Abstract:A citizen science project found that the greenhouse camel cricket (
Diestrammena asynamora
) is common in North American homes. Public response was to wonder ‘what good are they anyway?’ and ecology and evolution guided the search for potential benefit. We predicted that camel crickets and similar household species would likely host bacteria with the ability to degrade recalcitrant carbon compounds. Lignocellulose is particularly relevant as it is difficult to degrade yet is an importan… Show more
“…Bacillus altitudinis RSP75 also showed a growth pattern similar to B. megaterium S3, showing slow and extended growth on CMC media [68] due to a metabolic shift to use cellulose as a carbon source. One of the peculiarities of B. altitudinis RSP75 is the ability to grow under acidic pH because relatively few bacterial species are known to tolerate acidic conditions, particularly in nature [69]. The acidophilic nature of B. altitudinis RSP75 signifies that its enzymes are likely to function well at acidic pHs prevailing in biomass conversion processes.…”
Bioconversion of lignocellulose into renewable energy and commodity products faces a major obstacle of inefficient saccharification due to its recalcitrant structure. In nature, lignocellulose is efficiently degraded by some insects, including termites and beetles, potentially due to the contribution from symbiotic gut bacteria. To this end, the presented investigation reports the isolation and characterization of cellulolytic bacteria from the gut system of red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Out of the 15 isolated bacteria, strain RSP75 showed the highest cellulolytic activities by forming a clearance zone of 28 mm in diameter with a hydrolytic capacity of ~4.7. The MALDI-TOF biotyping and 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the strain RSP75 belongs to Bacillus altitudinis. Among the tested enzymes, B. altitudinis RSP75 showed maximum activity of 63.2 IU/mL extract for xylanase followed by β-glucosidase (47.1 ± 3 IU/mL extract) which were manifold higher than previously reported activities. The highest substrate degradation was achieved with wheat husk and corn cob powder which accounted for 69.2% and 54.5%, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy showed adhesion of the bacterial cells with the substrate which was further substantiated by FTIR analysis that depicted the absence of the characteristic cellulose bands at wave numbers 1247, 1375, and 1735 cm−1 due to hydrolysis by the bacterium. Furthermore, B. altitudinis RSP75 showed co-culturing competence with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for bioethanol production from lignocellulose as revealed by GC-MS analysis. The overall observations signify the gut of T. castaneum as a unique and impressive reservoir to prospect for lignocellulose-degrading bacteria that can have many biotechnological applications, including biofuels and biorefinery.
“…Bacillus altitudinis RSP75 also showed a growth pattern similar to B. megaterium S3, showing slow and extended growth on CMC media [68] due to a metabolic shift to use cellulose as a carbon source. One of the peculiarities of B. altitudinis RSP75 is the ability to grow under acidic pH because relatively few bacterial species are known to tolerate acidic conditions, particularly in nature [69]. The acidophilic nature of B. altitudinis RSP75 signifies that its enzymes are likely to function well at acidic pHs prevailing in biomass conversion processes.…”
Bioconversion of lignocellulose into renewable energy and commodity products faces a major obstacle of inefficient saccharification due to its recalcitrant structure. In nature, lignocellulose is efficiently degraded by some insects, including termites and beetles, potentially due to the contribution from symbiotic gut bacteria. To this end, the presented investigation reports the isolation and characterization of cellulolytic bacteria from the gut system of red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Out of the 15 isolated bacteria, strain RSP75 showed the highest cellulolytic activities by forming a clearance zone of 28 mm in diameter with a hydrolytic capacity of ~4.7. The MALDI-TOF biotyping and 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the strain RSP75 belongs to Bacillus altitudinis. Among the tested enzymes, B. altitudinis RSP75 showed maximum activity of 63.2 IU/mL extract for xylanase followed by β-glucosidase (47.1 ± 3 IU/mL extract) which were manifold higher than previously reported activities. The highest substrate degradation was achieved with wheat husk and corn cob powder which accounted for 69.2% and 54.5%, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy showed adhesion of the bacterial cells with the substrate which was further substantiated by FTIR analysis that depicted the absence of the characteristic cellulose bands at wave numbers 1247, 1375, and 1735 cm−1 due to hydrolysis by the bacterium. Furthermore, B. altitudinis RSP75 showed co-culturing competence with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for bioethanol production from lignocellulose as revealed by GC-MS analysis. The overall observations signify the gut of T. castaneum as a unique and impressive reservoir to prospect for lignocellulose-degrading bacteria that can have many biotechnological applications, including biofuels and biorefinery.
“…The conversion of lignin in anaerobic systems remains an enigma, as it is believed that oxygen is necessary for this process to occur. Studies have been dedicated to the chemical process of lignin conversion and determining which microorganisms are capable of carrying out this process [117][118][119]. Geib and collaborators [120] found out that lignin degradation can also occur in a different ecosystem, in the gut of wood-feeding insects, and that it is not restricted to wood-rot fungal systems.…”
Section: Bacterial Community Structurementioning
confidence: 99%
“…Geib and collaborators [120] found out that lignin degradation can also occur in a different ecosystem, in the gut of wood-feeding insects, and that it is not restricted to wood-rot fungal systems. Bacteria capable of growing on lignin and on a waste product from the paper industry (black liquor) were isolated from the greenhouse insect camel cricket (Diestrammena asynamora) and hide beetle (Dermestes maculatus) [118]. Studies carried out by Scully and collaborators revealed that the Asian long-horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis), a wood-feeding insect, harbors complex microbiota capable of degrading hemicellulose, enhancing the degradation of lignin, and fermenting xylose [121,122].…”
The Pachnoda marginata larva have complex gut microbiota capable of the effective conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. Biotechnological utilization of these microorganisms in an engineered system can be achieved by establishing enrichment cultures using a lignocellulosic substrate. We established enrichment cultures from contents of the midgut and hindgut of the beetle larva using wheat straw in an alkaline medium at mesophilic conditions. Two different inoculation preparations were used: procedure 1 (P1) was performed in a sterile bench under oxic conditions using 0.4% inoculum and small gauge needles. Procedure 2 (P2) was carried out under anoxic conditions using more inoculum (4%) and bigger gauge needles. Higher methane production was achieved with P2, while the highest acetic acid concentrations were observed with P1. In the enrichment cultures, the most abundant bacterial families were Dysgonomonadaceae, Heliobacteriaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Marinilabiliaceae. Further, the most abundant methanogenic genera were Methanobrevibacter, Methanoculleus, and Methanosarcina. Our observations suggest that in samples processed with P1, the volatile fatty acids were not completely converted to methane. This is supported by the finding that enrichment cultures obtained with P2 included acetoclastic methanogens, which might have prevented the accumulation of acetic acid. We conclude that differences in the inoculum preparation may have a major influence on the outcome of enrichment cultures from the P. marginata larvae gut.
“…The laccase activity was detected in the lignin medium at pH 6–8 inoculated by C. lapagei , while superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase, alkyl hydroperoxide reductase and glutathione reductase were found on the cellulose or hemicellulose containing medium. Additionally, the study found other enzymes related to lignin and carbohydrate degradation, which could play a vital role in industrial processes [ 64 ]. Fig.…”
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