---
title: I2SysBio and Darwin researchers demonstrate the industrial interest of the gut microbial community of the beetle Pachnoda marginata
description: "Researchers from the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), located at the University of Valencia Science Park, have published a study that reveals a highly diverse microbial community and the potential of the gut of the beetle larva Pachnoda marginata as a source of microbial diversity of industrial interest. The work published in the journal \"npj Biofilms and Microbiomes\" highlights that biological activities and metabolic pathways related to cellulose degradation, methane production and sulfate reduction have been characterized"
---

[Press room | PCUV](https://news.pcuv.es/en)

# [I2SysBio and Darwin researchers demonstrate the industrial interest of the gut microbial community of the beetle Pachnoda marginata](https://news.pcuv.es/en/home-pcuv-institutos-pcuv-i2sysbio-i2sysbio-researchers-demonstrate-the-industrial-interest-of-the-gut-microbial-community-of-the-beetle-pachnoda-marginata)

 Written by [admin](https://news.pcuv.es/en/author/admin) | 05/08/2024

## Researchers from the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio) and Darwin **Bioprospecting Excellence**, located at the University of Valencia Science Park, have published a study that reveals a highly diverse microbial community and the potential of the gut of the beetle larva *Pachnoda marginata* as a source of microbial diversity of industrial interest. The work published in the journal "npj Biofilms and Microbiomes" highlights that biological activities and metabolic pathways related to cellulose degradation, methane production and sulfate reduction have been characterized

"The intestine of *Pachnoda* is very surprising because from a structural, microbial and biochemical point of view it looks like the intestine of a miniature cow, despite having evolved completely independently of these ruminants," says Àngela Vidal-Verdú, first author of the article and predoctoral researcher of the University Program Training (FPU) program at the University of Valencia. Researchers from the UV Science Park spin-off [Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence](https://www.pcuv.es/en/empresas/biotecnologia/DARWIN), the University of Brandenburg and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (UV) also participate in this research.

The gut microbiomes of insects play a crucial role in their development and are influenced by the specialized feeding habits and morphological structure of their gut. Beetles of the genus *Pachnoda* have a highly differentiated gut, with a marked dilatation in the hindgut that resembles a small rumen (first of the four stomachs of ruminants). In the study, the species *Pachnoda marginata* has been investigated in detail to understand its microbial ecology.

Juli Peretó, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (UV) and Manel Porcar ([I2SysBio](https://www.pcuv.es/en/institutos-de-investigacion/i2sysbio) and Darwin Bioprospeting), principal investigators of the project, highlight the biotechnological potential of some of the microbial communities present in the gut of *Pachnoda* that, for example, can resemble a biogas production plant.

Using environmental genomics (metagenomics) techniques that allow the analysis of genomes present in a given environment, the microbial community in each section of the intestine of *P. marginata* was analyzed. A microbial gradient was found from aerobic communities in the foregut to strictly anaerobic communities in the hindgut.

This study is an important step towards understanding the complex microbial communities that inhabit the highly compartmentalized gut of *P. marginata*, a work in microbial ecology that has not yet been done, and which opens doors for future research in this field.

This research has been supported by the State Research Agency, the European Union and the Valencian Innovation Agency.

 

 

 

[View full post](https://news.pcuv.es/en/home-pcuv-institutos-pcuv-i2sysbio-i2sysbio-researchers-demonstrate-the-industrial-interest-of-the-gut-microbial-community-of-the-beetle-pachnoda-marginata)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "admin"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2024-08-05T08:32:16.279Z",
  "datePublished" : "2024-08-05T08:32:16Z",
  "headline" : "I2SysBio and Darwin researchers demonstrate the industrial interest of the gut microbial community of the beetle Pachnoda marginata",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 941,
    "url" : "https://news.pcuv.es/hubfs/exemplar_Pachnoda_marginata.jpg",
    "width" : 1673
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://news.pcuv.es/en/home-pcuv-institutos-pcuv-i2sysbio-i2sysbio-researchers-demonstrate-the-industrial-interest-of-the-gut-microbial-community-of-the-beetle-pachnoda-marginata",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Blog Parc Inglés"
  }
}
```