1. Wax worm saliva and the enzymes therein are the key to polyethylene degradation by Galleria mellonella
- Author
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A. Sanluis-Verdes, P. Colomer-Vidal, F. Rodriguez-Ventura, M. Bello-Villarino, M. Spinola-Amilibia, E. Ruiz-Lopez, R. Illanes-Vicioso, P. Castroviejo, R. Aiese Cigliano, M. Montoya, P. Falabella, C. Pesquera, L. Gonzalez-Legarreta, E. Arias-Palomo, M. Solà, T. Torroba, C. F. Arias, F. Bertocchini, Röchling Foundation, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Junta de Castilla y León, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Generalitat de Catalunya, Colomer-Vidal, Pere, Spínola-Amilibia, Mercedes, Ruiz-López, Elena, Illanes, Ramiro, Aiese Cigliano, Riccardo, Montoya, María, Falabella, P., Pesquera, Carmen, González-Legarreta, L., Arias-Palomo, Ernesto, Solà, Maria, Torroba, Tomás, Arias, Clemente F, Bertocchini, Federica, Colomer-Vidal, Pere [0000-0002-5911-8287], Spínola-Amilibia, Mercedes [0000-0002-0641-8809], Ruiz-López, Elena [0000-0002-3922-2001], Illanes, Ramiro [0000-0002-1710-061X], Aiese Cigliano, Riccardo [0000-0002-9058-6994], Montoya, María [0000-0002-5703-7360], Falabella, P. [0000-0003-0304-6867], Pesquera, Carmen [0000-0002-8635-0380], González-Legarreta, L. [0000-0001-5193-7256], Arias-Palomo, Ernesto [0000-0002-2706-7411], Solà, Maria [0000-0002-0838-9706], Torroba, Tomás [0000-0002-5018-4173], Arias, Clemente F [0000-0003-4298-8910], Bertocchini, Federica [0000-0001-7241-0648], and Universidad de Cantabria
- Subjects
Multidisciplinary ,Biodegradation, Environmental ,Monophenol Monooxygenase ,Polyethylene ,fungi ,General Physics and Astronomy ,Animals ,General Chemistry ,Moths ,Saliva ,Plastics ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology - Abstract
11 p.-6 fig., Plastic degradation by biological systems with re-utilization of the by-products can be the future solution to the global threat of plastic waste accumulation. We report that the saliva of Galleria mellonella larvae (wax worms) is capable of oxidizing and depolymerizing polyethylene (PE), one of the most produced and sturdy polyolefin-derived plastics. This effect is achieved after a few hours’ exposure at room temperature and physiological conditions (neutral pH). The wax worm saliva can indeed overcome the bottleneck step in PE biodegradation, that is the initial oxidation step. Within the saliva, we identified two enzymes that can reproduce the same effect. This is the first report of enzymes with this capability, opening up the way to new ground-breaking solutions for plastic waste management through bio-recycling/up-cycling., Roechling Stiftung to FB Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) to FB NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme (Grant SPS G5536) to TT Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación y Cultura y Fondo Social Europeo (Grant BU263P18) to TT Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Grant PID2019-111215RB-100) to TT The Generalitat de Catalunya (2017 SGR 1192) to MS Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Grant BFU2017-89143-P) to EA-P
- Published
- 2022