Document Type
Honors Thesis
Major
Microbiology
Advisor(s)
Edward Bernard
Committee Members
Andrei Alyokhin, Nilda Cravens, Chris Mares, Sally Molloy
Graduation Year
December 2021
Publication Date
Fall 12-2021
Abstract
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an opportunistic pathogen which can cause a variety of infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. It has recently been found that black soldier flies can act as carriers for S. maltophilia (Callegari et al., 2020). I have investigated how probiotics impact their vector capabilities. Black soldier fly larvae have been fed substrate spiked with S. maltophilia. After several days of feeding, the larvae were investigated by PCR and plating (Sveensson-Stadler et al., 2011). Two groups of larvae were fed with potatoes infected with S. maltophilia. Persistence of S. maltophilia was determined using PCR by taking samples from days 0, 3 and 6. This research could clarify the role that black soldier flies play in potentially reducing this public health threat.
Recommended Citation
McLaughlin, Emily Marie, "Impact of Probiotics on Black Soldier Fly Larvae Transmission of Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia" (2021). Honors College. 714.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/714