NTU Singapore researchers develop artificial 'worm gut' to accelerate plastic biodegradation.
By harnessing microbes from plastic-consuming worms' stomachs, an efficient and sustainable approach to plastic disposal is explored.
The method could represent a breakthrough in the fight against global plastic pollution and enable future biotechnological approaches.
NTU Singapore Researchers Develop Artificial 'Worm Gut' for Efficient Plastic Degradation.
A team of scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), has developed an artificial 'worm gut' to break down plastics, offering hope for a nature-inspired method to tackle the global plastic pollution problem.
By feeding worms with plastics and cultivating microbes found in their guts, researchers from NTU's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) have demonstrated a new method to accelerate plastic biodegradation.
Previous studies have shown that Zophobas atratus worms – the larvae of the darkling beetle commonly sold as pet food and known as 'superworms' for their nutritional value – can survive on a diet of plastic because its gut contains bacteria capable of breaking down common types of plastic. However, their use in plastics processing has been impractical due to the slow rate of feeding and worm maintenance.
NTU scientists have now demonstrated a way to overcome these challenges by isolating the worm's gut bacteria and using them to do the job without the need for large scale worm breeding.
NTU Associate Professor Cao Bin at the School of CEE and Principal Investigator at SCELSE said, “A single worm can only consume about a couple of milligrams of plastic in its lifetime, so imagine the number of worms that would be needed if we were to rely on them to process our plastic waste. Our method eliminates this need by removing the worm from the equation. We focus on boosting the useful microbes in the worm gut and building an artificial ‘worm gut’ that can efficiently break down plastics.”
The study, published in Environment International in January, is aligned with the University's commitment to fostering innovation and translating research into practical solutions that benefit society under its NTU2025 five-year strategic plan.
