Recent Advances in Degradation of Polymer Plastics by Insects Inhabiting Microorganisms

An, Rongrong; Liu, Chengguo; Wang, Jun; Jia, Puyou

doi:10.3390/polym15051307

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…T. molitor and its gut microbiota degrade polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyurethane (PU), bio-based cross-linked polymers, and other plastic polymers ( 75 ). Research findings have identified eight specific microorganisms responsible for polystyrene biodegradation in T. molitor : Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella aerogenes, S. marcescens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Bacillus thuringiensis, P. aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis , and Enterobacter asburiae.…”

Section: Insect Gut Microbiotamentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent trends in insect gut immunity

Khan,

Kojour,

Han

2023

Front. Immunol.

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The gut is a crucial organ in insect defense against various pathogens and harmful substances in their environment and diet. Distinct insect gut compartments possess unique functionalities contributing to their physiological processes, including immunity. The insect gut’s cellular composition is vital for cellular and humoral immunity. The peritrophic membrane, mucus layer, lumen, microvilli, and various gut cells provide essential support for activating and regulating immune defense mechanisms. These components also secrete molecules and enzymes that are imperative in physiological activities. Additionally, the gut microbiota initiates various signaling pathways and produces vitamins and minerals that help maintain gut homeostasis. Distinct immune signaling pathways are activated within the gut when insects ingest pathogens or hazardous materials. The pathway induced depends on the infection or pathogen type; include immune deficiency (imd), Toll, JAK/STAT, Duox-ROS, and JNK/FOXO regulatory pathways. These pathways produce different antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and maintain gut homeostasis. Furthermore, various signaling mechanisms within gut cells regulate insect gut recovery following infection. Although some questions regarding insect gut immunity in different species require additional study, this review provides insights into the insect gut’s structure and composition, commensal microorganism roles in Drosophila melanogaster and Tenebrio molitor life cycles, different signaling pathways involved in gut immune systems, and the insect gut post-infection recovery through various signaling mechanisms.

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Section: Insect Gut Microbiotamentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent trends in insect gut immunity

Khan,

Kojour,

Han

2023

Front. Immunol.

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“…Increasing world population has led to increased production and consumption of plastic materials. However, the accumulation of petrol-plastic wastes in the environment has become the focus of worldwide attention because of the environmental problems caused by their improper disposal after use and decommissioning and because the natural degradation of plastics is very sluggish, resulting in the accumulation of plastic waste that poses a serious environmental threat [2][3][4]. 2 The main disposal methods include landfill, incineration, chemical treatment, and recycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering that much plastic waste has not been scientifically and properly treated, through a series of physical and chemical processes, microplastics are formed and dispersed into the environment [3,6]. Furthermore, organisms can interact with plastic waste: several species of vertebrates and invertebrates have been reported to ingest or become entangled in plastic as animals are unable to distinguish food from plastic in the environment, resulting in the ingestion of plastic particles [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodegradation of Polystyrene by Plastic-Eating Tenebrionidae Larvae

Di Liberto,

Battaglia,

Pellerito

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Polystyrene (PS) is an extremely stable polymer with relatively high molecular weight and a strong hydrophobic character that makes it highly resistant to biodegradation. In this study, PS was subjected to biodegradation tests by Tenebrio Molitor (T. Molitor) and Zophobas Morio (Z. Morio) larvae. Specifically, six different experimental diets were compared: (i) T. Molitor fed with bran; (ii) T. Molitor fed only PS; (iii) T. Molitor fed only PS treated with H2O2; (iv) Z. Morio fed with bran; (v) Z. Morio fed only PS and (vi) Z. Morio fed only PS treated with H2O2. Therefore, the mass change of the larvae and the survival rate were measured periodically, while the frass collected after 15 and 30 days were analyzed by different analyses, such as spectroscopy (FTIR), spectrometry (molecular weight and polydispersity), and microscopy (scanning electron microscopy observations). The obtained results suggest that in the case of T. Molitor larvae, larvae feeding on bran showed the highest survival rate of ~94 % at 30 days, while in the case of the Z. Morio larvae, the highest survival rate was exhibited by larvae eating PS-H2O2. Although not strongly pronounced, the Mw and Mn of PS frass of both T. Molitor and Z. Morio larvae decreased over 30 days, suggesting the Ps biodegradation. Finally, the morphological analysis shows that PS samples isolated from the frass of T. Molitor and Z. Morio larvae showed completely different, rough and irregularly carved surface structures, in comparison to PS before biodegradation.

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“…However, the large amount of consumption inevitably brings a large amount of recycling problems. Many waste plastics were not treated scientifi cally and correctly, they form Microplastics (MPs) through a series of physical and chemical processes and enter the ocean [1]. In recent years, Microplastics (MPs) have been widely distributed in marine and coastal waters around the world, causing serious pollution to marine ecosystems [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Biodegradable Microplastics under Artificially Controlled Aging Conditions with UV Radiation

Zhang¹,

Yang²,

Huang³

et al. 2023

J Biomed Res Environ Sci

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Due to the extensive use and improper recycling of traditional plastics, more and more policies have been issued to manage and restrict the use of traditional plastics. Therefore, Biodegradable Plastics (BPs), a substitute of traditional plastics, are widely used in daily life. However, it cannot reach the expected degradation effect in the natural environment, BPs may produce micro-plastics faster than traditional plastics called Biodegradable Microplastics (BMPs). In order to explore the degradation of BMPs, we designed a degradation experiment of BMPs under Ultraviolet (UV) radiation for 64 days. The results showed that the surface of BMPs gradually became rough with the aging time. And the both slight increase of O/C ratio and CI (carbonyl index) value of them indicated that they were oxidized under UV radiation. In addition, the crystal behaviors and the thermal stability of BMPs showed no obvious changes before and after aging. Our findings demonstrated that BMPs were less sensitive to UV radiation as compared with those of conventional plastics, giving evidence that it is necessary to increase regulation and constraints on their upstream production and subsequent disposal to achieve their environmental friendly purpose.

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Recent Advances in Degradation of Polymer Plastics by Insects Inhabiting Microorganisms

Cited by 19 publications

References 57 publications

Recent trends in insect gut immunity

Recent trends in insect gut immunity

Biodegradation of Polystyrene by Plastic-Eating Tenebrionidae Larvae

Degradation of Biodegradable Microplastics under Artificially Controlled Aging Conditions with UV Radiation

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