Effects of polymerization types on plastics ingestion and biodegradation by Zophobas atratus larvae, and successions of both gut bacterial and fungal microbiomes

Environ Res. 2024 Mar 18;251(Pt 2):118677. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118677. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTRecent studies demonstrated that plastic degradation in Zophobas atratus superworms is related to the gut microbiota. To determine whether the biodegradation and gut-microbiota were influenced by ingested plastic polymerization types, foams of polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) were selected as representatives of polyolefins, polyester and copolymers, and the sole feedstock for superworms for 45 d. Both growth and survival rates of superworms were influenced by the type of plastic diet. Although the total consumptions of EVA- and PP-fed groups were similar at 29.03 ± 0.93 and 28.89 ± 1.14 mg/g-larva, which were both significantly higher than that of PU-fed groups (21.63 ± 2.18 mg/g-larva), the final survival rates of the EVA-fed group of 36.67 ± 10.41% exhibited significantly lower than that of the PP- and PU-fed groups of 76.67 ± 2.89% and 75.00 ± 7.07%, respectively, and even the starvation group of 51.67 ± 10.93%. The Illumina MiSeq results revealed similarities in the dominant gut bacterial communities between PU- and EVA-fed groups, with an increase in relative abundance of Lactococcus, but significant differences from the PP-fed groups, which had two predominant genera of unclassified Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus. Compared to bran-fed groups, changes in gut fungal communities were similar across all plastics-fed gr...
Source: Environmental Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: research