title: Biodegradation and Mineralization of Polystyrene by Plastic-Eating Mealworms: Part 1. Chemical and Physical Characterization and Isotopic Tests.
abstract: Polystyrene (PS) is generally considered to be durable and resistant to biodegradation. Mealworms (the larvae of Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus) from different sources chew and eat Styrofoam, a common PS product. The Styrofoam was efficiently degraded in the larval gut within a retention time of less than 24 h. Fed with Styrofoam as the sole diet, the larvae lived as well as those fed with a normal diet (bran) over a period of 1 month. The analysis of fecula egested from Styrofoam-feeding larvae, using gel permeation chromatography (GPC), solid-state (13)C cross-polarization/magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (CP/MAS NMR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric Fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) spectroscopy, substantiated that cleavage/depolymerization of long-chain PS molecules and the formation of depolymerized metabolites occurred in the larval gut. Within a 16 day test period, 47.7% of the ingested Styrofoam carbon was converted into CO2 and the residue (ca. 49.2%) was egested as fecula with a limited fraction incorporated into biomass (ca. 0.5%). Tests with α (13)C- or β (13)C-labeled PS confirmed that the (13)C-labeled PS was mineralized to (13)CO2 and incorporated into lipids. The discovery of the rapid biodegradation of PS in the larval gut reveals a new fate for plastic waste in the environment.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, William & Cloy Codiga Resource Recovery Research Center, Center for Sustainable Development & Global Competitiveness, Stanford University , Stanford, California 94305-4020, United States.
authors.forename: Wei-Min
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Bioenergy, BGI-Shenzhen , Shenzhen, Guangdong 518083, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yiling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Longcheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Bioenergy, BGI-Shenzhen , Shenzhen, Guangdong 518083, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ruifu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D004435:Eating; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D010969:Plastics / Q000378:metabolism; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods; D013712:Tenebrio / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013818:Thermogravimetry
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D008055:Lipids; D010969:Plastics; D011137:Polystyrenes; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002244:Carbon; C024075:styrofoam