Microplastics Biofragmentation and Degradation Kinetics in the Plastivore Insect .

The insect possesses an exceptional capacity for ultrafast plastic biodegradation within 1 day of gut retention, but the kinetics remains unknown. Herein, we investigated the biofragmentation and degradation kinetics of different microplastics (MPs), i.e., polyethylene (PE), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), and poly(lactic acid) (PLA), in larvae. The intestinal reactions contributing to the MPs biodegradation were concurrently examined by utilizing aggregated-induced emission (AIE) probes. Our findings revealed that the intestinal biofragmentation rates essentially followed the order of PLA > PE > PVC. Notably, all MPs displayed retention effects in the intestine, with PVC requiring the longest duration for complete removal/digestion. The dynamic rate constant of degradable MPs (0.2108 h for PLA) was significantly higher than that of persistent MPs (0.0675 and 0.0501 h for PE and PVC, respectively) during the digestive gut retention. Surprisingly, larvae instinctively modulated their internal digestive environment in response to biodegradation of various MP polymers. Esterase activity and intestinal acidification both significantly increased following MPs ingestion. The highest esterase and acidification levels were observed in the PLA-fed and PVC-fed larvae, respectively. High digestive esterase activity and relatively low acidification levels in larvae may, to some extent, contribute to more efficient MPs removal within the plastic-degrading insect. This work provided important understanding of MPs biofragmentation and intestinal responses to MPs biodegradation in plastic-degrading insects.