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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microbial Chemical Sensing of Microplastic-Derived Compounds in Insect Gut Ecosystems
ClearMicroplastics occurrence, detection and removal with emphasis on insect larvae gut microbiota
This review covers the sources, detection methods, and toxic effects of microplastics across ecosystems, with a special focus on insect larvae gut microbiota as a biological degradation tool. Researchers found that certain insect larvae, such as mealworms and waxworms, harbor gut bacteria capable of breaking down plastic polymers. The study highlights biological degradation by insect-associated microbes as a promising avenue for microplastic remediation.
The Gut Microbiome Associated to Honeybees and Waste-reducing Insects
This review examined the gut microbiomes of honeybees and insects that consume organic waste including plastic-contaminated food, finding that gut bacteria play key roles in digestion and immunity. Some insect gut bacteria are being studied for their potential to biodegrade plastics, making this a relevant intersection of microbiology and plastic pollution research.
Mechanisms and Perspectives of Microplastic Biodegradation by Insects and Their Associated Microorganisms
This review examined how insects and their gut microbiota contribute to microplastic biodegradation, summarizing known degradation mechanisms and the microorganisms involved. The authors found that several insect species harbor gut bacteria capable of depolymerizing common plastics like polystyrene and polyethylene, though degradation rates remain too slow for practical remediation at scale.
Responses of gut microbiomes to commercial polyester polymer biodegradation in Tenebrio molitor Larvae
Researchers demonstrated that mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) can rapidly biodegrade commercial polyethylene terephthalate microplastics, with gut microbiome analysis revealing specific bacterial communities that shift in response to PET consumption and enable its breakdown.
Understanding the Ecological Robustness and Adaptability of the Gut Microbiome in Plastic-Degrading Superworms (Zophobas atratus) in Response to Microplastics and Antibiotics
Researchers studied superworms (Zophobas atratus larvae) that can eat and break down five major types of plastic, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. They found that the gut microbiome of these insects adapted to digest different plastics even when challenged with antibiotics, suggesting the larvae and their gut bacteria work together in a robust system that could inform future plastic biodegradation strategies.
Enhanced biodegradation of microplastic and phthalic acid ester plasticizer: The role of gut microorganisms in black soldier fly larvae
Researchers discovered that black soldier fly larvae can biodegrade microplastics and phthalate plasticizers, with their gut microorganisms playing a key role in the breakdown process. The study found that the larvae's digestive bacteria enhanced the degradation of both contaminants, suggesting that insect-based bioprocessing could offer a novel approach to addressing plastic pollution.
Disruption of midgut homeostasis by microplastics in Spodoptera frugiperda: Insights into inflammatory and oxidative mechanisms
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect the gut of fall armyworms, a common agricultural pest insect. They found that microplastics caused gut inflammation and oxidative damage, disrupting normal gut function, which provides insight into how microplastic contamination in soil may affect insects throughout the food chain.
A Function-Driven Single-Cell Approach to Unveiling and Cultivating Hidden Microplastic-Degrading Microbes from Insect Gut Microbiota
Researchers developed a function-driven single-cell approach to identify and cultivate microplastic-degrading microbes from insect gut microbiota, addressing the bottleneck of discovering efficient plastic-degrading organisms from complex microbial communities. The method successfully recovered novel microplastic-degrading microbes that could not be identified through conventional culture-independent approaches, demonstrating a new strategy for harnessing gut microbiome biodiversity for sustainable plastic biodegradation.
Phthalates released from microplastics inhibit microbial metabolic activity and induce different effects on intestinal luminal and mucosal microbiota
Researchers used a simulated human gut model to show that intestinal microbiota accelerates the release of phthalate plasticizers from microplastics, and these released phthalates inhibit microbial metabolic activity and differentially affect luminal versus mucosal gut bacteria.
Insects to the rescue? Insights into applications, mechanisms, and prospects of insect-driven remediation of organic contaminants
This review explores the emerging field of using insects and their gut microbiomes to break down organic pollutants, including plastics, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. Researchers found that certain insect species and their associated bacteria can metabolize contaminants that are difficult to treat with conventional methods. The study highlights insect-driven remediation as a novel and eco-friendly approach that deserves more research attention for environmental cleanup applications.
Microplastics in Motion: How Earthworm Guts Become Microbial Gateways through Plastic Surface Dynamics
This study tracked how microplastics move through earthworm digestive systems and found that the gut environment alters the microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces, potentially transforming earthworms into vectors that spread plastic-associated microbes through soil ecosystems.
Plastics shape the black soldier fly larvae gut microbiome and select for biodegrading functions
Researchers found that black soldier fly larvae can adapt their gut microbiome to digest a wide range of plastics, shifting their microbial communities to favor biodegrading functions. This suggests the insects could serve as living incubators for discovering new plastic-breaking enzymes for industrial cleanup applications.
Earthworm-microbiome interactions: Unlocking next-generation bioindicators and bioengineered solutions for soil and environmental health
This review explores how earthworms and their associated microbiomes can serve as bioindicators of soil contamination from pollutants including microplastics. Changes in earthworm gut microbial communities can act as early warning signals of soil pollution, and engineered earthworm-microbiome systems show potential for environmental remediation. The study suggests that understanding these biological interactions could lead to new biomonitoring tools for assessing microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems.
Can wood-feeding termites solve the environmental bottleneck caused by plastics? A critical state-of-the-art review
Researchers reviewed the potential for wood-feeding termites and their gut microbiomes to biodegrade synthetic plastics, arguing that structural and chemical similarities between lignocellulose and plastic polymers make termite gut bacteria a promising but underexplored source of plastic-degrading enzymes.
Co-exposure to environmental microplastic and the pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) induce distinctive alterations in the metabolome and microbial community structure in the gut of the earthworm Eisenia andrei
Researchers exposed earthworms to a combination of microplastics and the herbicide 2,4-D and found that the co-exposure caused distinct changes in gut metabolism and microbial communities compared to either pollutant alone. The combined pollutants disrupted metabolic pathways and shifted the balance of gut bacteria in ways neither contaminant produced individually. The findings suggest that microplastics and pesticides together may pose greater ecological risks to soil organisms than previously understood.
Environmental concentrations of microplastic-induced gut microbiota and metabolite disruption in silkworm, Bombyx mori
Exposing silkworms to environmentally realistic concentrations of microplastics disrupted their gut bacteria and altered metabolites involved in energy, fat metabolism, and immune function. Even low-level exposure caused significant shifts in microbial communities and metabolic pathways without killing the organisms. This research highlights how microplastics can cause hidden health effects by disrupting the gut microbiome, a concern that extends to humans who are also exposed through food and water.
Plastic Biodegradation through Insects and their Symbionts Microbes: A Review
This review examines how insects and their gut microbes can break down plastic waste, covering species like mealworms and waxworms that can digest polyethylene and polystyrene. The bacteria living in insect guts are responsible for much of this plastic-degrading activity. Insect-based biodegradation could offer a scalable biological solution to reducing plastic pollution.
Soil fauna Protaetia brevitarsis mediated polyethylene microplastic biodegradation
Researchers found that larvae of the beetle Protaetia brevitarsis can biodegrade polyethylene microplastics in soil, with gut microbiome analysis revealing specific bacterial communities responsible for PE degradation, suggesting potential for insect-mediated plastic bioremediation.
Chemical pollution and microbiomes responses
This paper reviewed how chemical pollution affects microbial community composition and function across different environments. Exposure to pollutants including plastics, heavy metals, and pesticides can disrupt microbial diversity and the ecosystem services microbes provide. The review calls for greater integration of microbiome science into environmental risk assessment.
Quorum sensing bacteria in microplastics epiphytic biofilms and their biological characteristics which potentially impact marine ecosystem
Researchers collected microplastics from the ocean and characterised the quorum-sensing bacteria living in their biofilms — microbes that communicate chemically to coordinate group behaviours like biofilm formation and antibiotic production. Eight different quorum-sensing bacterial strains were isolated from polypropylene and PVC microplastics, and their signalling molecules (AHLs) were profiled. The findings show that microplastics act as rafts dispersing complex microbial communities, including potentially harmful antibiotic-producing and biofilm-forming bacteria, across the global ocean.
Role-Playing Between Environmental Pollutants and Human Gut Microbiota: A Complex Bidirectional Interaction
This review examined the bidirectional relationship between environmental pollutants, including microplastics, and the human gut microbiota, highlighting how toxicants alter microbial communities while gut bacteria can metabolize or modify pollutant toxicity.
Toxicological Evaluation of Effects of Some Environmental Pollutants on Intestinal Microbiota: Traditional Review
This review examines how various environmental pollutants affect the gut microbiome — the community of microorganisms in the intestinal tract. Microplastics are among the pollutants discussed, and their ability to alter gut microbiota composition is increasingly recognized as a mechanism by which plastic particles may harm human and animal health.
Microplastics as an aquatic pollutant affect gut microbiota within aquatic animals
This review examined how microplastics affect the gut microbiota of aquatic animals, analyzing the roles of plastic-associated chemicals and biofilms in disrupting microbial communities from ingestion through physiological impacts.
Assessing the Impact of Nutritional Stress on the Identification of Plastic-Associated Bacteria in Insect Gut Microbiota
Scientists studied the gut bacteria of plastic-eating insects to find microbes that might help break down plastic waste, but they discovered a major problem with the research method. When insects eat only plastic, they're basically starving, and this starvation changes their gut bacteria in ways that have nothing to do with plastic breakdown. This finding suggests that previous studies may have incorrectly identified which bacteria actually digest plastic, which matters because these microbes could potentially help solve our growing plastic pollution problem.