(16 Jan 2025)
KENYA PLASTIC EATING LARVAE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: 5:12
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Nairobi, Kenya, 10 November 2023
1. Various of landfill
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya – 11 December 2024,
2. Various of plastic waste
3. Various of scientists in lab
4. Various of mealworm (larvae) consuming plastic
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Fathiya Mbarak Khamis, Molecular biologist at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
"This mealworm (larvae) is typically found in chicken coops and is a stored grain pest. We took and put it on plastic and after thirty days we wanted to examine what is in their gut. So upon examination we found that it had elevated levels of bacteria that are known to degrade plastic."
6. Various of scientists working
7. Close of mealworms (larvae)
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Fathiya Mbarak Khamis, Molecular biologist at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
" In this study we identified bacteria that are responsible for digestion or degradation of plastics. So our future plan is to go further to see if we can reproduce this bacteria for plastic degradation or even go further and produce the enzymes that can be produced at an industrial scale for plastic degradation and which are easy to apply in real life."
9. Various of scientists and mealworms (larvae)
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Fathiya Mbarak Khamis, Molecular biologist at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
"It has been identified in other parts of the world, some insects that can degrade plastic but within the African setup, this is the first study that has identified an indigenous insect that can do plastic degradation. With these other studies, it might be difficult to pick an insect from another environment or another region to degrade plastic in our African setup. This study is unique because we are going to get a homegrown solution for the plastic menace."
11. Various of scientists working on mealworms (larvae) in various stages of lifecycle
12. Various of scientists in the lab working on mealworms (larvae)
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Inusa Jacob Ajene, molecular biologist, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
" Basically we are doing DNA extraction from the insect and from the gut content of the insect and we are doing this to identify both the insect and plastic degrading bacteria within the gut content of the insect."
14. Various of scientists in the lab
15. Various of mealworms (larvae)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya – 10 November 2023
16. Various of plastic waste being sorted
STORYLINE:
LEAD IN:
Kenyan scientists say an insect native to Africa can help combat plastic pollution.
They found that larvae of the litter beetle, known as lesser mealworms, contain enzymes and bacteria that degrades plastic.
STORYLINE:
Plastic waste is an enduring problem.
It can often take decades or longer to degrade naturally in the ground.
Some insect larvae have been shown to breakdown plastics in their guts.
Now African scientists have identified a mealworm that devours polystyrene.
A research team at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya found that the lesser mealworm contains enzymes and bacteria in its gut that degrades the plastic.
The lesser meal worm is the larval stage of the litter beetle, Alphitobius diaperinus, a pest that often causes problems in poultry production.
Fathiya Mbarak Khamis, a molecular biologist explains how this pest could be transformed into an ally.
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