Changes in the Drinking Water Microbiome: Effects of Water Treatments Along the Flow of Two Drinking Water Treatment Plants in a Urbanized Area, Milan (Italy)

While safe and of high quality, drinking water can host an astounding biodiversity of microorganisms, dismantling the belief of its “biological simplicity.” During the very few years, we are witnessing an exponential growth in scientific publications, exploring the ecology hidden in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and drinking water distribution system (DWDS). We focused on what happens to the microbial communities from source water (groundwater) throughout the main steps of the potabilization process of a DWTP, located in an urbanized area in Northern Italy. Samples were processed by a stringent water filtration to retain even the smallest environmental bacteria and then analyzed with High-Throughput DNA Sequencing (HTS) techniques. We showed that carbon filters harbored a microbial community seeding and shaping water microbiota downstream, introducing a significant variation on incoming (groundwater) microbial community. Chlorination did not instantly affect the altered microbiota. We were also able to correctly predict (through machine learning analysis) samples belonging to groundwater (overall accuracy was 0.71), but the assignation was not reliable with carbon filter samples, which were incorrectly predicted as chlorination samples. The presence and abundance of specific microorganisms allowed us to hypothesize their role as indicators. In particular, Candidatus Adlerbacteria (Parcubacteria), together with microorganisms belonging to Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, characterized treated water, but not raw water. An exception, confirming our hypothesis, is given by the samples downstream the filters renewal, which had a composition resembling groundwater. Volatility analysis illustrated how carbon filters represented an ecosystem that is stable over time, probably bearing the environmental conditions that promote the survival and growth of this peculiar microbial community

Experimenting with RRI tools to Drive Sustainable Agri-Food Research: The SASS Case Study from Sub-Saharan Africa

The need to develop experimental tools for a responsible research and innovation (RRI) framework is relevant for managing research agendas and policy making that seriously take into account the complex conditions of innovation development (linked to multidisciplinarity and interaction processes) between the researchers and their fieldwork activities. The adoption of an RRI framework is even more important for multidisciplinary and complex issues, such as the agri-food system. In this context, the SASS (Sustainable Agri-food Systems for Sustainable Development (SASS) project represents a good example for verifying the application of the RRI strategy in a varied research group committed to the development of sustainable agri-food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project, which involves more than 50 researchers from different fields of knowledge and theoretical backgrounds, showed the importance of the processes of reflection, re-driving, and convergence in the definition of research objectives and strategies. This process started by experimenting with new dedicated RRI tools in order to allow interactions between the researchers, including exchanging their experience in data collection and theoretical reflection development. With respect to this analysis, it was interesting to analyze how the RRI tools and strategies have been activated between researchers and different stakeholders, generating reflections capable of re- adapting the results towards shared and accessible innovation for the extended society. Following the discussion based on the description of the SASS-RRI agenda tools and following an internal verification given from an RRI-based web survey, this contribution provides new insights, in terms of tools and strategies, to promote and refine RRI approaches. This work underlines how RRI methods have promoted internal and external interactions to connect the research objectives towards a model of open innovation

Chapter An analysis of the transaction towards sustainable food consumption practises during the Italian lockdown for SARS-CoV-2: the experience of the Lombardy region

This paper intends to investigate the behaviours adopted during this lockdown period due to SARS-CoV-2, in which most individuals have found themselves forced to carry out their daily lives within domestic boundaries, and compare them with previously practiced food-related habits. The aim is to understand whether strategies of buying, preparing and consuming food have changed with respect to established habits of 'ordinary' periods, and how these choices are linked to the psychological and emotional wellbeing/feeling experienced by individuals, to the physiological well-being of individuals and to social, environmental and economic sustainability. The analysis is based on the survey carried out by the Department of Psychology in collaboration with the interdepartmental center BEST4Food of Milano-Bicocca university

DNA barcoding: theoretical aspects and practical applications

DNA barcoding is a molecular-based identification system, recently introduced in the scientific community. The method is not completely new to science, but the real innovation is not in the discrimination system itself: DNA barcoding can be considered as the core of an integrated taxonomic system, where bioinformatics plays a key role. Time is now ripe for a real collaboration of all the different forces working in taxonomy, towards a “next generation systematics”

Safeguarding of Benin wild pigs habitats to increase the resilience of spontaneous and marginal populations

The Red river hogs and the Common warthog are privileged game, quite prolific and their habitats are undergoing quite a bit of modification due to human activities. The phyto-ecological characterization of their habitats in South Benin has been carried out in their current range distribution. The Braun-Blanquet sigmatist method was used to carry out inventories in 70 phytosociological surveys taking into account the floristic community strata and anthropo-environmental data were collected following occurrence indices. A total of 184 plant species were enumerated and reduced to a Detrended Correspondence Analysis while a Hierarchical Ascending Classification was carried out to form ecological groups. After the diversity indices, the ecological spectra were produced and a linear model with a proportion test was performed. Low values of Shannon diversity indices (0-0.4 bits), Pielou Equitability (0-0.1) and Simpson index (0-0.01) and an ecological dissimilarity of habitats were observed in their communities. They are more fond of the herbaceous-arbustive groups but the ecological preference of red river hog, contrary to the common warthog, is marshy to semi-aquatic. It is fundamental to propose a master plan for reconversion, restoration of degraded habitats, review land use policies and evaluate these suids Average Daily Gain (ADG). Keywords: Benin, domestication, habitats, Suids, threat

DNA Barcoding for Minor Crops and Food Traceability

This outlook paper addresses the problem of the traceability of minor crops. These kinds of cultivations consist in a large number of plants locally distributed with a modest production in terms of cultivated acreage and quantity of final product. Because of globalization, the diffusion of minor crops is increasing due to their benefit for human health or their use as food supplements. Such a phenomenon implies a major risk for species substitution or uncontrolled admixture of manufactured plant products with severe consequences for the health of consumers. The need for a reliable identification system is therefore essential to evaluate the quality and provenance of minor agricultural products. DNA-based techniques can help in achieving this mission. In particular, the DNA barcoding approach has gained a role of primary importance thanks to its universality and versatility. Here, we present the advantages in the use of DNA barcoding for the characterization and traceability of minor crops based on our previous or ongoing studies at the ZooPlantLab (Milan, Italy). We also discuss how DNA barcoding may potentially be transferred from the laboratory to the food supply chain, from field to table

Using Glycerol to Produce European Sea Bass Feed With Oleaginous Microbial Biomass: Effects on Growth Performance, Filet Fatty Acid Profile, and FADS2 Gene Expression

Using a circular economy concept, the present study investigated the use of crude glycerol, a primary by-product of biodiesel production, as a low-priced nutrient source for heterotrophic cultivation of the fungus-like protist Schizochytrium limacinum SR21 strain. The whole biomass of this oleaginous microorganism, rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and high-quality proteins, was then paired with a vegetable oil (VO) source and used to replace fish oil (FO) in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) feeds. Four nutritionally balanced diets were formulated: diet FO (a FO-based diet), diet VO + 0 (a VO-based diet without S. limacinum), and diets VO + 5 and VO + 10 that were VO-based feeds supplemented with 5 and 10% of S. limacinum, respectively. After a 3-month feeding trial, fish of all dietary groups tripled their initial weight, but growth and feeding efficiencies of D. labrax were not significantly different among treatments. Although the formulated diets were balanced for polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fish fed with feeds containing either VO or VO plus 5 and 10% of S. limacinum biomass had significantly higher levels of PUFAs in the flesh than fish fed the FO-based diet. Values of health-related lipid indexes, such as atherogenicity index, thrombogenicity index, and flesh lipid quality as well as n-6/n-3 and PUFAs/SFAs ratios confirmed the high nutritional value of sea bass filet, thus representing a healthy product for human consumption. Although the PUFAs/SFAs ratio showed a significantly higher value in fish fed with VO-based diets supplemented with S. limacinum than in those fed with FO diet, suggesting a better filet quality, the n-6/n-3 ratio clearly indicated that filet quality of dietary group FO was best (value of 0.55) and that of group VO + 10 second best (value of 0.98). We also evaluated the nutritional regulation of 16-desaturase (or fads2) gene expression in European sea bass liver. European sea bass fed the VO + 0 diet had the highest number of mRNA copies for 16-desaturase (or fads2), fish fed with diet VO + 10 the lowest. Our study adds to the growing body of literature concerning the use of thraustochytrid biomass as a valid alternative to marine-derived raw materials for European sea bass feeds

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum J. Presl) Bark Extract after In Vitro Digestion Simulation

Cinnamon bark is widely used for its organoleptic features in the food context and growing evidence supports its beneficial effect on human health. The market offers an increasingly wide range of food products and supplements enriched with cinnamon extracts which are eliciting beneficial and health-promoting properties. Specifically, the extract of Cinnamomum spp. is rich in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer biomolecules. These include widely reported cinnamic acid and some phenolic compounds, such asproanthocyanidins A and B, and kaempferol. These molecules are sensitive to physical-chemical properties (such as pH and temperature) and biological agents that act during gastric digestion, which could impair molecules' bioactivity. Therefore, in this study, the cinnamon's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactivity after simulated digestion was evaluated by analyzing the chemical profile of the pure extract and digested one, as well as the cellular effect in vitro models, such as Caco2 and intestinal barrier. The results showed that the digestive process reduces the total content of polyphenols, especially tannins, while preserving other bioactive compounds such as cinnamic acid. At the functional level, the digested extract maintains an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect at the cellular level

DNA barcoding to trace Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from the field to the food supplement

The global market of food supplements is growing, along with consumers demand for high-quality herbal products. Nevertheless, substitution fraud, and adulteration cases remain a common safety problem of global concern. In the last years, the DNA barcoding approach has been proposed as a valid identification method and it is now commonly used in the authentication of herbal and food products. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether DNA barcoding can be applied to trace the plant species from the starting raw material to the finished commercial products. We selected a panel of 28 phytoextracts obtained through three different extraction methods (i.e., maceration, percolation and sonication) with different solvents (i.e., ethanol, deionized water and glycerol). Furthermore, we chose six plant species for which we collected and analysed all the intermediates of the industrial production. We sequenced and analyzed the sequence variability at DNA barcoding (psbA-trnH, ITS) and minibarcoding (rbcL 1-B) marker regions. Phytoextracts obtained through hydroalcoholic treatment, with the lower percentage of ethanol (<40%), and aqueous processing, at the lowest temperature, had major rate of sequencing and identification success. This study proves that DNA barcoding is a useful tool for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) traceability, which would provide consumers with safe and high-quality herbal products

Esplorazione del germoplasma di Vitis vinifera L. con tecniche molecolari: proposta di un modello di diffusione varietale in Europa

Dottorato di ricerca in biologia vegetale e produttivita' delle piante coltivate. 12. ciclo. Docente guida Attilio Scienza. Coordinatore Maurizio Cocucci. Docente di supporto Francesco Sala. Ricercatore di supporto Osvaldo FaillaConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome; Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale - P.za Cavalleggeri, 1, Florence / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal