Fungal Diversity and Dynamics during Long-Term Immersion of Conventional and Biodegradable Plastics in the Marine Environment

Overall, through a metabarcoding analysis of a broad set of samples, which allowed for a determination of the diversity and distribution patterns of fungal communities as-sociated with plastics immersed in natural and controlled settings, we were able to demonstrate that (i) the fungal Kingdom is an integrated part of the plastisphere, (ii) plastic-associated fungal communities are relatively complex and distinct from those living in surrounding seawaters, and (iii) locations and inherent environmental pa-rameters, type of plastics (conventional vs. biodegradable), and immersion duration have strong influence on fungal colonization. Our findings pave the way for further studies to delve deeper into the biodegradation capabilities and functionalities of these fungal communities.