LAUSR

BACKGROUND Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are highly promising for the production of cheap and high-quality dietary protein. This insect is able to consume low-quality substrates, including food waste. The properties and safety of the compost obtained are largely determined by its microbiome. However, while the bacterial component of the BSFL-compost microbiome is well studied, little is known about its fungal component. In plant-based rearing substrates both biomass and metabolic activity of fungi often exceed biomass and activity of prokaryotes. So, the purpose of this study was to investigate fungal community of the compost, produced by BSF larvae, reared on a food waste substrate. RESULTS Community structure has been determined by metabarcoding of the ITS region. Species composition and abundance have been determined by plating technique and subsequent identification of the isolated pure cultures. It has been found that the primary mycobiome of the used food waste substrate consists of 19 families, represented mainly by phytopathogenic and endophytic genera. Larva incubation leads to complete elimination of all mycelial fungi from the resulting compost. The final mycobiome consists of only two yeast species, Pichia kudriavzevii and Diutina rugosa, with a total abundance of 1.2 × 107 CFU/g. CONCLUSIONS BSFL rearing leads to complete elimination of mycelial fungi from its feed substrate. Final compost lacks harmful fungi, including molds. This data may be crucial for BSFL-compost use and utilization. Moreover, it is an interesting aspect of zoomicrobial interactions in nature and agriculture. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.