Discover the 2-in-1 'plastic feeding machine': the caterpillar and its gut bacteria easily digest the most persistent plastic

Each year, people release about 300 million tons of plastic into the environment, transporting them everywhere and dumping in a landfill; most likely the plastic you threw away years ago is still around somewhere on this tiny Earth. Things start to get worse, as the plastic breaks down into microscopic plastic - tiny plastic particles begin to creep into the water, spilling out into the sea, finding a way to get into our bodies. Humans have yet to find a way to handle plastics effectively.

But maybe Mother Nature kept the answer to that burning problem. Scientists have discovered that caterpillars are interested in eating this persistent waste. While they can't eat off the garbage we have, the secrets that lie in the caterpillar's stomach can help us solve a difficult problem.

' Nature has given us a wonderful starting point, showing us how to decompose plastic by natural means, ' said biologist and new study author Christophe LeMoine at Brandon University. " But we still have to solve a few problems before we can apply this technology, it's best to minimize the use of plastic until the problem is resolved ."

Many localities have applied laws to limit plastic waste, many large corporations are determined to reduce plastic in production, many households have better understand the harmful effects of plastic to the environment. But plastic recycling is still difficult. Even if we cut that indigestible garbage, there are tons of plastic still on the ground and in the water.

In nature, there exists a group of organisms called by science called 'plastivore'. These organisms are capable of digesting the common plastics, and researchers have identified about 50 species that feed on plastic, from bacteria, fungi to caterpillars. Recently, we have discovered a few more insects that are able to turn polyethylene - the second most difficult plastic to break down - into energy.

Professor LeMoine and colleagues focused on the insect they consider to be the most potential: the greater wax moth larva. These caterpillars take advantage of bacteria in the gut to break down and convert plastic into energy. The scientists isolated the bacterium and tried growing it in a laboratory, and found it could live all year without eating plastic.

But that bacterium is not the only creature that helps the caterpillar eat the plastic; The team discovered the ' incredibly close relationship ' between caterpillars and the bacteria in their gut: both organisms can ingest plastic. When the 'dual swords match flanges', they digest the plastic at a remarkably fast pace.

These moths are also not mutants that appear when the environment has too much plastic waste. Previously, they were creatures that destroyed the bee farm, specialized in attacking hives and living on beeswax, molting by-products of bee larvae, pollen and honey.

For humans, plastic and beeswax are unrelated concepts, but with the larvae of large wax butterflies, plastic is just as nutritious as wax. Research shows that the structure of beeswax consists of long chains of carbon and hydrogen - molecules called hydrocarbons. That is also the composition of plastic.

' The wax butterfly larvae and bacteria in the gut must break down the hydrocarbon structure in order to obtain nutrition, ' says Professor LeMoine. ' And assuming that, because the plastic has a similar structure, the moths can use this method of absorbing beeswax to break down the plastic, creating nutrition .' Research has shown that there are bacteria that prefer to live on plastic rather than beeswax.

But the existence of this bacterium does not mean releasing billions of bacteria to eat less plastic. What is remarkable is that the plastic breakdown mechanism allows the caterpillars and bacteria in their intestines to obtain nutrients. Through them, we can find effective plastic suppression technology.

The journey may be far, but any way is like that, just keep going.

Refer to DiscoverMag