Role of the intestinal microbiome in low-density polyethylene degradation by caterpillar larvae of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella
Role of the intestinal microbiome in low-density polyethylene degradation by caterpillar larvae of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2020.0112
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发表时间：
2020-03-11
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
LeMoine, Christophe M. R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Cassone, Bryan J.;Grove, Harald C.;LeMoine, Christophe M. R.
最近，一些昆虫，包括大蜡蛾Galleria mellonella的毛虫幼虫，被鉴定为贪婪的“食塑性动物”。这些毛虫能够以前所未有的速度摄取和代谢聚乙烯。虽然梅氏革兰氏菌似乎在生物降解过程中发挥了重要作用，但其肠道微生物群的贡献仍然知之甚少，也存在争议。在一系列实验中，我们提出了强有力的证据，表明完整的微生物组、低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)生物降解和作为代谢副产品的乙二醇的产生之间存在复杂的关系。首先，我们在生化上证实了梅隆螺旋藻幼虫消耗和代谢LDPE，因为单个毛虫以聚乙二醇类为食，但这些排泄物被抗生素处理后减少。此外，虽然肠道细菌群落保持相对稳定，无论饮食，我们表明，在早期阶段摄食LDPE(24-72小时)，毛虫表现出比那些饥饿或以天然蜂窝饲料喂养的毛虫更多的微生物。最后，通过分离和培养肠道细菌，以聚乙烯为唯一碳源超过1年，我们鉴定了不动杆菌属的微生物，似乎参与了这一生物降解过程。综上所述，我们的研究表明，在短期暴露期间，梅隆革兰氏菌的肠道微生物群与体内聚乙烯的生物降解密切相关。
Recently, a few insects, including the caterpillar larva of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella, have been identified as avid 'plastivores'. These caterpillars are able to ingest and metabolize polyethylene at unprecedented rates. While it appears that G. mellonella plays an important role in the biodegradation process, the contribution of its intestinal microbiome remains poorly understood and contested. In a series of experiments, we present strong evidence of an intricate relationship between an intact microbiome, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) biodegradation and the production of glycol as a metabolic by-product. First, we biochemically confirmed that G. mellonella larvae consume and metabolize LDPE, as individual caterpillars fed on polyethylene excreted glycol, but those excretions were reduced by antibiotic treatment. Further, while the gut bacterial communities remained relatively stable regardless of diet, we showed that during the early phases of feeding on LDPE (24-72 h), caterpillars exhibited increased microbial abundance relative to those starved or fed on their natural honeycomb diet. Finally, by isolating and growing gut bacteria with polyethylene as their exclusive carbon source for over 1 year, we identified microorganisms in the genus Acinetobacter that appeared to be involved in this biodegradation process. Taken collectively, our study indicates that during short-term exposure, the intestinal microbiome of G. mellonella is intricately associated with polyethylene biodegradation in vivo.