Studies on the Antimicrobial Activity of Chitooligosaccharides from Housefly Larvae, Musca domestica vicina Macquart(Diptera: Muscidae)

The inhibition effect of chitooligosaccharides from housefly larvae on pathogens ofcrops seeds, fruits or vegetables was studied and the main factors influencing theantimicrobial activity of chitooligosaccharides were also investigated. It was foundthat chitooligosaccharides from housefly larvae had wide spectrum fungistasis. It canstrongly inhibit the development of 31 kinds of plant pathogenic fungi such as corticiumrolfsii Saccardo. The results indicated that the degree of deacelylation (DD) or theaverage molecular weight(MW)of chitooligosaccharides were related to the antimicrobialactivity. The antimicrobial activity increased with the rising of DD or the declining ofMW. Pot culture results showed that chitooligosaccharide could enhance the rate ofgermination and emergence of the seeds of maize, wheat and cotton. Chitooligosaccharidehad certain effect on corn southern leaf blight caused by Helminthosporium maydis.

Effect of Feeding on Fresh(wet)Housefly Maggots(Musca domestica)with or without Artificial Diet on Water Quality and Growth Rates of African Catfish(Clarias gariepinus Burchell,1822)Fry under Laboratory Conditions

No or little information on the use fresh(wet)housefly maggots(Musca domestica)in African catfish(Clarias gariepinus)fry feeding.Therefore,this study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding on fresh(wet)housefly maggots with or without artificial diet on water quality,growth performance,survival percentage and feed utilization of African catfish fry under laboratory conditions.Housefly maggots produced from a mixture of poultry droppings and foods wastes,it was used to replace artificial feed at 0,50 and 100% levels.Catfish were fed artificial diet alone(Feed 1),fresh(wet)housefly maggots alone(Feed 2),and 50% fresh housefly maggots with 50% artificial diet(Feed 3)were prepared and tested on triplicate groups of African catfish fry(initial weight of 0.25±0.02 g)for 60 days.Results showed that final weight(g/fish)was significantly(P≤0.05)higher in fish fed on feed 3(6.03±0.08),followed by fish fed feed 2(4.62±0.27),followed by fish fed feed 1(3.15±0.68).Specific growth rate(%/day)was also significantly higher in fish fed on feed 3(5.31±0.10),followed by fish fed feed 2(4.86±0.03),followed by fish fed feed 1(4.18±0.24).The same trend was observed with total weight gain,percentage weight gain,daily growth rate and relative growth rate.Feed intake and protein intake were significantly(P≤0.05)higher in fish fed on feed 3 and fish fed on feed 2,followed by fish fed feed 1.While,feed conversion ratio(FCR)and protein efficiency ratio were not significantly(P>0.05),but the improvement in FCR recorded in catfish fry fed feed 3 and feed 2 under the experimental conditions.Survival percentage was within the range 55-75%,with insignificant differences(P>0.05)among treatments.The water quality parameters such as temperature,pH,dissolved oxygen,total ammonia,nitrite and nitrate were not significantly(P>0.05)between the treatments and were tolerable for Catfish culture.Accordingly,use of the 50% fresh(wet)housefly maggots with 50% artificial diet in African catfish fry feeding had positive effect on growth performance and reduce of the feed cost.

Review on Using of Housefly Maggots(Musca domestica)in Fish Diets

The main animal protein ingredient in fish diets is most often fishmeal because of its nutritional quality.However,the limited availability and increasingly cost of fishmeal has lead to investigations of either lowering or replacing the fishmeal content with more economic protein sources of animal and/or plant origin.The research for appropriate and cheap cost alternative sources of protein to use in commercial fish diets will be the most important factor in intensive fish culture development.Insect meals are healthy and nutritious alternatives to fish meal due to their rich nutritional values,particularly protein,fat and minerals.Housefly maggots(Musca domestica)meal is also rich in B complex vitamins,trace elements and phosphorus.From the results of previous studies,Housefly maggots meal can be used successfully to replace the fish meal portion partially or completely in the fish diets.Also,the results observed that not physiological stressful was introduced in the fish by feeding Housefly maggots meal diets.This indicates that Housefly maggots meal were well utilized by the fish thus resulting in good growth of fish.In other study,observed a best growth performance with fish feeding on diets containing maggot’s meal compared with fish feeding on fishmeal diet.This indicates the high nutritional quality and fish acceptance of maggot’s meal.

Material flow analysis and global warming potential assessment of an industrial insect-based bioconversion plant using housefly larvae

The significant increase in the demand for biomass waste treatment after garbage classification has led to housefly larvae treatment becoming an attractive treatment option.It can provide a source of protein while treating biomass waste,which means that nutrients can be returned to the natural food chain.However,the performance of this technology in terms of its environmental impacts is still unclear,particularly with regards to global warming potential(GWP).This study used a life cycle assessment(LCA)approach to assess a housefly larvae treatment plant with a treatment capacity of 50 tons of biomass waste per day.The LCA results showed that the 95% confidence intervals for the GWP in summer and winter were determined to be 24.46-32.81 kg CO_(2) equivalent(CO_(2)-eq)/ton biomass waste and5.37-10.08 kg CO_(2)-eq/ton biomass waste,respectively.The greater GWP value in summer is due to the longer ventilation time and higher ventilation intensity in summer,which consumes more power.The main GWP contributions are from(1)electricity needs(accounting for 78.6% of emissions in summer and 70.2%in winter)and(2)product substitution by mature housefly larvae and compost(both summer and winter accounting for 96.8% of carbon reduction).

Feasibility of housefly larvae-mediated vermicomposting for recycling food waste added digestate as additive

The development of methods for the efficient treatment and application of food waste digestate is an important research goal.Vermicomposting via housefly larvae is an efficient way to reduce food waste and achieve its valorization,however,studies on the application and performance of digestate in vermicomposting are rarely.The present study aimed to investigate the feasibility of the co-treatment of food waste and digestate as an additive via larvae.Restaurant food waste(RFW)and household food waste(HFW)were selected to assess the effects of waste type on vermicomposting performance and larval quality.Waste reduction rates of 50.9%–57.8%were observed in the vermicomposting of food waste mixed with digestate at a ratio of 25%,which were slightly lower than those for treatments without the addition of digestate(62.8%–65.9%).The addition of digestate increased the germination index,with a maximum value of 82%in the RFW treatments with 25%digestate,and decreased the respiration activity,with a minimum value of 30 mg-O_(2)/g-TS.The larval productivity of 13.9%in the RFW treatment system with a digestate rate of 25%was lower that without digestate(19.5%).Materials balance shows that larval biomass and metabolic equivalent had decreasing trends as the amount of digestate increased and HFW vermicomposting exhibited lower bioconversion efficiency than that of RFW treatment system regardless of the addition of digestate.These results suggest that mixing digestate at a low ratio(25%)during vermicomposting of foodwaste especially RFW could lead to considerable larval biomass and generate relatively stable residues.

Strong variation in frequencies of male and female determiners between neighboring housefly populations

Sex-determination mechanisms evolve rapidly and vary between species.Occasionally,polymorphic systems are found,like in the housefly.Studying the dynamics and stability of such systems can provide a better understanding of the evolution of sex-determination systems.In the housefly,dominant male-determining loci(M)can lie not only on the Y chromosome(M^(Y)),but also on autosomes(M^(A))or the X chromosome(M^(X)).M enforces male development by inhibiting the female-determining gene transformer(tra).A mutant tra allele,tra^(D),is insensitive to M and is a dominant female determiner.M^(Y) prevails at high latitudes and polymorphic M loci together with tra^(D) at low latitudes.To get more insight into the stability and frequencies of these sex determiners with mutually exclusive dominance,we investigated 5 regional Spanish populations.We found strong variation among populations.Two populations with hemizygous M^(III) were found,2 contained homozygous M^(X) with additional hemizygous MI and M^(II) in 1 population.One population contained homozygous and hemizygous M^(X) with additionally hemizygous M^(II).All females in populations with homozygous M,had tra^(D),whereas no tra^(D) was found in populations without homozygous M.Our results indicate locally stable systems may either harbor a single hemizygous M and no tra^(D),corresponding to a male heterogametic system,or homozygous and/or multiple M and heterozygous tra^(D),reminiscent of a female heterogametic system.They support that M loci can accumulate in the presence of a dominant female determiner.Limited migration between populations may contribute to the stability of these systems.