Researchers discovered that waxworm saliva contains two enzymes that can naturally dissolve common forms of plastic in just a few hours at ambient temperature.
Polyethylene is one of the most commonly used plastics worldwide. It can be found in everything, from shopping bags to food containers. Unfortunately, its robustness also makes it a stubbornly persistent pollutant – the polymer needs to be treated with high temperatures to kickstart the degradation process.
Waxworm saliva contains the only enzymes that work on untreated Polyethylene.
Federica Bertocchini was a molecular biologist, amateur beekeeper and discovered that waxworms can degrade plastic. This happened a few decades ago.
Bertocchini said that beekeepers usually put empty beehives into a storage area at the end of the season to be put back in the field in spring. AFP.
“One year later, I did that, and found my honeycombs infested with waxworms.”
She removed the honeycomb from the honeycomb and placed the waxworms in a bag. She returned a few minutes later and found the bag.Plagued with holes“.
Wax worms (Galleria mellonella) These larvae eventually become a variety of other species. short-livedThe wax moths. The larval stage is when the worms are most at home in beehives. FeedWax and pollen.
Bertocchini and her colleagues at Madrid’s Margarita Salas Center for Biological Studies made this discovery by accident. They began to analyze the wax worm saliva and published their findings in Nature Communications.
Two methods were used by the researchers: gel permeation Chromatography, which separates molecules according to their size, and gas-chromatography-mass spectrumtry, which determines fragments of molecules based upon their mass-charge ratio.
They confirmed that saliva could actually break down long hydrocarbon chains of polyethylene into smaller, oxidized ones.
They used proteomic analyses to determine “a few enzymes” present in saliva. The researchers found two enzymes that oxidize polyethylene. Write.
These enzymes were named ‘Demetra and ‘Ceres by the researchers, in honor of the Roman and ancient Greek goddesses of agricultural work, respectively.
The researchers stated, “To our best knowledge, these polyethyleneases were the first enzymes that can produce such modifications on polyethylene films working at room temperatures and in very short times.” Write.
They overcome the “first and most difficult step” of the degradation process by combining their two enzymes. AddThis process could offer an alternative paradigm for waste management.
It’s still early days for investigations but these enzymes could be mixed with some water and poured on top of plastic in a waste management plant, Bertocchini Telled AFP. They can be used in remote areas where waste facilities are not readily available or in private homes.
Wax worms’ saliva might sound very promising, but they aren’t the only organisms capable of degrading plastic.
A 2021 StudyThe results showed that soil bacteria and microbes from the oceans had evolved to eat plastic.
2016Researchers discovered that a bacteria found at a Japanese landfill could degrade polyethylene terephthalate (also known as PET or Polyester). Later, scientists were inspired by this discovery to create an enzyme. Could quickly failplastic drink bottles
Around 400 million metric tonsEach year, around 30 percent of all plastic waste is generated in the form polyethylene. Only 1% of the estimated 7 billion tons of plastic waste generated worldwide to date has been recycled. 10%It has been recycled leaving behind a significant legacy of waste.
Reduced consumption and the reusing of materials will undoubtedly reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste. However, having a toolkit to clean up the mess can help us tackle our plastic waste problem.
The new study was published by the University of California Press in Nature Communications.
