Genotype-by-Diet Interactions for Larval Performance and Body Composition Traits in the Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 5; p. 424
• Main Authors: Sandrock, Christoph, Leupi, Simon, Wohlfahrt, Jens, Kaya, Cengiz, Heuel, Maike, Terranova, Melissa, Blanckenhorn, Wolf U, Windisch, Wilhelm, Kreuzer, Michael, Leiber, Florian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.04.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Amino acids; Animal feed; Animal husbandry; Animal wastes; Bioconversion; Body composition; Breeding; Cluster analysis; Diet; Dry matter; Ecological effects; Emissions; Exploitation; Factorial design; feeding value; Feeds; Food waste; genetic differentiation; Genetic diversity; Genetic resources; genotype-by-environment interaction; Genotype-environment interactions; Genotypes; Haplotypes; Hermetia illucens; insect-livestock; insect-microbiota; Insects; Larvae; Larval development; Livestock; microsatellite markers; Nutrition research; Optimization; Organic wastes; Phenotypes; Phenotyping; Population; Poultry; Poultry feed; Poultry manure; Proteins; Resource allocation; Strains (organisms); Sustainability; Sustainable agriculture; feeding value; nitrogen-to-protein conversion; genotype-by-environment interaction; genetic differentiation; phenotypic plasticity; insect-livestock; insect-microbiota; microsatellite markers; mitochondrial COI
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects13050424

Further advancing black soldier fly (BSF) farming for waste valorisation and more sustainable global protein supplies critically depends on targeted exploitation of genotype-phenotype associations in this insect, comparable to conventional livestock. This study used a fully crossed factorial design of rearing larvae of four genetically distinct BSF strains ( : 0.11-0.35) on three nutritionally different diets (poultry feed, food waste, poultry manure) to investigate genotype-by-environment interactions. Phenotypic responses included larval growth dynamics over time, weight at harvest, mortality, biomass production with respective contents of ash, fat, and protein, including amino acid profiles, as well as bioconversion and nitrogen efficiency, reduction of dry matter and relevant fibre fractions, and dry matter loss (emissions). Virtually all larval performance and body composition traits were substantially influenced by diet but also characterised by ample BSF genetic variation and, most importantly, by pronounced interaction effects between the two. Across evaluated phenotypes, variable diet-dependent rankings and the lack of generally superior BSF strains indicate the involvement of trade-offs between traits, as their relationships may even change signs. Conflicting resource allocation in light of overall BSF fitness suggests anticipated breeding programs will require complex and differential selection strategies to account for pinpointed trait maximisation versus multi-purpose resilience.