Lightning Talk & Poster 28th Annual Lorne Proteomics Symposium 2023

How do Greater wax moth larvae survive on a plastic diet? (#24)

Utpal Dr Bose 1 2 , Angela Dr Juhasz 3 , Sally Stockwell 1 , Sean McWilliam 1 , Angela Ruffell 1 , Anna Marcora 4 , Cate Dr Paull 4 , James Dr Broadbent 1 , Gene Dr Wijffels 1
  1. Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
  2. School of Science, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, Joondalup, WA, Australia
  3. School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
  4. CSIRO, Agriculture and Food, Boggo Rd, Dutton Park , QLD, Australia

Plastic waste pollution poses a global ecological challenge1. Plastic breakdown through biological systems such as insects could be a future solution for plastic waste management. The larvae of the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella (Gm), and/or their resident gut microbiota have been shown to degrade plastics, including polyethene (PE)2-4 and polystyrene (PS)4. The degree of biodegradation and actual carbon metabolism from plastic is an active area of research. The biochemical adaptations the larvae recruit to survive on plastic waste remain unknown. Herein, we fed Gm larvae six types of plastics for 7 days and dissected the larvae to separate body and gut samples for Sequential Window Acquisition of all Theoretical Mass Spectra (SWATH-MS)-based proteome measurement. We found that the larvae responded to each plastic type differently, and detected bioactive peptides associated with the larval nutrient stress management mechanisms. Notably, larvae fed with expanded low-density PE foam possessed markedly altered metabolic responses with significant changes in enzyme categories such as hydrolases and oxidoreductases. Network analysis revealed that the plastic diets impacted the Gm body proteome; specifically, proteins involved in triglyceride breakdown, lipid metabolism, energy storage and production markedly increased within the PS-fed larvae, while muscle-building proteins were increased in the PE fibre and PS-fed larvae. These results demonstrate the biochemical shifts incurred given dietary plastic supplementation and provide a shortlist of enzymes from the insect and gut microbial community for follow-up and assessment for use at the industrial scale.

  1. 1MacLeod, M., Arp, H. P. H., Tekman, M. B. & Jahnke, A. Science, 2021, 373, 61–65. 2Sanluis-Verdes, A., Colomer-Vidal, P., Rodriguez-Ventura, F., et al., Nat Commun, 2022, 13, 5568. 3 Yang, J., Yang, Y., Wu, W.M., Zhao, J. & Jiang, L. Environ Sci Technol, 2014, 48, 13776-13784. 4Lou, Y., Ekaterina, P., Yang, S.S., Lu, B., Liu, B., et al. Environ Sci Technol, 2020, 54:2821-2831.