Proteomic Study Reveals Major Pathways Regulating the Development of Black Soldier Fly

Abstract

Nowadays, biodegrading organic waste, as a solution to confront environmental challenges, has attracted wide attention. A dipteran insect, black soldier fly (BSF), exhibits outstanding capability to convert organic waste into proteins and lipid resources, and thus, much interest has been shown in it. However, information of fundamental biology of BSF is still limited besides its recycling efficiency. In this work, we present a complete proteomic database of BSF at all instars (before prepupa). We further formulated the pathways corresponding to BSF development and built a relationship with the current genetic database. To achieve this, we investigated the proteomics of BSF during different periods. We identified 5036 proteins, and among them, 3905 proteins were annotated in the protein function database. illustrated three pathways related to major physiological processes including the insulin signaling pathway for feeding and growth, fatty acid biosynthesis pathway for fatty acid using, and toll/immune deficiency pathway for immune behavior. The proteins in these three pathways were matched with a published genetic database, and this reference library could be used for future BSF genetic engineering. In conclusion, this work provided a comprehensive protein library of BSF and expands the basic knowledge of BSF for future research.

Unpacking the Proteome and Metaproteome of the Black Soldier Fly Larvae: Efficacy and Complementarity of Multiple Protein Extraction Protocols

“…The morphological and transcriptomic analysis of the BSF larvae midgut has shown the unique digestive and transformative capabilities that helps them to adapt to different food substrates . Aligned with the findings from the present study, proteome analysis of BSF larval developmental stages revealed three physiological processes, including the insulin pathway for feed metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and immune regulatory pathways. , …”

“…25 Aligned with the findings from the present study, proteome analysis of BSF larval developmental stages revealed three physiological processes, including the insulin pathway for feed metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and immune regulatory pathways. 9,10 The gut metaproteomic analysis that was performed in this study also enabled some insight to the diversity of bacterial genera. Actinobacteria, and more specifically the Actinomycetia order, returned the largest number of peptides, and Proteobacteria was the second major contributor, with most peptides derived from the Gammaproteobacteria class.…”

“…Previous studies of the BSF larval proteome have generated extracts for analysis using various combinations of mechanical disruption of whole larvae, different buffers, and optional defatting. BSF larvae have been mechanically disrupted with a mortar and pestle, liquid nitrogen grinder, or high-throughput crusher to prepare a homogeneous BSF material prior to moving onto protein extraction using a single buffer composition. Previous studies have reported the use of a hexane-based defatting step to remove the lipid prior to extracting the proteins with a urea-based lysis buffer followed by acetone precipitation and the sequential extraction (defatting followed by protein precipitation) of lipids and proteins from BSF larvae .…”

“…BSF larvae have been mechanically disrupted with a mortar and pestle, liquid nitrogen grinder, or high-throughput crusher to prepare a homogeneous BSF material prior to moving onto protein extraction using a single buffer composition. Previous studies have reported the use of a hexane-based defatting step to remove the lipid prior to extracting the proteins with a urea-based lysis buffer followed by acetone precipitation and the sequential extraction (defatting followed by protein precipitation) of lipids and proteins from BSF larvae . Proteins have also been extracted directly with Tris–HCl lysis buffer containing urea, and urea plus thiourea and Tris–HCl from BSF larvae .…”

“…Proteins have also been extracted directly with Tris–HCl lysis buffer containing urea, and urea plus thiourea and Tris–HCl from BSF larvae . Extraction buffers comprised of Tris–HCl and SDS have also been used to extract proteins from several insect species, including BSF larvae. , Proteins have been extracted either from the whole BSF larvae , or from the midgut following dissection . Though several proteomics studies were performed using the BSF whole or the dissected larval body, no study has reported on the proteome of the BSF gut.…”