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<p>To address the challenge of plastic waste, plastic-degrading insects have been gaining considerable attention as promising solutions. This study revealed that subjecting superworms to starvation triggers a stress response, altering both the transcriptome and microbiome. Stress responses were observed in insects even when they ingested plastics, and both the starved and polyethylene (PE) -fed groups exhibited increased expression of genes associated with oxidative stress, xenobiotic stress, immune responses, and metabolic homeostasis. Hence, incorporating starved insects as a control group can augment the precision of selecting genes and microorganisms implicated in plastic degradation. Using starved and bran-fed groups as controls, we identified 42 genes—detected in the gut epithelial tissue—including senecionine N-oxygenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase, and serine protease, as well as five gut-associated bacterial species—<i>Enterococcus gallinarum</i>, <i>Klebsiella oxytoca</i>, <i>Enterococcus mundtii</i>, <i>Dysgonomonas macrotermitis</i>, and <i>Entomomonas asaccharolytica</i>—that were associated with increased polyethylene consumption. The identified genes were associated with oxidation, dehydrogenation, and depolymerization, which are known as potential degradation pathways of PE, and showed low relevance to general stress responses while exhibiting a high likelihood of involvement in plastic degradation. In addition, the selected microorganisms were species that have previously been reported to be associated with plastic degradation. This approach has the potential to improve the accuracy of identifying the genetic and microbial factors linked to plastic biodegradation.</p>

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Incorporating starved controls reveals plastic-degrading genes and microbes in Zophobas atratus larvae by resolving stress-induced confounding effects

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月23日

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  • Hong Rae Kim,
  • Dong-Eun Suh,
  • Sukkyoo Lee,
  • Donggeon Choi

摘要

To address the challenge of plastic waste, plastic-degrading insects have been gaining considerable attention as promising solutions. This study revealed that subjecting superworms to starvation triggers a stress response, altering both the transcriptome and microbiome. Stress responses were observed in insects even when they ingested plastics, and both the starved and polyethylene (PE) -fed groups exhibited increased expression of genes associated with oxidative stress, xenobiotic stress, immune responses, and metabolic homeostasis. Hence, incorporating starved insects as a control group can augment the precision of selecting genes and microorganisms implicated in plastic degradation. Using starved and bran-fed groups as controls, we identified 42 genes—detected in the gut epithelial tissue—including senecionine N-oxygenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase, and serine protease, as well as five gut-associated bacterial species—Enterococcus gallinarum, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterococcus mundtii, Dysgonomonas macrotermitis, and Entomomonas asaccharolytica—that were associated with increased polyethylene consumption. The identified genes were associated with oxidation, dehydrogenation, and depolymerization, which are known as potential degradation pathways of PE, and showed low relevance to general stress responses while exhibiting a high likelihood of involvement in plastic degradation. In addition, the selected microorganisms were species that have previously been reported to be associated with plastic degradation. This approach has the potential to improve the accuracy of identifying the genetic and microbial factors linked to plastic biodegradation.