Expanded polystyrene (EPS), which is difficult to decompose, is usually buried or incinerated, causing the natural environment to be contaminated with microplastics and environmental hormones. Digestion of EPS by mealworms has been identified as a possible biological solution to the problem of pollution, but the complete degradation mechanism of EPS is not yet known. Intestinal microorganisms play a significant role in the degradation of EPS by mealworms, and relatively few other EPS degradation microorganisms are currently known. This study observed significant differences in the intestinal microbiota of mealworms according to the dietary results of metagenomics analysis and biodiversity indices. We have proposed two new candidates of EPS-degrading bacteria, Cronobacter sakazakii and Lactococcus garvieae, which increased significantly in the EPS feeding group population. The population change and the new two bacteria will help us understand the biological mechanism of EPS degradation and develop practical EPS degradation methods.

难以分解的发泡聚苯乙烯（EPS）通常被掩埋或焚烧，导致自然环境被微塑料和环境激素污染。粉虫对EPS的消化已被确定为解决污染问题的一种可能的生物解决方案，但EPS的完整降解机制尚不清楚。肠道微生物在粉虫降解 EPS 中起重要作用，目前已知的其他 EPS 降解微生物相对较少。本研究根据宏基因组分析的饮食结果和生物多样性指数观察到粉虫肠道微生物群存在显着差异。我们提出了两种新的 EPS 降解菌候选菌，阪崎克罗诺杆菌和Lactococcus garvieae，在 EPS 喂养组人群中显着增加。种群的变化和新的两种细菌将有助于我们了解EPS降解的生物学机制并开发实用的EPS降解方法。