Dragone Nicholas B, van Hamelsveld Sophie, Nazmi Ali Reza, Stott Matthew, Hatley Gregory A, Moloney Kate, Bohm Kristin, Gutierrez-Gines Maria J, Weaver Louise
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, CIRES Building, 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0216, United States.
Institute of Environmental Science and Research, 27 Creyke Road, Ilam, Christchurch 8041, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
J Appl Microbiol. 2025 Apr 1;136(4). doi: 10.1093/jambio/lxaf085.
Larvae of the black soldier fly (BSFL), Hermetia illucens, are recognized for their remarkable feeding flexibility and ability to convert a variety of organic waste streams into useful end products. Their ability to feed on both harmful and recalcitrant waste streams is thought to be due in part to plasticity in their gut microbiota, which shifts rapidly to select for taxa better suited to the incoming diet. Here, we aimed to exploit this feeding plasticity by using BSFL as "bioincubators," to grow and isolate plastic-degrading bacteria.
We fed larvae wheat bran containing a mix of microplastic (polyethylene terephthalate, polylactic acid, and polyhydroxybutyrate) and determined the community composition of plastic-degrading microorganisms using a combination of culturing techniques and next-generation sequencing. On average, more than a third of the gut microbiome was made up of genera that have previously demonstrated plastic degradation capabilities. To confirm this assessment, we isolated seven bacterial strains from plastic-fed BSFL that were positively identified as polyhydroxybutyrate-degraders in vitro.
Our results provide proof of concept that plastic-fed H. illucens could be used as bioincubators to grow plastic-degrading bacteria. We believe our methodology provides a simple model for verifying in silico results with in vitro tests and should be used to enhance the future isolation and characterization of novel plastic-degrading taxa.
黑水虻（Hermetia illucens）幼虫以其显著的摄食灵活性以及将各种有机废物流转化为有用终产物的能力而闻名。它们能够以有害和难降解的废物流为食，部分原因被认为是其肠道微生物群具有可塑性，能够迅速转变以选择更适合摄入食物的分类群。在此，我们旨在通过将黑水虻幼虫用作“生物培养箱”来利用这种摄食可塑性，以培养和分离可降解塑料的细菌。
我们用含有微塑料（聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯、聚乳酸和聚羟基丁酸酯）混合物的麦麸喂养幼虫，并结合培养技术和下一代测序确定可降解塑料微生物的群落组成。平均而言，超过三分之一的肠道微生物群由先前已证明具有塑料降解能力的属组成。为证实这一评估，我们从喂食塑料的黑水虻幼虫中分离出七株细菌菌株，体外鉴定它们为聚羟基丁酸酯降解菌。
我们的结果提供了概念验证，即喂食塑料的亮斑扁角水虻可作为生物培养箱来培养可降解塑料的细菌。我们认为我们的方法提供了一个简单模型，用于通过体外试验验证计算机模拟结果，应用于加强未来新型可降解塑料分类群的分离和表征。
