Effects of polyethylene terephthalate ingestion on Hermetia illicens larvae and its associated gut microbiota

Plastics are widely used worldwide and their accumulation in the environment represents a global concern. Innovative strategies to bioconvert and valorise plastic waste are essential to address this issue. Recent years have seen a significant breakthrough in insect-mediated biodegradation of plastics. The mechanical grinding by larval mouthparts and the functional plasticity of the gut microbiota facilitate the degradation of recalcitrant polymers. Among promising insect species, Hermetia illucens larvae have been the subject of a recent study demonstrating their ability to effectively degrade two types of plastic polymers by shifting midgut microbiome towards degradative functions. Our research efforts were focused on expanding our knowledge on the potential of H. illucens larvae in biodegrading polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by i) monitoring the growth and development of H. illucens on PET-based diets, ii) studying larval physiological responses to oxidative stress and damage triggered by PET exposure, iii) characterizing shifts in microbial community composition associated with the presence of the polymer in different larval gut regions.