Influence of strain genetics on larval performance and bioconversion efficiency of Hermetia illucens

Summary

Due to increasing welfare and population, demands for more sustainable protein sources are rising in today’s society. Insects are considered such an alternative as they have short life cycles, high feed conversion and can be grown on low-value feedstocks. Particularly the black soldier fly Hermetia illucens is able to convert low-value organic side streams into high-value biomass composed of proteins, lipids and chitin. Therefore, H. illucens larvae can be used for waste reduction paired with the production of high-value biomass, bringing more circularity in our food- and agricultural industry. Although the black soldier fly has been subject of extensive research and suggested as the crown jewel of an emerging insect-livestock sector, characterisations of its genetic resources, crucial for future breeding progress, have been neglected so far. Recent studies using wild and captive strains demonstrate that there is remarkable genetic variation across origins, including signatures of domestication. However, it still remains to be elucidated how genetic differentiation may translate into distinct phenotypic traits, such as economically interesting larval performance and bioconversion. In this study 10 captive H. illucens strains were obtained and reared using a standardized protocol. The strains were genotyped based on the 15 microsatellite markers developed by Kaya et al. (2021). Subsequently, larvae were reared on 3 different diets and larval performance and conversion efficiency was calculated. This allowed to investigate the influence and potential interactions of genotype and diet on these economically interesting traits.