Project title Gut metagenomic and metatranscriptomic profiling of GH9-CBM3 and NtBG transgenic black soldier fly larvae
This project investigates how transgenic expression of cellulolytic enzymes affects the gut microbial community and transcriptional activity of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae. Conventional-rearing larval gut samples from wild-type, GH9-CBM3 transgenic and NtBG transgenic lines were analysed using paired-end shotgun metagenomic sequencing and ribosomal-RNA-depleted metatranscriptomic sequencing. Four biological replicates were analysed for each genotype, with shared wild-type samples submitted once for the related GH9 and NtBG studies. The project provides raw sequencing data for characterising gut microbial composition, metagenome-assembled genomes, microbial carbohydrate-active enzyme functions and metatranscriptional responses. Host gene-expression results were derived by mapping metatranscriptomic reads to the H. illucens reference genome. These data support investigation of interactions between host genetic engineering, gut microbial ecology and lignocellulose bioconversion in an agriculturally relevant insect.