TY - JOUR
T1 - Gut Microbial Communities in Mealworms and Indianmeal Moth Larvae Respond Differently to Plastic Degradation
AU - Navlekar, Anisha S.
AU - Osuji, Ezinne
AU - Carr, Deborah L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Recent studies describe the role of specific isolated members of insect larval gut microbiota in plastic degradation. However, the effect of plastics on the entire gut microbial community composition and structure is yet unknown. To determine these roles, we studied two insect larvae – Tenebrio molitor degrades polystyrene (PS) and Plodia interpunctella degrades polyethylene (PE). We established two colonies of each species: control (fed oats) and test (fed either PS or PE). After dissecting the larvae to obtain their guts, we extracted, sequenced, and analyzed 16S rRNA through amplicon sequencing. In Plodia interpunctella fed only PE, we find significant increased relative abundance of microbial families Pseudomonaceae, Clostridiaceae and Caulobacteraceae - from 0.15% in the control to ~ 50% in the PE-fed group. In Tenebrio molitor fed only PS, degradation is not associated with significant changes in microbial abundance. We hypothesize that Tenebrio microbiome uses other mechanisms such as protein production and/or cross feeding, retaining the original gut microbial structure and composition during PS degradation. This study showcases the diverse mechanisms used by larval gut microbiota to achieve polyethylene and polystyrene degradation, indicating a variation in the effect of plastic degradation on the gut microbial community of larvae.
AB - Recent studies describe the role of specific isolated members of insect larval gut microbiota in plastic degradation. However, the effect of plastics on the entire gut microbial community composition and structure is yet unknown. To determine these roles, we studied two insect larvae – Tenebrio molitor degrades polystyrene (PS) and Plodia interpunctella degrades polyethylene (PE). We established two colonies of each species: control (fed oats) and test (fed either PS or PE). After dissecting the larvae to obtain their guts, we extracted, sequenced, and analyzed 16S rRNA through amplicon sequencing. In Plodia interpunctella fed only PE, we find significant increased relative abundance of microbial families Pseudomonaceae, Clostridiaceae and Caulobacteraceae - from 0.15% in the control to ~ 50% in the PE-fed group. In Tenebrio molitor fed only PS, degradation is not associated with significant changes in microbial abundance. We hypothesize that Tenebrio microbiome uses other mechanisms such as protein production and/or cross feeding, retaining the original gut microbial structure and composition during PS degradation. This study showcases the diverse mechanisms used by larval gut microbiota to achieve polyethylene and polystyrene degradation, indicating a variation in the effect of plastic degradation on the gut microbial community of larvae.
KW - 16S rRNA sequencing
KW - Insect gut microbiome
KW - Plastic degradation
KW - Plodia interpunctella
KW - Polyethylene
KW - Polystyrene
KW - Tenebrio molitor
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147366835&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10924-023-02773-6
DO - 10.1007/s10924-023-02773-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85147366835
SN - 1566-2543
VL - 31
SP - 2434
EP - 2447
JO - Journal of Polymers and the Environment
JF - Journal of Polymers and the Environment
IS - 6
ER -