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Biodegradable plastics can solve the problem of unwanted plastics accumulating in the environment if they can be given the contradictory properties of durability in use and rapid degradation after use. Commercially available agricultural biodegradable mulch films are made from formulations containing polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) to provide mechanical and UV resistance during the growing season. Although used films are ploughed into the soil using a tiller to promote decomposition, it is difficult if they remain durable. We showed that an enzyme produced by the leaf surface yeast Pseudozyma antarctica (PaE) degrades PBAT-containing films. In laboratory studies, PaE randomly cleaved the PBAT polymer chain and induced erosion of the film surface. In the field, commercial biodegradable films containing PBAT placed on ridges were weakened in both the warm and cold seasons by spraying the culture filtrate of P. antarctica. After the field was ploughed the next day, the size and total weight of residual film fragments decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Durable biodegradable plastics used in the field are degraded using PaE treatment and are broken down into small fragments by the plough. The resultant degradation products can then be more readily assimilated by many soil microorganisms., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The fungal strain B47-9, isolated from barley, was previously selected as an effective degrader of various biodegradable plastic (BP) films such as poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). The strain has not been identified based on mycological methods because it does not form fruiting bodies, which are the key to morphological identification. Here, we performed molecular phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene regions and their internal transcribed spacer region of B47-9 and related fungi. The results suggest that B47-9 is closely related to the genus Paraphoma. Investigation of the abilities of six strains belonging to the genus Paraphoma to degrade BPs indicated that all strains could degrade PBSA and PBS films to varying degrees. Based on our approach, we conclude that strain B47-9 is a species belonging to the genus Paraphoma.

Yeast host-vector systems are useful tools for the production of recombinant proteins. Here, we report the construction of a new high-level expression plasmid pPAX1-neo for the basidiomycetous yeast, Pseudozyma antarctica. pPAX1-neo harbours a xylose-inducible expression cassette under control of the xylanase promoter and terminator of P. antarctica T-34, a selection cassette of neomycin/G418 with an Escherichia coli neomycin resistance gene under control of the homocitrate synthase promoter of strain T-34, and an autonomously replicating sequence fragment of Ustilago maydis (UARS). Biodegradable plastic (BP)-degrading enzymes of P. antarctica JCM10317 (PaE) and Paraphoma-related fungal strain B47-9 (PCLE) were used as reporter proteins and inserted into pPAX1-neo, resulting in pPAX1-neo::PaCLE1 and pPAX1-neo::PCLE, respectively. Homologous and heterologous BP-degrading enzyme production of transformants of P. antarctica T-34 were detected on agar plates containing xylose and emulsified BP. Recombinant PaE were also produced by transformants of other Pseudozyma strains including Pseudozyma aphidis, Pseudozyma rugulosa, and Pseudozyma tsukubaensis. To improve the stability of transformed genes in cells, the UARS fragment was removed from linearized pPAX1-neo::PaCLE1 and integrated into the chromosome of the P. antarctica strain, GB-4(0), which was selected as a PaE producer in xylose media. Two transformants, GB-4(0)-X14 and X49, had an 11-fold higher activity compared with the wild type strain in xylose-containing liquid media. By xylose fed-batch cultivation using a 3-L jar fermentor, GB-4(0)-X14 produced 73.5 U mL(-1) of PaE, which is 13.4-fold higher than that of the wild type strain GB-4(0), which produced 5.5 U mL(-1) of PaE.

To improve the productivity of Paraphoma-like fungal strain B47-9 for biodegradable plastic (BP)-degrading enzyme (PCLE), the optimal concentration of emulsified poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) in the medium was determined. Emulsified PBSA was consumed as a sole carbon source and an inducer of PCLE production by strain B47-9. Among the various concentrations of emulsified PBSA [0.09-0.9% (w/v)] used in flask cultivation, 0.27% yielded the maximum enzyme activity within a short cultivation period. To evaluate the residual concentration of emulsified PBSA in culture, emulsified PBSA in aliquots of culture supernatant was digested in vitro, and the concentration of released monomerised succinic acid was determined. Regardless of the initial concentration of emulsified PBSA in medium, PCLE activity was detected after residual succinic acid decreased below 0.04 mg/mL in culture broth. Jarfermentation was performed at a 0.27% PBSA concentration. Among the various airflow rates tested, 1 LPM resulted in a PCLE production rate of 1.0 U/mL/day. The enzyme activity in the resulting culture filtrate (4.2 U/2 mL) was shown to degrade commercial BP films (1 × 1 cm, 20 µm thickness) within 8 hours.

Cheese whey is a by-product of cheese production and has high concentrations of lactose (about 5%) and other nutrients. Pseudozyma antarctica produces a unique cutinase-like enzyme, named PaE, that efficiently degrades biodegradable plastics. A previous study showed that a combination of 1% oil and 0.5% lactose increased cutinase-like enzyme production by another species of yeast. In this study, to produce PaE from cheese whey, we investigated the effects of soybean oil on PaE production (expressed as biodegradable plastic-degrading activity) by P. antarctica growing on lactose or cheese whey. In flask cultures, the final PaE activity was only 0.03 U/ml when soybean oil was used as the sole carbon source, but increased to 1.79 U/ml when a limited amount of soybean oil (under 0.5%) was combined with a relatively high concentration of lactose (6%). Using a 5-L jar fermentor with lactose fed-batch cultivation and periodic soybean oil addition, about 14.6 U/ml of PaE was obtained after 5 days of cultivation. When the lactose was replaced with cheese whey, PaE production was 10.8 U/ml after 3 days of cultivation., (Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There is a need to speed up the degradation of used agricultural mulch films that are made of biodegradable plastics (BPs) in the field. Treating them with BP-degrading enzymes could be a solution to this problem. A cutinase-like enzyme of yeast Pseudozyma antarctica (PaE) has wide specificity of BPs degradation, but needs to be produced efficiently. Here we report that the production of PaE by P. antarctica can be increased by using xylose as carbon source. BP-degradation activity was analyzed using a polybutylene succinate-co-adipate (PBSA) emulsion as the substrate. Strain P. antarctica GB-4(1)W was found to be the best PaE producer among the tested strains. Using a 5-L jar fermentor with xylose fed-batch cultivation, high PaE productivity could be maintained and about 21 U/ml of PaE was obtained in 120 h. This amount was 100 times higher than the amount that we obtained previously (0.21 U/ml by flask cultivation using glycerol as carbon source). Under repeated xylose fed-batch cultivation with 24 h intervals, the maximum PaE production rate (0.34 U/ml/h) was maintained and the highest PaE productivity (28,000 U/2 L/d) was repeatedly obtained for 7 intervals. The activity of filtered jar-culture (crude PaE) was stable over 12 weeks at 4°C. Commercially available BP mulch films (20 μm thickness, cut into 1-cm-squares) were completely degraded by submerging them in crude PaE (2 U/ml) at 30°C in 24 h. These results indicated that concentrated PaE can rapidly degrade the strength of BP mulch films in the field so that they do not interfere with plowing., (Copyright © 2013 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Two yeast strains, which have the ability to degrade biodegradable plastic films, were isolated from the larval midgut of a stag beetle, Aegus laevicollis. Both of them are most closely related to Cryptococcus magnus and could degrade biodegradable plastic (BP) films made of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) effectively. A BP-degrading enzyme was purified from the culture broth of one of the isolated strains employing a newly developed affinity purification method based on the binding action of the enzyme to the substrate (emulsified PBSA) and its subsequent degradative action toward the substrate. Partial amino acid sequences of this enzyme suggested that it belongs to the cutinase family, and thus, the enzyme was named CmCut1. It has a molecular mass of 21 kDa and a degradative activity for emulsified PBSA which was significantly enhanced by the simultaneous presence of Ca(2+) or Mg(2+) at a concentration of about 2.5 mM. Its optimal pH was 7.5, and the optimal temperature was 40 °C. It showed a broad substrate specificity for p-nitrophenyl (pNP)-fatty acid esters ranging from pNP-acetate (C2) to pNP-stearate (C18) and films of PBSA, PBS, poly(ε-caprolactone), and poly(lactic acid).

We developed a rapid and simple method for evaluating the degradation of solid biodegradable plastics (BPs). Dye-containing BP films were used as substrates and the release of dye caused by the degradation of BPs was confirmed by a color change in the enzyme solution after a reaction time of 24 h., (Copyright © 2012 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The basidiomycetous yeast Pseudozyma antarctica GB-4(0) esterase (PaE) is a promising candidate for accelerating degradation of used biodegradable plastics (BPs). To increase safety and reduce costs associated with the use of PaE, we constructed a self-cloning strain with high-PaE productivity. A Lys12 gene (PaLYS12)-deleted lysine auxotroph strain GB4-(0)-L1 was obtained from GB-4(0) by ultraviolet mutagenesis and nystatin enrichment. Subsequently, the PaE gene (PaCLE1) expression cassette consisting of GB-4(0)-derived PaCLE1, under the control of a xylose-inducible xylanase promoter with PaLYS12, was randomly introduced into the GB4-(0)-L1 genome. A PaE high-producing strain, PGB474, was selected from among the transformants by high throughput double-screening based on its ability to degrade emulsified polybutylene succinate-co-adipate. Quantitative PCR revealed that four copies of the PaE gene expression cassette were introduced into the PGB474 genome. PGB474 produced 2.0 g/L of PaE by xylose-fed-batch cultivation using a 3-L jar fermentor for 72 h. Pseudozyma antarctica self-cloning strain that produces a high volume of biodegradable plastic degrading enzyme was constructed and selected by high throughput screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basidiomycetous yeast Pseudozyma antarctica (currently designated Moesziomyces antarcticus) produces extracellular enzymes and glycolipids, including mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs), which are biosurfactants. Strain GB-4(0) of this species was previously isolated from rice husks and produces biodegradable plastic-degrading enzyme (Pseudozyma antarctica esterase; PaE). In this study, we generated a MEL biosynthesis-deficient strain (∆PaEMT1) by deleting the gene PaEMT1, which is essential to MEL biosynthesis in strain GB-4(0). The resulting ∆PaEMT1 strain showed deficient PaE activity, and the corresponding signal was hardly detected in its culture supernatant through western blotting analysis using rabbit anti-PaE serum. On the other hand, the relative expression of the gene PaCLE1, encoding PaE, was identical between GB-4(0) and ∆PaEMT1 based on quantitative real-time PCR. When strain ∆PaEMT1 was grown in culture media supplemented with various surfactants, i.e., Tween20, BRIJ35 and TritonX-100, and MELs, PaE activity and secretion recovered. We also attempted to detect intracellular PaE using cell-free extract, but observed no signal in the soluble or insoluble fractions of ∆PaEMT1. This result suggested that the PaCLE1 gene was not translated to PaE, or that expressed PaE was degraded immediately in ∆PaEMT1. Based on these results, MEL biosynthesis is an important contributor to PaE production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esterases from the yeast Pseudozyma antarctica (PaE) and the fungus Paraphoma sp. B47-9 (PCLE) can degrade biodegradable plastics (Shinozaki et al., 2013; Suzuki et al., 2014). The degradation profiles of plastic films composed of poly(butylene succinate), poly(butylene succinate- co -adipate), or poly(butylene adipate) by these enzymes were characterized by liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy in terms of the molecular structures and molecular weights of the degradation products. Monomers and oligomers with molecular weights corresponding to dimers to octamers were identified as products of degradation by PaE in an aqueous reaction solution, irrespective of the type of biodegradable plastic film. Size-exclusion chromatography indicated that the number-average molecular weight of degraded films decreased with reaction time, suggesting that PaE degraded polyester films randomly into monomer units (endo-type degradation). PCLE also degraded polyester films randomly into monomer units, albeit more slowly than did PaE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]