Shotgun metagenomic case study of a Tenebrio molitor colony collapse

Yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) are becoming a more important source of protein in the pet food, aquaculture, and livestock industry, and in the near future for human consumption. Commercial industries require mass rearing of mealworms in densely populated communities. In both commercial and research purposes, colonies of yellow mealworms may undergo contact with pathogens which may spread more easily due to their close contact. Here we report an instance of a small colony collapse in a research facility. The colony was noted as sick several years ago but only recently faced a full collapse brought on by an infestation of flour mites. However, with shot-gun metagenomic sequencing, we plan to identify the initial cause of disease in the colony that may have led to the mites success. This study can be used by both commercial and researcher for future reference of pathogens and colony collapse.