The road to a solution to the worldwide problem of an excess of plastic pollution may be passing through the Wheat City.
Brandon University shared this week that Dr. Christophe LeMoine and Dr. Bryan Cassone of the Universityâs Department of Biology have published research findings that significantly further the understanding of how the waxworm caterpillar is able to consume and survive on plastic including the particularly problematic polyethylene.
In work conducted with students Sachi Villanueva, Harald Grove and Oluwadara Elebute, it was determined that bacteria from the gut of the wax moth larvae are able to survive on consuming only plastic for more than a year. Though unleashing waxworms on the worldâs plastics isnât seen as a realistic solution to plastic pollution, building toward further understanding of how the bacteria works together with the worm in processing plastic is thought to have potential for future applications in eliminating plastics.
The research findings have garnered international media attention ranging from Britainâs The Daily Mail to CNN, BBC, CBC Radio Canada, Newsweek, USA Today and The Australian.
Further details can be read at:
https://www.brandonu.ca/news/2020/03/04/plastivores-remarkable-waxworms-devour-plastic-waste-in-bu-study/
Full findings have been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B at:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.0112
Photo: Rob Henderson