Microbiome analysis of the superworm (Zophobas morio) gut in Stryafoam feeding experiments.

Although plastics are commonly used and reasonably priced organic polymers, biodegradation is hampered by their extreme resilience. One of the most widely produced plastics in the world, polystyrene, including extruded polystyrene (often referred to as Styrofoam), is resistant to microbial deterioration. In this investigation, we evaluated the alterations in the intestinal microbiota of superworms (Zophobas morio) raised for three weeks on polystyrene. We found multiple encoded enzymes that have been shown to degrade styrene, which confirms earlier findings of bacteria in the gut of superworms that break down polystyrene. In summary, our findings offer the metagenomic understanding of the metabolic processes by which the superworm gut microbiota breaks down polystyrene.