What to know

• Researchers found that dozens of animal species can break down polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), natural bioplastics produced by bacteria and archaea—a capability previously thought unique to microorganisms.
• The discovery suggests this feeding relationship has existed for hundreds of millions of years, predating human invention of synthetic biodegradable plastics.
• PHAs serve bacteria and archaea as internal reserves of carbon and energy, making them nutritionally valuable to the animals that can digest them.

“Nature invented biodegradable plastic long before humans did—and animals may have been feeding on it for hundreds of millions of years. Researchers discovered that dozens of animal species possess enzymes capable of breaking down microbial bioplastics called PHAs, a talent once thought to belong only to microorganisms.”

Science Daily · Science Daily

Researchers (unnamed) Study authors