Comparative Effects of Glycine max and Glycine soja Leaves on Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Rearing Performance

Zhao, Ping; Meng, Chen; Gillani, Syeda Wajeeha; Lu, Xueli; Jia, Xi; Wang, Meng; Bai, Yu; Song, Yiru; Hou, Hongyan; Li, Yiqiang; Wang, Lu; Xu, Zongchang

doi:10.3390/ijms27083442

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Comparative Effects of Glycine max and Glycine soja Leaves on Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Rearing Performance

by

Ping Zhao

^1,†,

Chen Meng

^2,†,

Syeda Wajeeha Gillani

²

,

Xueli Lu

²,

Xi Jia

³,

Meng Wang

⁴,

Yu Bai

⁴,

Yiru Song

⁴,

Hongyan Hou

³,

Yiqiang Li

²,

Lu Wang

^3,* and

Zongchang Xu

^2,*

¹

Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Science and Green Production, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, China

²

Qingdao Key Laboratory of Coastal Saline-Alkali Land Resources Mining and Biological Breeding, National Center of Technology Innovation for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land, Marine Agriculture Research Center, Tobacco Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao 266100, China

³

Yellow River Delta Modern Agriculture Research Institute, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Dongying 257091, China

⁴

College of Agronomy, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(8), 3442; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27083442 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 11 March 2026 / Revised: 6 April 2026 / Accepted: 8 April 2026 / Published: 11 April 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biology of Soybean)

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Abstract

In China, the substantial gap between domestic soybean supply and growing consumption necessitates large-scale soybean imports. The use of cultivated soybean (Glycine max) leaves as feed for the edible insect Clanis bilineata tsingtauica reduces crop yield, posing a threat to national soybean production security. To address this issue, this study evaluated wild soybean (Glycine soja) as a potential alternative feed source. Comparative analyses examined the nutritional and anti-nutritional properties of G. max (cv. Qihuang34) and a laboratory-preserved G. soja germplasm, together with their effects on larval growth performance, nutritional composition, and associated microbiota. G. soja leaves exhibited significantly higher crude fat (5.61% vs. 2.17%), ash (11.07% vs. 9.62%), neutral detergent fiber (23.75% vs. 21.00%), calcium (4.05 g/kg vs. 3.41 g/kg), and phosphorus (2.52 g/kg vs. 2.38 g/kg) than G. max leaves, along with lower trypsin inhibitor levels (p < 0.01) despite higher phytic acid content (p < 0.05). Fifth-instar larvae reared on G. soja leaves showed a 12.9% greater body weight (6.846 g vs. 6.066 g), higher crude protein (672.14 g/kg vs. 555.02 g/kg), total soluble sugar (21.27 mg/g vs. 8.96 mg/g), and soluble protein (26.35 mg/g vs. 24.71 mg/g), but lower crude fat (187.44 g/kg vs. 205.82 g/kg, p < 0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing revealed distinct phyllosphere microbial communities, with G. soja enriched in diverse taxa (e.g., Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria) and G. max dominated by Firmicutes. Corresponding differences were observed in larval gut microbiota, and positive correlations suggested potential microbial transfer from G. soja leaves to larval guts. Overall, G. soja represents a promising alternative feed source for C. bilineata, reducing competition with soybean grain production and supporting sustainable insect farming.

Keywords: wild soybean; nutritional ingredient; intestinal microflora; phyllosphere microbiota; edible insect

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhao, P.; Meng, C.; Gillani, S.W.; Lu, X.; Jia, X.; Wang, M.; Bai, Y.; Song, Y.; Hou, H.; Li, Y.; et al. Comparative Effects of Glycine max and Glycine soja Leaves on Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Rearing Performance. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27, 3442. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27083442

AMA Style

Zhao P, Meng C, Gillani SW, Lu X, Jia X, Wang M, Bai Y, Song Y, Hou H, Li Y, et al. Comparative Effects of Glycine max and Glycine soja Leaves on Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Rearing Performance. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2026; 27(8):3442. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27083442

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhao, Ping, Chen Meng, Syeda Wajeeha Gillani, Xueli Lu, Xi Jia, Meng Wang, Yu Bai, Yiru Song, Hongyan Hou, Yiqiang Li, and et al. 2026. "Comparative Effects of Glycine max and Glycine soja Leaves on Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Rearing Performance" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 27, no. 8: 3442. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27083442

APA Style

Zhao, P., Meng, C., Gillani, S. W., Lu, X., Jia, X., Wang, M., Bai, Y., Song, Y., Hou, H., Li, Y., Wang, L., & Xu, Z. (2026). Comparative Effects of Glycine max and Glycine soja Leaves on Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Rearing Performance. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 27(8), 3442. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27083442

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Comparative Effects of Glycine max and Glycine soja Leaves on Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Rearing Performance

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