[3] However, its polyurethane degradation activity was discovered only in the 2010s in two distinct P. microspora strains isolated from plant stems in the Yasuni National Forest within the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest by a group of student researchers led by molecular biochemistry professor Scott Strobel as part of Yale's annual Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory.

This makes the fungus a potential candidate for bioremediation projects involving large quantities of plastic.

[5] In 1996 Julie C. Lee first isolated Torreyanic acid, a dimeric quinone, from P. microspora, and noted that the species is likely the cause of the decline of Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia), an endangered species of a tree that is related to the paclitaxel-producing yew tree Taxus brevifolia.

[6] Pestalotiopsis microspora is a fungus that is known to be the most effective when it comes to penetrating the exterior of a polymer product or polyurethane and dissolving it through the oxidizing enzymes that it possesses.

Although this is an amazing discovery, it has mostly been monitored in laboratory settings and still needs more experimentation to use on a wide scale for landfills and clean-up areas.