Polyethylene pollutions are considered inert in nature and adversely affect the entire ecosystem. Larvae of greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) have the ability to masticate and potentially biodegrade polyethylene films at elevated rates. The wax moth has been thought to metabolize PE independently of gut flora, however the role of the microbiome is poorly understood and degradation by the wax moth might be involved. To determine whether the salivary glands of the wax moth were potentially involved in the PE degradation, it was investigated how surface changes of polyethylene were affected by mastication and consumption. Formation of pitting and degradation intermediates including carbonyl groups, indicated that salivary glands could assist in polyethylene degradation. We investigated the biochemical effect of exposure by PE on the composition of the salivary gland proteome. The expression of salivary proteins was found to be affected by PE exposure. The proteins that were significantly affected by the exposure to PE revealed that the wax moth are undergoing general changes in energy levels, also enzymatic pathways associated to fatty acid beta oxidation during consumption to PE were induced.

中文翻译：

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聚乙烯对马勒菌唾液腺蛋白质组的影响。

聚乙烯污染被认为是惰性的，会对整个生态系统产生不利影响。大蜡蛾（Galleria mellonella）的幼虫有能力咀嚼和潜在地以高速率生物降解聚乙烯薄膜。蜡蛾被认为可以独立于肠道菌群而代谢PE，但是微生物组的作用尚不明确，可能与蜡蛾的降解有关。为了确定蜡蛾的唾液腺是否可能与PE降解有关，研究了聚乙烯的表面变化如何受到咀嚼和消耗的影响。点蚀和降解中间体（包括羰基）的形成表明唾液腺可以帮助聚乙烯降解。我们调查了PE暴露对唾液腺蛋白质组学组成的生化影响。发现唾液蛋白的表达受PE暴露影响。受PE暴露影响显着的蛋白质显示蜡蛾正在经历能量水平的一般变化，并且在食用PE期间还诱导了与脂肪酸β氧化相关的酶促途径。