to PBSu, the NKCM1706 strain could degrade PBSA, poly(ethylene succinate) (PESu), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)), and PCL.