Multi-omics approach reveals new insights into the gut microbiome of Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera:Pyralidae) exposed to polyethylene diet

Abstract

The current plastic pollution throughout the world implies a crucial optimization of its (bio)degradation processes. In order to identify plastic degrading bacteria and associated enzymes, the gut microbiota of insects has raised interest. Some entomological models such as Tenebrio molitor (L. 1758), Plodia interpunctella (Hubner 1813) or Galleria mellonella (L. 1758) have the ability to ingest and degrade polyethylene. Then, it is promising to identify the composition and the role of the gut microbiota in this process. This study takes part in this issue by investigating G. mellonella as a biological model feeding with a polyethylene diet. Gut microbiome samples were processed by high throughput 16S rRNA sequencing, and Enterococcaceae and Oxalobacteraceae were found to be the major bacterial families. At low polyethylene dose, we detect no bacterial community change and no amplicon sequence variant associated with the polyethylene diet suggesting microbiome resilience. The functional analysis of insects gut content was promising for the identification of plastic degrading enzymes such as the phenylacetaldehyde dehydrogenase which participate in styrene degradation. This study allows a better characterization of the gut microbiota of G. mellonella and provides a basis for the further biodegradation study of polyethylene based on the microorganism valorization from insect guts.