The DOI matches its Crossref record; 10 of the 10 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Evidence of Polyethylene Biodegradation by Bacterial Strains from the Guts of Plastic-Eating Waxworms
Abstract
Polyethylene (PE) has been considered nonbiodegradable for decades. Although the biodegradation of PE by bacterial cultures has been occasionally described, valid evidence of PE biodegradation has remained limited in the literature. We found that waxworms, or Indian mealmoths (the larvae of Plodia interpunctella), were capable of chewing and eating PE films. Two bacterial strains capable of degrading PE were isolated from this worm's gut, Enterobacter asburiae YT1 and Bacillus sp. YP1. Over a 28-day incubation period of the two strains on PE films, viable biofilms formed, and the PE films' hydrophobicity decreased. Obvious damage, including pits and cavities (0.3-0.4 μm in depth), was observed on the surfaces of the PE films using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The formation of carbonyl groups was verified using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and microattenuated total reflectance/Fourier transform infrared (micro-ATR/FTIR) imaging microscope. Suspension cultures of YT1 and YP1 (10(8) cells/mL) were able to degrade approximately 6.1 ± 0.3% and 10.7 ± 0.2% of the PE films (100 mg), respectively, over a 60-day incubation period. The molecular weights of the residual PE films were lower, and the release of 12 water-soluble daughter products was also detected. The results demonstrated the presence of PE-degrading bacteria in the guts of waxworms and provided promising evidence for the biodegradation of PE in the environment.
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Cited by
Degradation rates of plastics in the environment
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Bioplastics for a circular economy
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Source, migration and toxicology of microplastics in soil
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Microbial and Enzymatic Degradation of Synthetic Plastics
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Metadata
- Authors
- Yang, J., Yang, Y., Wu, W.-M., Zhao, J., & Jiang, L.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2014-11-19
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 13776-13784
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2052141210
- Cited by
- 1,022
- References
- 10
- FWCI
- 10.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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- Yang, J., Yang, Y., Wu, W.-M., Zhao, J., & Jiang, L. (2014). Evidence of Polyethylene Biodegradation by Bacterial Strains from the Guts of Plastic-Eating Waxworms. Environmental Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/es504038a
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