Diverting organic waste from landfills via insect biomanufacturing using engineered black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens)
Kate Tepper, Owain R. Edwards, Anwar Sunna, Ian T. Paulsen, Maciej Maselko
Abstract
A major roadblock towards the realisation of a circular economy are the lack of high-value products that can be generated from waste. Black soldier flies (BSF; Hermetia illucens) are gaining traction for their ability to rapidly consume large quantities of organic wastes. However, these are primarily used to produce a small variety of products, such as animal feed ingredients and fertiliser. Using synthetic biology, BSF could be developed into a novel sustainable biomanufacturing platform to valorise a broader variety of organic waste feedstocks into enhanced animal feeds, a large variety of high-value biomolecules including industrial enzymes and lipids, and improved fertiliser.