The Ability of Insects to Degrade Complex Synthetic Polymers

Abstract

Insects while feeding, encounter a wide array of hydrocarbon polymers in their diet and the digestive tracts of various insects contain microbial symbionts that aid in the degradation of these polymers. Thus the idea of insects as synthetic polymer bio-degraders was established. Soon various insect, like mealworms, flour beetles, weevils, wax moths etc. particularly from the Coleopteran and Lepidopteran orders, were identified to have remarkable abilities to consume and degrade a wide range of synthetic polymers like polyethylene, polyurethane, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride into lower molecular weight, simple, and nontoxic molecules which are eventually excreted as fecula. In this review we aim at congregating the diversity of polymer degrading insect fauna and understanding the underlying mechanism in which the insect’s digestive enzymes works in synergy with the gut microbiota to digest complex synthetic polymers.