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Polyvinyl Chloride Degradation by Intestinal Klebsiella of Pest larvae
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Researchers discovered that larvae of the agricultural pest Spodoptera frugiperda can survive on a diet of PVC plastic film alone, and that the gut bacteria of these larvae — particularly a strain of Klebsiella — are capable of degrading PVC. This finding opens a potential new avenue for microbial PVC degradation, which has previously been extremely difficult to achieve.
Abstract Microbial degradation of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is eco-friendly and economically attractive but extremely challenging due to the lack of a molecular understanding of the degrading strains and enzymes. Motivated by the serendipitous discovery that the larva of an agricultural invasive insect pest, Spodoptera frugiperda, effectively survived PVC film alone, we profiled the intestinal microbiota of S. frugiperda larva and screened for PVC-degrading strains. Feeding on PVC film significantly changed the larval intestinal microbiota through selective enrichment of Enterococcus, Ochrobactrum, Falsochrobactrum, Microbaterium, Sphingobacterium and Klebsiella. From the larval intestine, we isolated the biofilm-forming Klebsiella sp. EMBL-1 and experimentally verified it as the first Klebsiella bacterium known to actively degrade and utilize PVC by various classic physicochemical and morphological analyses. We further used multiomic analyses, complementarily integrating genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic insights, to identify enzyme-coding genes responsible for PVC degradation and proposed a biodegradation pathway for the bacterial strain. Overall, both S. frugiperda and strain EMBL-1 are first found to survive effectively on PVC film by using the polymer as the sole energy source. Moreover, this work exemplifying PVC biodegradation provides a reference for discovering more microbes and enzymatic resources for degrading other recalcitrant plastics.
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Polyvinyl Chloride Degradation by Intestinal Klebsiella of Pest larvae
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Researchers discovered that the larvae of the fall armyworm pest can survive on PVC plastic film as a food source, and identified intestinal bacteria capable of degrading PVC. Insect gut microbiomes that break down PVC could be a source of novel plastic-degrading enzymes relevant to bioremediation.
Polyvinyl chloride degradation by a bacterium isolated from the gut of insect larvae
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Researchers isolated a PVC-degrading bacterium (Klebsiella sp. EMBL-1) from the gut of Spodoptera frugiperda insect larvae that had survived feeding on PVC film. Using genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses, the study identified genes and proteins potentially involved in PVC depolymerization, offering new insights into biological plastic degradation pathways.
Unveiling gut microbiota and metabolic functions contributed to polyvinyl chloride degradation in Spodoptera frugiperda larvae
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Researchers discovered that gut bacteria of fall armyworm larvae (Spodoptera frugiperda) can degrade polyvinyl chloride, identifying an Enterococcus casseliflavus strain encoding a NAD-dependent oxidoreductase that directly dechlorinates PVC — the first documented case of enzymatic polymer dechlorination, offering a potential biocatalyst for plastic waste remediation.
Biodegradation of polyvinyl chloride by Citrobacter koseri isolated from superworms (Zophobas atratus larvae)
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Scientists isolated a bacterium called Citrobacter koseri from the gut of superworms that can break down polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. The bacterium degraded unplasticized PVC film, which is notoriously difficult to biodegrade, showing measurable weight loss and surface changes over the study period. This discovery could lead to eco-friendly biological methods for breaking down one of the most stubborn plastic pollutants.
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Researchers isolated bacteria from the gut of Tenebrio molitor mealworm larvae that are capable of degrading polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics. The identified gut microbes showed plastic-degrading enzymatic activity, suggesting potential for bioremediation applications.
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