Turning trash into treasure: microbiome and biodegradation of industrial side streams.

Unlabelled: Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) have attracted attention due to their ability to upcycle various biological side streams into valuable biomass, such as proteins, lipids, and chitin. In this study, we investigated the impact of high-fiber diets on larval growth performance and the shift of microbes in the gut. We tested empty fruit bunches (EFB), potato pulp (PP), and cottonseed press cake (CPC), with chicken feed (CF) used as a control diet.

Culture-Independent and Culture-Dependent Characterization of the Black Soldier Fly Gut Microbiome Reveals a Large Proportion of Culturable Bacteria with Potential for Industrial Applications.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are fast-growing, resilient insects that can break down a variety of organic substrates and convert them into valuable proteins and lipids for applications in the feed industry. Decomposition is mediated by an abundant and versatile gut microbiome, which has been studied for more than a decade. However, little is known about the phylogeny, properties and functions of bacterial isolates from the BSFL gut.

Cottonseed Press Cake as a Potential Diet for Industrially Farmed Black Soldier Fly Larvae Triggers Adaptations of Their Bacterial and Fungal Gut Microbiota.

Black soldier fly larvae (, Diptera: Stratiomyidae) are used for the bioconversion of organic side products into valuable compounds such as proteins, lipids and chitin. However, the economic competitiveness of farmed insects compared to conventional protein production systems in agriculture and aquaculture depends on the availability of large quantities of inexpensive insect feed. Cottonseed press cake (CPC) is a side-stream of cotton production that is rich in proteins and lipids but unsuitable as feed for several farmed animals, except ruminants, due to the presence of the anti-nutritional sesquiterpenoid gossypol.

Ereboglobus luteus gen. nov. sp. nov. from cockroach guts, and new insights into the oxygen relationship of the genera Opitutus and Didymococcus (Verrucomicrobia: Opitutaceae).

We isolated a novel member of the phylum Verrucomicrobia from the hindgut of the cockroach Shelfordella lateralis. Strain Ho45 is a yellow-pigmented, motile coccus that represents a new genus-level lineage with less than 93% sequence similarity to the 16S rRNA genes of other species in the family Opitutaceae. Ultrastructural analysis revealed a Gram-negative cell envelope with an outer membrane and a periplasmic space.

Breznakia blatticola gen. nov. sp. nov. and Breznakia pachnodae sp. nov., two fermenting bacteria isolated from insect guts, and emended description of the family Erysipelotrichaceae.

Two novel, obligately anaerobic Firmicutes from the family Erysipelotrichaceae were isolated from the intestinal tracts of a cockroach (strain ErySL, Shelfordella lateralis) and a scarab beetle larva (strain Pei061, Pachnoda ephippiata). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the strains belong to a monophyletic group of hitherto uncultured bacteria from insect guts that are only distantly related to any described species (<90% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). Ultrastructural analysis revealed a Gram-positive cell envelope and, in the case of strain ErySL, a wide electron-lucent space between the cytoplasmic membrane and cell wall.

Oxygen Affects Gut Bacterial Colonization and Metabolic Activities in a Gnotobiotic Cockroach Model.

The gut microbiota of termites and cockroaches represents complex metabolic networks of many diverse microbial populations. The distinct microenvironmental conditions within the gut and possible interactions among the microorganisms make it essential to investigate how far the metabolic properties of pure cultures reflect their activities in their natural environment. We established the cockroach Shelfordella lateralis as a gnotobiotic model and inoculated germfree nymphs with two bacterial strains isolated from the guts of conventional cockroaches.