Identification of potential plastic-degrading bacteria from Zophobas morio larvae frass

This research shows the biodegradation capability of Zophobas morio larvae. Two bacteria samples isolated from the larvae frass showed the potential to degrade different types of plastics namely PE, LDPE and EPS. These two bacteria were grown selectively in a media containing plastics as a sole carbon source, followed by their whole genome sequencing. The bioinformatics studies were aimed at finding genes and enzymes that have the capability to degrade plastic compounds. The analysis focused on plastic-degrading enzymes which are known to degrade plastic e.g. PET.