Mwanza Syombua S, Mudalungu Cynthia M, Makwatta JohnMark, Kabii James, Kimani Njogu M, Tanga Chrysantus M
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya.
Department of Physical sciences, University of Embu, Embu, Kenya.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 25;20(6):e0325756. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325756. eCollection 2025.
Dung beetle larvae are consumed globally, yet their gut microbiota across different geographical locations remains largely unexplored. This study examined the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota of two edible dung beetle species, Cetonia aurata and Rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes sp.), from three sites in Kenya. Using advanced molecular techniques, bacterial and fungal communities were sequenced. The most abundant bacterial phyla in C. aurata were Firmicutes (42.10%) and Bacteroidota (32.50%), while Oryctes sp. had higher levels of Proteobacteria (35.00%), Actinobacteriota (11.40%) and Desulfobacterota (7.40%). Fungal communities were dominated by Lecanoromycetes (92.60%) in Oryctes sp. and Saccharomycetes (92.60%) in C. aurata. Beta diversity analysis revealed that neither species phylogeny nor larval location significantly influenced the presence of specific microbes. Pathways related to nitrogen and carbon degradation were predicted in bacteria like Bacillus, Pseudomonas mosselii, and Proteiniphilum. This implies that bacteria and fungi from the gut of dung beetle larvae could be ideal targets for potential bio-resource to eliminate waste pollution and opened an important window of opportunity for bio-based economy solutions. This work offers very practical solutions that have great business potential that can create a gigantic market ranging from functional foods to dietary supplements and therapeutic applications.
蜣螂幼虫在全球范围内都有人食用，然而，不同地理位置的蜣螂幼虫肠道微生物群在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究。本研究调查了来自肯尼亚三个地点的两种可食用蜣螂物种——金龟子和犀金龟（Oryctes sp.）肠道微生物群的多样性和组成。利用先进的分子技术对细菌和真菌群落进行了测序。金龟子中最丰富的细菌门是厚壁菌门（42.10%）和拟杆菌门（32.50%），而犀金龟属中变形菌门（35.00%）、放线菌门（11.40%）和脱硫杆菌门（7.40%）的含量较高。犀金龟属的真菌群落以茶渍菌纲（92.60%）为主，而金龟子的真菌群落以酵母菌纲（92.60%）为主。β多样性分析表明，物种系统发育和幼虫位置均未对特定微生物的存在产生显著影响。在芽孢杆菌、莫氏假单胞菌和嗜蛋白菌等细菌中预测到了与氮和碳降解相关的途径。这意味着蜣螂幼虫肠道中的细菌和真菌可能是消除废物污染的潜在生物资源的理想目标，并为生物基经济解决方案打开了一个重要的机会窗口。这项工作提供了非常实用的解决方案，具有巨大的商业潜力，可以创造一个从功能性食品到膳食补充剂和治疗应用的巨大市场。
