ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Microbial Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1575292
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Bodyguards to The Rescue: Understanding The Molecular and Immunological Mechanisms Involved in Host-Insect Pathogenic Microbe InteractionsView all 5 articles
A Taste of One's Own Medicine: Bacillus velezensis Isolated from Adult Housefly Intestines Demonstrates Effective Fly Control
Provisionally accepted
Ying Li1
Shumin Wang2Dawei Yao3
Zhang Kexin2Yansong Yin2Xinxin Kong2Jinxiao Li2
Lingxia Zeng3*Ruiling Zhang2*
Zhong Zhang2,4*- 1School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- 2Shandong First Medical University, Tai'an, China
- 3Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
- 4Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong Province, China
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Bacillus spp. are widely used as biological agents for managing diseases in crops, livestock, poultry, and aquatic animals. Bacillus velezensis, a novel species within the Bacillus genus, is extensively used in the biological control of animal and plant diseases. However, the association between B. velezensis and insect hosts remains a complex and poorly understood process. In this study, we utilized a housefly larvae model to investigate the relationship between B. velezensis and houseflies by examining the changes in intestinal microbiota, transcriptomics, and humoral immunity following symbiotic B. velezensis treatment. The results revealed striking dynamic changes in the bacterial community composition of larvae in the treatment group at the genus level. Notably, Providencia and Morganella content increased, while Enterobacter content decreased, leading to inhibited larval growth.Moreover, the bacterial association with the larva significantly impacted the larval transcriptome, modulating the expression of genes involved in various biological pathways, including host growth and development, macronutrient metabolism, and energy production, which are essential for insect development and survival. Oral feeding of B. velezensis also caused significant morphological changes in the larval gut, resulting in notable larval mortality, cell degeneration, shrinkage, and the formation of various vacuoles. Additionally, we observed a significant decrease in immune response in housefly larvae, with a reduction in phenoloxidase activity and melanization ability in treated larvae compared to controls. Therefore, B. velezensis can damage the vital functions of housefly larvae and may be utilized [Type here] 2 as a microecological regulator for the green prevention and control of housefly populations.
Keywords: Housefly larva, Gut Microbiota, Bacillus velezensis, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Transcriptome, bacteria-host interactions
Received: 12 Feb 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Wang, Yao, Kexin, Yin, Kong, Li, Zeng, Zhang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lingxia Zeng, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
Ruiling Zhang, Shandong First Medical University, Tai'an, China
Zhong Zhang, Shandong First Medical University, Tai'an, China
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