Federica Bertocchini found it by chance in the garden of her house. Wax worms can digest plastic and allow it to enter the environment.
Scientists have made an extraordinary discovery. A biologist named Federica Bertocchini living in Spain found a small species of worm while cleaning her backyard two years ago. Bertocchini, who put these wax worms out of the beehive in a plastic bag, noticed tiny holes in the plastic bag after an hour. This kind of plastic-fed planet, observed with amazement by scientists, could be salvation.
Federica Bertocchini has an exciting job and an amazing hobby. She works as an evolutionary biologist at the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology at Cantabria in Spain and is a beekeeper in her free time. Almost by accident, she managed to fuse her passion for bees with her research.
Federica Bertocchini, who studies developmental biology at the University of Cantabria in Spain, met these tiny worms while cleaning her backyard two years ago.
Bertocchini, who put these wax worms out of the beehive in a plastic bag, noticed tiny holes on the plastic bag after an hour.
Federica Bertocchini, a molecular biologist and amateur beekeeper, accidentally discovered wax worms have a talent for degrading plastic a few years ago.
According to the research, scientists discovered that the type of worm, known as the 'wax worm' and used by fishermen as bait, can digest grocery bags that pollute the oceans because they cannot be dissolved.
Wax worms get their name from the wax in which they live. Since plastic is a polymer just like wax, it can be consumed with pleasure by worms.
The solution appeared in an unexpected place, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications. The enzymes in the saliva of waxworms easily degrade the polyethylene used in the production of bags.
These worms can quickly eat plastic at room temperature. Normally wax worms live in the honeycombs of beehives. Amateur beekeeper and researcher Federica Bertocchini stumbled upon the discovery by chance in 2017.
INCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED
"My beehives were full of wax worms, so I started cleaning them up and putting the worms in a plastic bag. After a while I noticed a lot of holes. We saw that it wasn't just chewing, it was a chemical breakdown," Bertocchini said.
Yet because plastic is made to be durable, it has been known to stay intact, contaminating ecosystems, seafood, water, and even people's bloodstream. Under normal conditions, it takes more than 400 years to decompose in nature.
When scientists examined the nature of this degradation, they discovered two enzymes in the saliva of waxworms. It is stated that these enzymes, called demetra and ceres, are the first known animal enzymes to break down plastic.
30 PERCENT OF PLASTIC PRODUCED POLYETHYLENE
Polyethylene accounts for 30 percent of all synthetic plastic production. After a while in nature, they break into small pieces and continue to exist as microplastics. Yabi polyethylene loses its invisibility, but its plasticity lasts much longer.
Speaking to The Guardian, Andy Pickford, director of the Center for Enzyme Innovation at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, said that because waxworms degrade plastic very quickly and without the need for extreme temperature conditions, "enzymatic degradation may be a way to use polyethylene waste."
Plastic has been among the building blocks of modern life since the 1950s. It turned out over time that this useful product also destroys our nature. Scientists have been searching for effective methods against plastic pollution for many years.
They will destroy the plastic with saliva
Scientists have found that the saliva of the wax worm quickly breaks down the plastic. It has been suggested that the enzyme destroys polyethylene, a type of plastic, within hours at room temperature. The extinction period of polyethylene in nature is 400 years.
However, such a system also has disadvantages. Enough worms need to be grown to break down the polyethylene. This means an increase in insect carbon dioxide.
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Thanks to a Honeycomb, We Know The Secret to The Wax Worm's Ability to Destroy Plastic
https://www.sciencealert.com/thanks-to-a-honeycomb-we-know-the-secret-to-the-wax-worms-ability-to-destroy-plastic