Australian researchers discovered a polystyrene-eating worm species in the journal Microbial Genomics. They confirmed that The common ‘superworm’ may eat a cultivar of ‘Zophobas morio’ plastic, especially polystyrene, thanks to the bacterial enzyme in their gut. The discovery opens an important door for hope to eliminate this pollutant that is flooding the natural environment around the world.
Dr Chris Rinke and team from the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Chemistry and Molecular Biological Sciences fed the worms different diets over a three-week period: some were given styrofoam, some bran, and some on a starvation diet.
“We discovered that Superworms fed the Styrofoam diet not only survived, they even gained some weight Dr. Explains Rinke. This suggests worms can get energy from styrofoammost likely with the help of your gut microbes.”
Using a technique called metagenomics, the researchers found several cell-encoded enzymes. ability to decompose polystyrene and styrene. Aim The long-term goal is to design enzymes that will break down plastic waste in recycling plants through mechanical degradation followed by enzymatic biodegradation.
“Super worms are like mini recycling stations“They grind the styrofoam with their mouths and give it to the bacteria in their gut,” explains Rinke. The breakdown products of this reaction can be used by other microbes to create high-value compounds such as bioplastics.”
This biorecycling promotes the recycling of plastic waste and reduce discharge. The study’s co-author, PhD candidate Jiarui Sun, cultivating gut bacteria in the lab and keep testing the ability to decompose polystyrene.
“Then we can look at how we can scale this process to the level needed for a full recycling facility,” Sun says. In this sense, Rinke believes there are many opportunities for biodegradation of plastic waste.
“Our team is very excited to push the science to make this happen,” he says.
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