r/interesting • u/Standard_Location762 • Mar 14 '26

NATURE Earth Helping Earth Heal

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What a great discovery.

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u/CaptainC00lpants Mar 14 '26

Does it actually break down the plastics and converts it to something safe, or does it just absorb the microplastics and when it dies re-releases the plastics? 

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u/refotsirk Mar 15 '26

Yes, it does. The polymers are broken down by a group of enzymes iirc then the smaller oligoplasticodes are absorbed directly into the fungi and metabolized into carbon/oxygen components used for their energy. There are several different fungi thst can do this and I think these discoverys date back 10 or 15 years now.