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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Genomic Research and Applications of Insect Gut Microbes
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Genomic Research and Applications of Insect Gut Microbes

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 5536

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Flávio Henrique-Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Genetics and Evolution, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luis, Km 235, São Carlos 13565-905, SP, Brazil
Interests: plastic biodegradation; insect molecular biology; metagenomics; plastic enzymatic degradation; microbiota function

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microorganisms are abundant in the gut of insects and perform important functions in their nutrition, metabolism, detoxification, protection against parasites, and in other areas. Furthermore, the microbiota of the gut may play a role in the degradation of natural and synthetic polymers (such as plastic). The microbes of the insects' gut therefore represent a promising resource for the development of tgw microbial-based management of products and a source of genes and proteins of biotechnological interest. This Special Issue aims to provide the scientific community with studies regarding the application of insect gut microbes. As the Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I encourage the scientific community to submit contributions (original research articles, review articles, and short communications) in the following (but not exclusive) areas:

  • Identification of the gut microbiota of insects that degrade polymers;
  • Isolation and characterization of microbes from the digestive tracts of insects that degrade plastic;
  • Genomic research on microorganisms isolated from insect intestine tracts;
  • Genetic modification and utilization of microbes from insect guts;
  • Utilization of microbes (or enzymes isolated from them) derived from the digestive tracts of microbes for the degradation of plastics and other polymers;
  • Genes and enzymes isolated from insect gut microbes that catalyze the degradation and/or transformation of molecules.

Prof. Dr. Flávio Henrique-Silva
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plastic biodegradation
  • polystyrene degradation
  • polyethylene degradation
  • polyurethane degradation
  • polymer
  • microbiome
  • insect microbiota
  • gut microbiota
  • microbiota functions
  • plastic enzymatic degradation

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1970 KiB  
Article
Microbiological and Physicochemical Approach in the Feeding of Superworm (Zophobas morio) with Petroleum-Derived Polymer Diets
by Brandon R. Burgos, Fabiola Morales, Rodrigo Morales-Vera, Cristian Valdés, Jorge Y. Faundez, Eduardo Pereira de Souza, Flavio Henrique-Silva and Ariel D. Arencibia
Microorganisms 2024, 12(11), 2118; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12112118 - 23 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1820
Abstract
Plastics are very versatile materials that have contributed to the development of society since the 19th century; however, their mismanagement has led to an accumulation of plastic waste in almost every ecosystem, affecting the fauna of the planet. However, recently, some studies have [...] Read more.
Plastics are very versatile materials that have contributed to the development of society since the 19th century; however, their mismanagement has led to an accumulation of plastic waste in almost every ecosystem, affecting the fauna of the planet. However, recently, some studies have shown that some insects might be able to adapt, consuming a wide range of hydrocarbon base polymers. In this work, the adaptive capacity of Zophobas morio larvae when feeding on different synthetic polymers derived from petroleum was studied. Four different thirty-day larval feeding treatments were carried out with synthetic polymers, including expanded polystyrene (PS), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyisoprene (PI), and butyl rubber (BR); in addition, a positive control of organic diet was included. Intestinal bacteria were isolated from the treatments and identified by Sanger sequencing. To analyze the chemical composition and physical form of the frass produced, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FITR) was performed, and images of the feces’ surfaces were taken with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Zophobas morio larvae were able to consume 54% of PS in 30 days, equivalent to 3.2 mg/d/larva. Nine culturable bacterial strains associated with the decomposition of synthetic polymers were identified in the intestine of the larvae. As for the physicochemical analysis of the feces, FTIR spectra showed the scission of bands corresponding to functional groups of the synthetic polymers in the comparison of the plastic diet treatments versus the feces of antibiotic-treated and plastic-fed larvae, while the comparison of spectra of the plastic and control treatments also identified differences in the absorption peaks. SEM imaging demonstrated that superworm feces differed in dependence on the substrate consumed. The findings demonstrated that Zophobas morio larvae possess a gut biological complex that allows them to feed and survive by consuming various petroleum-derived polymers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genomic Research and Applications of Insect Gut Microbes)
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15 pages, 3783 KiB  
Article
Antioxidant and Antimelanogenic Activities of Lactobacillus kunkeei NCHBL-003 Isolated from Honeybees
by Yeon-Ji Lee, Joo-Hee Choi, Kyung-Ku Kang, Soo-Eun Sung, Sijoon Lee, Minkyoung Sung, Min-Soo Seo and Jong-Hwan Park
Microorganisms 2024, 12(1), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12010188 - 17 Jan 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2506
Abstract
Excessive reactive oxygen species production can detrimentally impact skin cell physiology, resulting in cell growth arrest, melanogenesis, and aging. Recent clinical studies have found that lactic acid bacteria have a special effect directly or indirectly on skin organs, but the exact mechanism has [...] Read more.
Excessive reactive oxygen species production can detrimentally impact skin cell physiology, resulting in cell growth arrest, melanogenesis, and aging. Recent clinical studies have found that lactic acid bacteria have a special effect directly or indirectly on skin organs, but the exact mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the antioxidant protective effect and the inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis of Lactobacillus kunkeei culture supernatant (CSK), isolated from Apis mellifera Linnaeus (the Western honeybee). CSK exhibited notable efficacy in promoting cell migration and wound healing under oxidative stress, surpassing the performance of other strains. CSK pretreatment significantly upregulated the expression of Nrf2/HO-1 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1), a key player in cellular defenses against oxidative stress, relative to the control H2O2-treated cells. The DCF-DA (dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate) assay results confirmed that CSK’s ability to enhance Nrf2 and HO-1 expression aligns with its robust ability to remove H2O2-induced reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, CSK upregulated MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) phosphorylation, an upstream signal for HO-1 expression, and MAPK inhibitors compromised the wound-healing effect of CSK. Additionally, CSK exhibited inhibitory effects on melanin synthesis, downregulating melanogenesis-related genes in B16F10 cells. Thus, the present study demonstrated that CSK exhibited antioxidant effects by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway through MAPK phosphorylation, thereby restoring cell migration and demonstrating inhibitory effects on melanin production. These findings emphasize the antioxidant and antimelanogenic potential of CSK, suggesting its potential use as a therapeutic agent, promoting wound healing, and as an active ingredient in skin-lightening cosmetics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genomic Research and Applications of Insect Gut Microbes)
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