Natural Sciences Active Updated Aug 17, 2026
Animals across the tree of life can digest nature's own bioplastic
Bacteria store carbon and energy as polyhydroxyalkanoates, a natural bioplastic long assumed only microbes could break down. Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology researchers found a gutless marine worm carries an enzyme built to crack open its symbiotic bacteria's PHA reserves, and traced the same enzyme family to more than 66 species across nine animal phyla. The stakes are how much carbon moves through this newly found pathway across entire ecosystems.
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Aug 17, 2026 Latest
Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology researchers found an enzyme in the gutless marine worm Olavius algarvensis built specifically to break down its symbiotic bacteria's polyhydroxyalkanoate reserves, then traced the same enzyme family to more than 66 species across nine animal phyla including earthworms, sponges, springtails and starfish, with lab tests confirming distantly related animals can do the same trick.
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