Xu Jianquan, Dong Yongquan
Jiangxi Modern Institute of Vocational Technology, Nan Chang 330095, China.
College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistant Pollutants, Nan Chang 330063, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2024 Mar 1;272:116046. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116046. Epub 2024 Feb 2.
The potential of invertebrates in the biodegradation of plastic polymers such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is receiving increasing attention. The present study is aimed to identify the gut microbiome involved in this degradation in yellow mealworms, i.e., the larvae of Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus. The egested PVC polymer experienced a dramatic reduction in both number average molecular weight (Mn) and weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 99.3% and 99.6%, respectively, whereas FTIR analysis revealed chemical alterations. Mass spectrometry analysis identified two potential degradation products: phthalic acid, di(2-propylpentyl) ester and 2-Propenoic acid, tridecyl ester. Further, we used metagenomic sequencing to elucidate the response of the gut microbiome when transitioning from bran to PVC as a food source, identifying four microorganisms actively involved in PVC degradation. Additionally, metagenomic functional analysis of the gut microbiome identified 111 key gene modules that were significantly enriched. In summary, our findings suggest that yellow mealworms adapt to PVC degradation by modifying their gut microbiome both structurally and functionally.
无脊椎动物在生物降解聚氯乙烯（PVC）等塑料聚合物方面的潜力正受到越来越多的关注。本研究旨在确定参与黄粉虫（即黄粉虫Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus的幼虫）体内这种降解过程的肠道微生物群。排出的PVC聚合物的数均分子量（Mn）和重均分子量（Mw）分别大幅降低了99.3%和99.6%，而傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）分析显示有化学变化。质谱分析确定了两种潜在的降解产物：邻苯二甲酸二（2-丙基戊基）酯和十三烷基丙烯酸酯。此外，我们使用宏基因组测序来阐明肠道微生物群在从麸皮转变为以PVC为食物来源时的反应，确定了四种积极参与PVC降解的微生物。此外，对肠道微生物群的宏基因组功能分析确定了111个显著富集的关键基因模块。总之，我们的研究结果表明，黄粉虫通过在结构和功能上改变其肠道微生物群来适应PVC降解。
