A comprehensive characterization of Hermetia illucens derived chitosan produced through homogeneous deacetylation.

The increasing demand for chitin and chitosan is driving research to explore alternative sources to crustaceans. Insects, particularly bioconverters as Hermetia illucens, are promising substitutes as they process food industry waste into valuable molecules, including chitin. Chitosan can be produced by chitin deacetylation: hot deacetylation to obtain a heterogeneous chitosan, the commonly produced, and cold deacetylation to obtain a homogeneous chitosan, not widely available. The two different treatments lead to a different arrangement of the amine and acetyl groups in the chitosan structure, affecting its molecular weight, deacetylation degree, and biological activity. This is the first report on the production and chemical-physical and biological characterization of homogenous chitosan derived from H. illucens larvae, pupal exuviae, and adults. This work, in addition to the report on heterogeneous chitosan by our research group, completes the overview of H. illucens chitosan. The yield values obtained for homogeneous chitosan from pupal exuviae (3 and 7 %) are in the range of insect (2-8 %) and crustaceans (4-15 %) chitosan. The evaluation of the antioxidant activity and antimicrobial properties against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Micrococcus flavus) bacteria confirmed the great versatility of H. illucens chitosan for biomedical and industrial applications and its suitability as an alternative source to crustaceans.

Larval Frass of Hermetia illucens as Organic Fertilizer: Composition and Beneficial Effects on Different Crops.

Hermetia illucens has received a lot of attention as its larval stage can grow on organic substrates, even those that are decomposing. Black soldier fly breeding provides a variety of valuable products, including frass, a mixture of larval excrements, larval exuviae, and leftover feedstock, that can be used as a fertilizer in agriculture. Organic fertilizers, such as frass, bringing beneficial bacteria and organic materials into the soil, improves its health and fertility. This comprehensive review delves into a comparative analysis of frass derived from larvae fed on different substrates. The composition of micro- and macro-nutrients, pH levels, organic matter content, electrical conductivity, moisture levels, and the proportion of dry matter are under consideration. The effect of different feeding substrates on the presence of potentially beneficial bacteria for plant growth within the frass is also reported. A critical feature examined in this review is the post-application beneficial impacts of frass on crops, highlighting the agricultural benefits and drawbacks of introducing Hermetia illucens frass into cultivation operations. One notable feature of this review is the categorization of the crops studied into distinct groups, which is useful to simplify comparisons in future research.

Exosomes and Signaling Nanovesicles from the Nanofiltration of Preconditioned Adipose Tissue with Skin-B® in Tissue Regeneration and Antiaging: A Clinical Study and Case Report.

Background and Objectives: This three-year clinical trial aimed to demonstrate that only the signaling vesicles produced by ADSCa, containing mRNA, microRNA, growth factors (GFs), and bioactive peptides, provide an advantage over classical therapy with adipose disaggregate to make the tissue regeneration technique safer due to the absence of interfering materials and cells, while being extremely minimally invasive. The infiltration of disaggregated adipose nanofat, defined by the Tonnard method, for the regeneration of the dermis and epidermis during physiological or pathological aging continues to be successfully used for the presence of numerous adult stem cells in suspension (ADSCa). An improvement in this method is the exclusion of fibrous shots and cellular debris from the nanofat to avoid inflammatory phenomena by microfiltration. Materials and Methods: A small amount of adipose tissue was extracted after surface anesthesia and disaggregated according to the Tonnard method. An initial microfiltration at 20/40 microns was performed to remove fibrous shots and cellular debris. The microfiltration was stabilized with a sterile solution containing hyaluronic acid and immediately ultrafiltered to a final size of 0.20 microns to exclude the cellular component and hyaluronic acid chains of different molecular weights. The suspension was then injected into the dermis using a mesotherapy technique with microinjections. Results: This study found that it is possible to extract signaling microvesicles using a simple ultrafiltration system. The Berardesca Scale, Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and Modified Vancouver Scale (MVS) showed that it is possible to obtain excellent results with this technique. The ultrafiltrate can validly be used in a therapy involving injection into target tissues affected by chronic and photoaging with excellent results. Conclusions: This retrospective clinical evaluation study allowed us to consider the results obtained with this method for the treatment of dermal wrinkles and facial tissue furrows as excellent. The method is safe and an innovative regenerative therapy as a powerful and viable alternative to skin regeneration therapies, antiaging therapies, and chronic inflammatory diseases because it lacks the inflammatory component produced by cellular debris and fibrous sprouts and because it can exclude the mesenchymal cellular component by reducing multiple inflammatory cytokine levels.

Morphological characterization of the antenna of Torymus sinensis (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) and a comparison within the superfamily Chalcidoidea.

The parasitoid Torymus sinensis (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) has been successfully used in Italy since 2005 for biological control of the invasive cynipid Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), highly destructive for the economically relevant Castanea sativa (Fagales: Fagaceae). In order to investigate the morphological aspects related to sensorial behavior, a fine morphology study of the antennae and their sensilla was conducted by scanning electron microscopy on both sexes of T. sinensis. The antennae, composed of a scape, a pedicel and a flagellum with ten flagellomeres, had chaetic sensilla of six subtypes, placoid sensilla of three subtypes, trichoid sensilla, sensilla with a roundish grooved tip, and coeloconic sensilla. The chaetic sensilla of the first three subtypes were found in the scape and in the pedicel, and those of the last three subtypes, together with trichoid, roundish grooved tip and coeloconic sensilla, were found only on flagellomeres. Sexual dimorphism was detected in the morphology of the proper pedicel and the flagellum, and in the presence and distribution of the sensilla and their subtypes. The morphological aspects of the antenna of T. sinensis and of its sensilla were compared with those found in the family Torymidae and in other families of the extremely diverse superfamily Chalcidoidea.

Antimicrobial activity of lipids extracted from Hermetia illucens reared on different substrates.

As the problem of antimicrobial resistance is constantly increasing, there is a renewed interest in antimicrobial products derived from natural sources, particularly obtained from innovative and eco-friendly materials. Insect lipids, due to their fatty acid composition, can be classified as natural antimicrobial compounds. In order to assess the antibacterial efficacy of Hermetia illucens lipids, we extracted this component from the larval stage, fed on different substrates and we characterized it. Moreover, we analyzed the fatty acid composition of the feeding substrate, to determine if and how it could affect the antimicrobial activity of the lipid component. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Gram-positive Micrococcus flavus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. Analyzing the fatty acid profiles of larval lipids that showed activity against the two bacterial strains, we detected significant differences for C4:0, C10:0, C16:1, C18:3 n3 (ALA), and C20:1. The strongest antimicrobial activity was verified against Micrococcus flavus by lipids extracted from larvae reared on strawberry, tangerine, and fresh manure substrates, with growth inhibition zones ranged from 1.38 to 1.51 mm, while only the rearing on manure showed the effect against Escherichia coli. Notably, the fatty acid profile of H. illucens seems to not be really influenced by the substrate fatty acid profile, except for C18:0 and C18:2 CIS n6 (LA). This implies that other factors, such as the rearing conditions, larval development stages, and other nutrients such as carbohydrates, affect the amount of fatty acids in insects. KEY POINTS: • Feeding substrates influence larval lipids and fatty acids (FA) • Generally, there is no direct correlation between substrate FAs and the same larvae FAs • Specific FAs influence more the antimicrobial effect of BSF lipids.

Germination Behavior and Geographical Information System-Based Phenotyping of Root Hairs to Evaluate the Effects of Different Sources of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larval Frass on Herbaceous Crops.

Insect larval frass has been proposed as a fertilizer and amendment, but methods for testing its effects on plants are poorly developed and need standardization. We obtained different types of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) frass via the factorial combination of (a) two insect diets, as follows: G (Gainesville = 50% wheat bran, 30% alfalfa meal, 20% maize meal) and W (43% sheep whey + 57% seeds); (b) two frass thermal treatments: NT = untreated and T = treated at 70 °C for 1 h. We tested the effects on the germination of cress (Lepidium sativum L.) and wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) by applying 1:2 w:w water extracts at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% concentration. Standardizing frass water content before extraction affected chemical composition. Frass extracts showed high electrical conductivity (8.88 to 13.78 mS cm-1). The W diet was suppressive towards Escherichia coli and showed a lower content of nitrates (e.g., WNT 40% lower than GNT) and a concentration-dependent phytotoxic effect on germinating plants. At 25% concentration, germination indices of G were 4.5 to 40-fold those at 100%. Root and shoot length and root hair area were affected by diet and concentration of frass extracts (e.g., root and shoot length in cress at 25% were, respectively, 4.53 and 2 times higher than at 100%), whereas the effects of the thermal treatment were few or inconclusive. On barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown in micropots on a silty loam soil, root mass was reduced by 37% at high extract concentration. A quick procedure for root hair surface area was developed based on the geographic information system (GIS) and may provide a fast method for incorporating root hair phenotyping in frass evaluation. The results indicate that below-ground structures need to be addressed in research on frass effects. For this, phyotoxicity tests should encompass different extract dilutions, and frass water content should be standardized before extraction in the direction of canonical procedures to allow comparisons.

An Overview of Ovarian Calyx Fluid Proteins of Toxoneuron nigriceps (Viereck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): An Integrated Transcriptomic and Proteomic Approach.

The larval stages of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), are parasitized by the endophagous parasitoid wasp, Toxoneuron nigriceps (Viereck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). During the injections of eggs, this parasitoid wasp also injects into the host body the secretion of the venom gland and the calyx fluid, which contains a polydnavirus (T. nigriceps BracoVirus: TnBV) and the Ovarian calyx fluid Proteins (OPs). The effects of the OPs on the host immune system have recently been described. In particular, it has been demonstrated that the OPs cause hemocytes to undergo a number of changes, such as cellular oxidative stress, actin cytoskeleton modifications, vacuolization, and the inhibition of hemocyte encapsulation capacity, which results in both a loss of hemocyte functionality and cell death. In this study, by using a combined transcriptomic and proteomic analysis, the main components of T. nigriceps ovarian calyx fluid proteins were identified and their possible role in the parasitic syndrome was discussed. This study provides useful information to support the analysis of the function of ovarian calyx fluid proteins, to better understand T. nigriceps parasitization success and for a more thorough understanding of the components of ovarian calyx fluid proteins and their potential function in combination with other parasitoid factors.

In Vitro Evaluation of the Antibacterial Activity of the Peptide Fractions Extracted from the Hemolymph of Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a chemically and structurally heterogeneous family of molecules produced by a large variety of living organisms, whose expression is predominant in the sites most exposed to microbial invasion. One of the richest natural sources of AMPs is insects which, over the course of their very long evolutionary history, have adapted to numerous and different habitats by developing a powerful innate immune system that has allowed them to survive but also to assert themselves in the new environment. Recently, due to the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, interest in AMPs has risen. In this work, we detected AMPs in the hemolymph of Hermetia illucens (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) larvae, following infection with Escherichia coli (Gram negative) or Micrococcus flavus (Gram positive) and from uninfected larvae. Peptide component, isolated via organic solvent precipitation, was analyzed by microbiological techniques. Subsequent mass spectrometry analysis allowed us to specifically identify peptides expressed in basal condition and peptides differentially expressed after bacterial challenge. We identified 33 AMPs in all the analyzed samples, of which 13 are specifically stimulated by Gram negative and/or Gram positive bacterial challenge. AMPs mostly expressed after bacterial challenge could be responsible for a more specific activity.

Preliminary investigation on the effect of insect-based chitosan on preservation of coated fresh cherry tomatoes.

Chitosan was produced from Hermetia illucens pupal exuviae by heterogeneous and homogeneous deacetylation. Tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum), that are one of the most grown and consumed food throughout the world, were coated with 0.5 and 1% chitosan, applied by dipping or spraying, and stored at room temperature or 4 °C, for a storage period of 30 days. Statistical analysis give different results depending on the analysed parameters: heterogeneous chitosan, indeed, had a better effect than the homogenous one in maintaining more stable physico-chemical parameters, while the homogenous chitosan improved the total phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity. Chitosan coatings applied by spraying were more effective in all the analyses. Chitosan derived from H. illucens always performed similarly to the commercial chitosan. However, a general better performance of insect-derived chitosan on the concentration of phenolics and flavonoids, and the antioxidant activity was observed as compared to the commercial one. Chitosan coating has already been successfully used for preservation of fresh fruits, as alternative to synthetic polymers, but this is the first investigation of chitosan produced from an insect for this application. These preliminary results are encouraging regarding the validation of the insect H. illucens as a source of chitosan.

Enhancement of fruit byproducts through bioconversion by Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

Bioconversion is a biological process by which organic materials are converted into products with higher biological and commercial value. During its larval stage the black soldier fly Hermetia illucens is extremely voracious and can feed on a wide variety of organic materials. To study the impact of different fruit byproducts on the insect's growth, final larval biomass, substrate reduction, bioconversion parameters, and larval nutritional composition, 10 000 black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) were reared on 7.0 kg of one of three substrates (strawberry, tangerine, or orange) or on a standard diet as a control. The results highlight that BSFL can successfully feed and grow on each of these diets, though their development time, growth rate, and final biomass were differently impacted by the substrates, with strawberry being the most suitable. The lipid and protein contents of BSFL were similar among larvae fed on different substrates; however, major differences were detected in ash, micronutrient, fiber, fatty acid, and amino acid contents. Overall, the results indicate that fruit waste management through the BSFL bioconversion process represents a commercially promising resource for regional and national agrifood companies. Our study offers new perspectives for sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial development by which fruit byproducts or waste might be disposed of or unconventionally enhanced to create secondary products of high biological and economic value, including BSFL biomass as animal feed or, in perspective, as alternative protein source for human nutrition.

Hermetia illucens, an innovative and sustainable source of chitosan-based coating for postharvest preservation of strawberries.

The ability of chitosan produced from pupal exuviae of Hermetia illucens to retard the decay of the local strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cultivar Melissa was investigated for the first time in this paper. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of insect chitosan compared to the commercial polymer in preserving and enhancing, at the same time, some physicochemical parameters (weight loss, pH and soluble solids content) and nutraceutical properties (total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content and total antioxidant activity) of strawberries stored at RT, 4°C and at mixed storage conditions (4°C + RT). Moreover, chitosan from H. illucens was also effective in reducing fungal decay and improving fruit shelf life. The obtained results confirm that insect chitosan, particularly deriving from H. illucens pupal exuviae, can be a viable alternative to crustacean one in safeguarding postharvest fruits.

Tools in the Era of Multidrug Resistance in Bacteria: Applications for New Antimicrobial Peptides Discovery.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules belonging to innate immunity that act against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. With the spread of bacterial strains resistant to current antibiotics, the scientific community is deeply committed to the identification and study of new molecules with putative antimicrobial activity. In this context, AMPs represent a promising alternative to overcome this problem. To date, several databases have been built up to provide information on the AMPs identified so far and their physico-chemical properties. Moreover, several tools have been developed and are available online that allow to highlight sequences with putative antimicrobial activity and predict their biological activity. These tools can also predict the secondary and tertiary structures of putative AMPs, thus allowing molecular docking studies to evaluate potential interactions with proteins/ligands. In this paper, we focused our attention on online available AMPs databases and computational tools for biological activity and tertiary structure prediction, highlighting some papers in which the computational approach was successfully used. As the identification of peptides starts from the analysis of a large amount of data, we show that bioinformatics predictions are the best starting point for the identification of new sequences of interest that can be subsequently produced and tested.

Antimicrobial properties of chitosan from different developmental stages of the bioconverter insect Hermetia illucens.

Growing antimicrobial resistance has prompted researchers to identify new natural molecules with antimicrobial potential. In this perspective, attention has been focused on biopolymers that could also be functional in the medical field. Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth and with its deacetylated derivative, chitosan, has several applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Currently, the main source of chitin is the crustacean exoskeleton, but the growing demand for these polymers on the market has led to search for alternative sources. Among these, insects, and in particular the bioconverter Hermetia illucens, is one of the most bred. Chitin can be extracted from larvae, pupal exuviae and dead adults of H. illucens, by applying chemical methods, and converted into chitosan. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy confirmed the identity of the chitosan produced from H. illucens and its structural similarity to commercial polymer. Recently, studies showed that chitosan has intrinsic antimicrobial activity. This is the first research that investigated the antibacterial activity of chitosan produced from the three developmental stages of H. illucens through qualitative and quantitative analysis, agar diffusion tests and microdilution assays, respectively. Our results showed the antimicrobial capacity of chitosan of H. illucens, opening new perspectives for its use in the biological area.

Characterization of chitin and chitosan derived from Hermetia illucens, a further step in a circular economy process.

Due to their properties and applications, the growing demand for chitin and chitosan has stimulated the market to find more sustainable alternatives to the current commercial source (crustaceans). Bioconverter insects, such as Hermetia illucens, are the appropriate candidates, as chitin is a side stream of insect farms for feed applications. This is the first report on production and characterization of chitin and chitosan from different biomasses derived from H. illucens, valorizing the overproduced larvae in feed applications, the pupal exuviae and the dead adults. Pupal exuviae are the best biomass, both for chitin and chitosan yields and for their abundance and easy supply from insect farms. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope analysis revealed the similarity of insect-derived polymers to commercial ones in terms of purity and structural morphology, and therefore their suitability for industrial and biomedical applications. Its fibrillary nature makes H. illucens chitin suitable for producing fibrous manufacts after conversion to chitin nanofibrils, particularly adults-derived chitin, because of its high crystallinity. A great versatility emerged from the evaluation of the physicochemical properties of chitosan obtained from H. illucens, which presented a lower viscosity-average molecular weight and a high deacetylation degree, fostering its putative antimicrobial properties.

Identification and Functional Characterization of Toxoneuron nigriceps Ovarian Proteins Involved in the Early Suppression of Host Immune Response.

The endophagous parasitoid Toxoneuron nigriceps (Viereck) (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) of the larval stages of the tobacco budworm Heliothis virescens (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) injects the egg, the venom, the calyx fluid, which includes a Polydnavirus (T. nigriceps BracoVirus: TnBV) and the Ovarian Proteins (OPs) into the host body during oviposition. The host metabolism and immune system are disrupted prematurely shortly after parasitization by the combined action of the TnBV, venom, and OPs. OPs are involved in the early suppression of host immune response, before TnBV infects and expresses its genes in the host tissues. In this work, we evaluated the effect of HPLC fractions deriving from in toto OPs. Two fractions caused a reduction in hemocyte viability and were subsequently tested to detect changes in hemocyte morphology and functionality. The two fractions provoked severe oxidative stress and actin cytoskeleton disruption, which might explain the high rate of hemocyte mortality, loss of hemocyte functioning, and hence the host's reduced hemocyte encapsulation ability. Moreover, through a transcriptome and proteomic approach we identify the proteins of the two fractions: eight proteins were identified that might be involved in the observed host hemocyte changes. Our findings will contribute to a better understanding of the secreted ovarian components and their role in parasitoid wasp strategy for evading host immune responses.

Odorant binding proteins fromHermetia illucens: potential sensing elements for detecting volatile aldehydes involved in early stages of organic decomposition.

Organic decomposition processes, involving the breakdown of complex molecules such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats, release small chemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), smelly even at very low concentrations, but not all readily detectable by vertebrates. Many of these compounds are instead detected by insects, mostly by saprophytic species, for which long-range orientation towards organic decomposition matter is crucial. In the present work the detection of aldehydes, as an important measure of lipid oxidation, has been possible exploiting the molecular machinery underlying odour recognition inHermetia illucens(Diptera: Stratiomyidae). This voracious scavenger insect is of interest due to its outstanding capacity in bioconversion of organic waste, colonizing very diverse environments due to the ability of sensing a wide range of chemical compounds that influence the choice of substrates for ovideposition. A variety of soluble odorant binding proteins (OBPs) that may function as carriers of hydrophobic molecules from the air-water interface in the antenna of the insect to the receptors were identified, characterised and expressed. An OBP-based nanobiosensor prototype was realized using selected OBPs as sensing layers for the development of an array of quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) for vapour phase detection of selected compounds at room temperature. QCMs coated with four recombinantH. illucensOBPs (HillOBPs) were exposed to a wide range of VOCs indicative of organic decomposition, showing a high sensitivity for the detection of three chemical compounds belonging to the class of aldehydes and one short-chain fatty acid. The possibility of using biomolecules capable of binding small ligands as reversible gas sensors has been confirmed, greatly expanding the state-of the-art in gas sensing technology.

Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Odorant Binding Proteins and Their Interactions with Selected Volatile Organic Compounds: An In Silico Approach.

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), has considerable global interest due to its outstanding capacity in bioconverting organic waste to insect biomass, which can be used for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed. Mass production of this insect in colonies requires the development of methods concentrating oviposition in specific collection devices, while the mass production of larvae and disposing of waste may require substrates that are more palatable and more attractive to the insects. In insects, chemoreception plays an essential role throughout their life cycle, responding to an array of chemical, biological and environmental signals to locate and select food, mates, oviposition sites and avoid predators. To interpret these signals, insects use an arsenal of molecular components, including small proteins called odorant binding proteins (OBPs). Next generation sequencing was used to identify genes involved in chemoreception during the larval and adult stage of BSF, with particular attention to OBPs. The analysis of the de novo adult and larval transcriptome led to the identification of 27 and 31 OBPs for adults and larvae, respectively. Among these OBPs, 15 were common in larval and adult transcriptomes and the tertiary structures of 8 selected OBPs were modelled. In silico docking of ligands confirms the potential interaction with VOCs of interest. Starting from the information about the growth performance of H. illucens on different organic substrates from the agri-food sector, the present work demonstrates a possible correlation between a pool of selected VOCs, emitted by those substrates that are attractive for H. illucens females when searching for oviposition sites, as well as phagostimulants for larvae. The binding affinities between OBPs and selected ligands calculated by in silico modelling may indicate a correlation among OBPs, VOCs and behavioural preferences that will be the basis for further analysis.

Solanum nigrum Extract and Solasonine Affected Hemolymph Metabolites and Ultrastructure of the Fat Body and the Midgut in Galleria mellonella.

Glycoalkaloids, secondary metabolites abundant in plants belonging to the Solanaceae family, may affect the physiology of insect pests. This paper presents original results dealing with the influence of a crude extract obtained from Solanum nigrum unripe berries and its main constituent, solasonine, on the physiology of Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera) that can be used as an alternative bioinsecticide. G. mellonella IV instar larvae were treated with S. nigrum extract and solasonine at different concentrations. The effects of extract and solasonine were evaluated analyzing changes in carbohydrate and amino acid composition in hemolymph by RP-HPLC and in the ultrastructure of the fat body cells by TEM. Both extract and solasonine changed the level of hemolymph metabolites and the ultrastructure of the fat body and the midgut cells. In particular, the extract increased the erythritol level in the hemolymph compared to control, enlarged the intracellular space in fat body cells, and decreased cytoplasm and lipid droplets electron density. The solasonine, tested with three concentrations, caused the decrease of cytoplasm electron density in both fat body and midgut cells. Obtained results highlighted the disturbance of the midgut and the fat body due to glycoalkaloids and the potential role of hemolymph ingredients in its detoxification. These findings suggest a possible application of glycoalkaloids as a natural insecticide in the pest control of G. mellonella larvae.

What Antarctic Plants Can Tell Us about Climate Changes: Temperature as a Driver for Metabolic Reprogramming.

Global warming is strongly affecting the maritime Antarctica climate and the consequent melting of perennial snow and ice covers resulted in increased colonization by plants. Colobanthus quitensis is a vascular plant highly adapted to the harsh environmental conditions of Antarctic Peninsula and understanding how the plant is responding to global warming is a new challenging target for modern cell physiology. To this aim, we performed differential proteomic analysis on C. quitensis plants grown in natural conditions compared to plants grown for one year inside open top chambers (OTCs) which determine an increase of about 4 °C at midday, mimicking the effect of global warming. A thorough analysis of the up- and downregulated proteins highlighted an extensive metabolism reprogramming leading to enhanced photoprotection and oxidative stress control as well as reduced content of cell wall components. Overall, OTCs growth seems to be advantageous for C. quitensis plants which could benefit from a better CO2 diffusion into the mesophyll and a reduced ROS-mediated photodamage.