Larvae of the Clothing Moth Tineola bisselliella Maintain Gut Bacteria that Secrete Enzyme Cocktails to Facilitate the Digestion of Keratin.

ABSTRACT: The evolutionary success of insects is promoted by their association with beneficial microbes that enable the utilization of unusual diets. The synanthropic clothing moth Tineola bisselliella provides an intriguing example of this phenomenon. The caterpillars of this species have adapted to feed on keratin-rich diets such as feathers and wool, which cannot be digested by most other animals and are resistant to common digestive enzymes. Inspired by the hypothesis that this ability may be conferred by symbiotic microbes, we utilized a simple assay to detect keratinase activity and a method to screen gut bacteria for candidate enzymes, which were isolated from feather-fed larvae. The isolation of DNA from keratin-degrading bacterial strains followed by de novo genome sequencing resulte

SUBMITTER: Vilcinskas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7563610 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature