Succession-informed enrichment of plastisphere communities from superworm larvae enables isolation and co-culture evaluation of polyethylene-associated bacteria
- 1Department of Biotechnology, Division of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 02841 Korea
- 2Department of Marine Science, College of Natural Sciences, Incheon National University, Incheon, 22012 Korea
Abstract
Polyethylene (PE) is a persistent environmental pollutant, yet how prolonged PE exposure restructures plastisphere communities and relates to surface-associated microbial transformation remains insufficiently understood. Here, gut-derived microbial communities from superworm larvae (Zophobas morio) were subjected to six months of enrichment on PE films under PE-only, carbon-limited conditions to examine plastisphere succession, predicted functional shifts, culture-based recovery of PE-associated bacteria, and co-culture effects on PE surface modification. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed stage-associated community restructuring, including an increase in Shannon diversity from 3.89 to 4.88, a shift from early Bacteroidota dominance (88.0% at month 1) to late Actinomycetota enrichment (0.7 to 42.0% by month 6), and persistent representation of Pseudomonadota. PICRUSt2 with MetaCyc profiling further indicated stage-associated functional shifts during prolonged PE exposure. After 180 days, enriched PE films showed dense biofilm formation, visible surface damage, oxidation-associated FT-IR bands, and increased carbonyl and hydroxyl indices relative to the blank and abiotic control, indicating measurable oxidation-associated surface transformation during enrichment. Stepwise DCPIP and gravimetric screening enabled recovery of five PE-associated strains. In co-culture evaluation, selected combinations, particularly Ko + As and treatments involving three or more strains, showed more sustained biomass persistence together with denser surface colonization, stronger oxidation-associated FT-IR signals, and higher CI and HI values than single-strain treatments. Overall, these results indicate that prolonged PE exposure drives stage-associated plastisphere restructuring and measurable PE surface oxidation, while succession-informed enrichment improves the recovery and evaluation of PE-associated culturable consortia.
Key points: Prolonged PE enrichment was associated with plastisphere succession and predicted functional shifts
Stepwise screening enabled isolation of five culturable PE-degrading strains
Co-cultures enhanced PE colonization and oxidation-associated modification
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-026-13986-9.
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BibTeX
@article{kim2026successioninformed,
title = {{Succession-informed enrichment of plastisphere communities from superworm larvae enables isolation and co-culture evaluation of polyethylene-associated bacteria}},
author = {Jangyeon Kim and Inseo Kim and Doyoon Shin and Soyun Choi and Eunkyung Choi and Jae-Sung Rhee and Hyun Park},
journal = {Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1007/s00253-026-13986-9},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-026-13986-9},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Succession-informed enrichment of plastisphere communities from superworm larvae enables isolation and co-culture evaluation of polyethylene-associated bacteria
AU - Jangyeon Kim
AU - Inseo Kim
AU - Doyoon Shin
AU - Soyun Choi
AU - Eunkyung Choi
AU - Jae-Sung Rhee
AU - Hyun Park
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/06
JO - Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
DO - 10.1007/s00253-026-13986-9
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-026-13986-9
AB - Polyethylene (PE) is a persistent environmental pollutant, yet how prolonged PE exposure restructures plastisphere communities and relates to surface-associated microbial transformation remains insufficiently understood. Here, gut-derived microbial communities from superworm larvae (Zophobas morio) were subjected to six months of enrichment on PE films under PE-only, carbon-limited conditions to examine plastisphere succession, predicted functional shifts, culture-based recovery of PE-associated bacteria, and co-culture effects on PE surface modification. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed stage-associated community restructuring, including an increase in Shannon diversity from 3.89 to 4.88, a shift from early Bacteroidota dominance (88.0% at month 1) to late Actinomycetota enrichment (0.7 to 42.0% by month 6), and persistent representation of Pseudomonadota. PICRUSt2 with MetaCyc profiling further indicated stage-associated functional shifts during prolonged PE exposure. After 180 days, enriched PE films showed dense biofilm formation, visible surface damage, oxidation-associated FT-IR bands, and increased carbonyl and hydroxyl indices relative to the blank and abiotic control, indicating measurable oxidation-associated surface transformation during enrichment. Stepwise DCPIP and gravimetric screening enabled recovery of five PE-associated strains. In co-culture evaluation, selected combinations, particularly Ko + As and treatments involving three or more strains, showed more sustained biomass persistence together with denser surface colonization, stronger oxidation-associated FT-IR signals, and higher CI and HI values than single-strain treatments. Overall, these results indicate that prolonged PE exposure drives stage-associated plastisphere restructuring and measurable PE surface oxidation, while succession-informed enrichment improves the recovery and evaluation of PE-associated culturable consortia. Key points: Prolonged PE enrichment was associated with plastisphere succession and predicted functional shifts Stepwise screening enabled isolation of five culturable PE-degrading strains Co-cultures enhanced PE colonization and oxidation-associated modification Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-026-13986-9.
SN - 0175-7598
SN - 1432-0614
ER -