{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,13]],"date-time":"2025-11-13T12:48:01Z","timestamp":1763038081450,"version":"3.41.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,3]],"date-time":"2025-07-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751500800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003977","name":"Israel Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1167\/21"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1167\/21"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003977","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Bacteria are known to colonize the insect gut and determine a positive effect on their host\u2019s fitness, for example, by providing essential nutrients or improving digestion efficiency. However, information on the colonization of the insect gut by fungi and their nutritional contribution is still scarce and fragmentary. In this study, the presence of <jats:italic>Candida tropicalis,<\/jats:italic> a fungus abundant in the black soldier fly (<jats:italic>Hermetia illucens<\/jats:italic>, BSF) larvae\u2019s gut and environment, was determined in the different gut regions. In addition, metabolites present in larvae fed with a fungus-containing diet were determined by untargeted metabolomics and compared to the <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic> metabolic composition and metabolic changes in the feeding substrate supplemented with the microorganism. Our results indicate that <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic> ceased to be present in the BSF gut after its supplementation in the feeding substrate was stopped, indicating that <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic> does not colonize the gut. Larvae that were reared on diet supplemented with <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic> displayed an increase in the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, due to an increase in the palmitic and myristic acids that are abundant in <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic>. The presence of <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic> in the substrate caused an increase in threonine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis pathways in the larvae and suggests indirect feeding from the fungal excretions in the substrate. In addition, the lysozyme activity in the larval gut was reduced by the presence of <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic>, suggesting the fungal involvement in the digestive process for increasing fungal survival. This study suggests indirect symbiotic interactions, in which <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic> thrives in the BSF larvae\u2019s environment and manipulates BSF digestive enzyme production to survive in this environment, but on the other hand, BSF larvae benefit metabolically from the <jats:italic>C. tropicalis<\/jats:italic> presence in its surrounding environment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0325056","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,3]],"date-time":"2025-07-03T17:29:26Z","timestamp":1751563766000},"page":"e0325056","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The fate of Candida tropicalis in the black soldier fly larvae and its nutritional effect suggest indirect interactions"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Lilach","family":"Ben-Mordechai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Neta","family":"Herman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tzach","family":"Vitenberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sivan","family":"Margalit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gianluca","family":"Tettamanti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1413-7660","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Morena","family":"Casartelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daniele","family":"Bruno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4191-6659","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Itai","family":"Opatovsky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0325056.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-ento-010814-020822","article-title":"Multiorganismal insects: diversity and function of resident microorganisms","volume":"60","author":"AE Douglas","year":"2015","journal-title":"Annu Rev Entomol"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0325056.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"699","DOI":"10.1111\/1574-6976.12025","article-title":"The gut microbiota of insects \u2013 diversity in structure and function","volume":"37","author":"P Engel","year":"2013","journal-title":"FEMS Microbiol Rev"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0325056.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1186\/s40168-020-00823-y","article-title":"Most dominant roles of insect gut bacteria: digestion, detoxification, or essential nutrient provision?","volume":"8","author":"T-Z Jing","year":"2020","journal-title":"Microbiome"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0325056.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.ento.49.061802.123416","article-title":"THE GUT BACTERIA OF INSECTS: Nonpathogenic Interactions","volume":"49","author":"RJ Dillon","year":"2004","journal-title":"Annu Rev Entomol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0325056.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0033188","article-title":"Symbionts as major modulators of insect health: lactic acid bacteria and honeybees","volume":"7","author":"A V\u00e1squez","year":"2012","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0325056.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.3390\/insects13040376","article-title":"Bugs in Bugs: The Role of Probiotics and Prebiotics in Maintenance of Health in Mass-Reared Insects","volume":"13","author":"C Savio","year":"2022","journal-title":"Insects"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0325056.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2435.2008.01442.x","article-title":"The microbial dimension in insect nutritional ecology","volume":"23","author":"AE Douglas","year":"2009","journal-title":"Funct Ecol"},{"key":"pone.0325056.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfca.2017.04.008","article-title":"Insects as food: enrichment of larvae of Hermetia illucens with omega 3 fatty acids by means of dietary modifications","volume":"62","author":"FG Barroso","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Food Compos Anal"},{"key":"pone.0325056.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wasman.2022.02.029","article-title":"New value from food and industrial wastes - 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