Optimization and calibration of the flavour tagging algorithms in the LHCb experiment

In what follows the calibration and performances of the flavour tagging algorithms using the decays B+ → J/ψK+, B0 → J/ψK∗0 and B0s → D−s π+ are reported. The data sample used correspond to 1.0 fb−1 of data collected by the LHCb experiment during 2011 (√s = 7TeV). The measured effective tagging efficiency is found to be 2.35 ± 0.06% for the opposite side tagging algorithms combination, while it is 1.5 ± 0.4% for same side kaon tagging algorithm

Lipids from Insects in Cosmetics and for Personal Care Products

Insects, the most varied group of known organisms on Earth, are arousing great interest also for the possibility to use them as a feed and food source. The mass rearing of some species, defined as “bioconverters”, is spreading worldwide, thanks to their sustainability. At the end of the bioconversion process, breeders obtain eco-friendly biomolecules of high biological and economic value, including proteins and lipids, from larvae of bioconverter insects, in particular Hermetia illucens. Besides the most classical use of insect lipids as food additives, they are also used in the formulation of several products for personal care. The composition of insect lipids depends on the substrate on which the insects are reared but also on the insect species, so the cosmetic producers should consider these features to choose their insect starting point. The most abundant fatty acids detected in H. illucens are lauric, myristic, palmitic, and oleic acids, regardless of feed substrate; its fatty acids composition is favorable for soap composition, while their derivatives are used for detergent and shampoo. Here, we offer an overview of insect lipids, their extraction methods, and their application in cosmetics and personal care products

Structural and functional characterization of a novel recombinant antimicrobial peptide from hermetia illucens

Antibiotics are commonly used to treat pathogenic bacteria, but their prolonged use con-tributes to the development and spread of drug-resistant microorganisms raising the challenge to find new alternative drugs. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small/medium molecules ranging 10–100 residues synthesized by all living organisms and playing important roles in the defense sys-tems. These features, together with the inability of microorganisms to develop resistance against the majority of AMPs, suggest that these molecules might represent effective alternatives to clas-sical antibiotics. Because of their high biodiversity, with over one million described species, and their ability to live in hostile environments, insects represent the largest source of these molecules. However, production of insect AMPs in native forms is challenging. In this work we investigate a defensin-like antimicrobial peptide identified in the Hermetia illucens insect through a combination of transcriptomics and bioinformatics approaches. The C-15867 AMP was produced by recombi-nant DNA technology as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion peptide and purified by affinity chromatography. The free peptide was then obtained by thrombin proteolysis and structurally characterized by mass spectrometry and circular dichroism analyses. The antibacterial activity of the C-15867 peptide was evaluated in vivo by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Finally, crystal violet assays and SEM analyses suggested disruption of the cell membrane architecture and pore formation with leaking of cytosolic material

Current state of chitin purification and chitosan production from insects

Chitin, and especially its deacetylated variant chitosan, has many applications, e.g. as carrier material for pharmaceutical drugs or as a flocculant in wastewater treatment. Despite its versatility and accessibility, chitin, the second most abundant polysaccharide on Earth, has so far been commercially extracted only from crustaceans and to a minor extent from fungi. Insects are a viable alternative source of chitin, but they have not been exploited in the past due to limited availability. Today however, for the sustainable production of animal feed, insect farming is being developed substantially. The availability of large quantities of insect biomass and chitin-rich side products such as exuviae and exoskeletons has been increasing. This review provides an overview of recently published studies of chitin extraction from insects, its subsequent conversion into chitosan and the primary analytical methods used to characterize insect-based chitin and chitosan. We have discovered a large number of research articles published over the past 20 years, confirming the increased attention being received by chitin and chitosan production from insects. Despite numerous publications, we identified several knowledge gaps, such as a lack of data concerning chitin purification degree and chitosan yield. Furthermore, analytical methods used to obtain physicochemical characteristics, structural information and chemical composition meet basic qualitative requirements but do not satisfy the need for a more quantitative evaluation. Despite the current shortcomings that need to be overcome, this review presents encouraging data on the use of insects as an alternative source of chitin and chitosan in the future. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry (SCI)

Lipids from hermetia illucens, an innovative and sustainable source

The exponential increase of global demand for proteins and lipids can no longer be satisfied by classical sources. High amounts of CO2 produced by intensive livestock breeding and its effects on the environment are the main factors that prevent the use of animals as primary sources for proteins and lipids, calling for the use of new sustainable sources, such as insects. The massive breeding of bioconverter insects as a feed source has been a major topic in recent years, with both economic and scientific aspects related to rearing and subsequent processing optimization. The larvae of Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) (also known as Black Soldier Fly) can be used for the eco-sustainable production of proteins and lipids with high biological and economic value. Lipids can be obtained from BSF bioconversion processes and are present in high quantities in the last instar larvae and prepupae. Fats obtained from BSF are used as animal feed ingredients, in the formulation of several products for personal care, and in biodiesel production. To enable the use of insect-derived lipids, it is important to understand how to optimize their extraction. Here, we summarize the published information on the composition, the extraction methods, and the possible applications of the BSF lipid component

Expression pattern analysis of odorant-binding proteins in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are soluble proteins mediating chemoreception in insects. In previous research, we investigated the molecular mechanisms adopted by aphids to detect the alarm pheromone (E)-\u3b2-farnesene and we found that the recognition of this and structurally related molecules is mediated by OBP3 and OBP7. Here, we show the differential expression patterns of 5 selected OBPs (OBP1, OBP3, OBP6, OBP7, OBP8) obtained performing quantitative RT-PCR and immunolocalization experiments in different body parts of adults and in the 5 developmental instars, including winged and unwinged morphs, of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. The results provide an overall picture that allows us to speculate on the relationship between the differential expression of OBPs and their putative function. The expression of OBP3, OBP6, and OBP7 in the antennal sensilla suggests a chemosensory function for these proteins, whereas the constant expression level of OBP8 in all instars could suggest a conserved role. Moreover, OBP1 and OBP3 are also expressed in nonsensory organs. A light and scanning electron microscopy study of sensilla on different body parts of aphid, in particular antennae, legs, mouthparts, and cornicles-cauda, completes this research providing a guide to facilitate the mapping of OBP expression profiles

Rearing substrate impacts growth and macronutrient composition of Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae produced at an industrial scale

Organic waste is a rapidly increasing problem due to the growth of the agricultural production needed to meet global food demands. Development of sustainable waste management solutions is essential. Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) (BSF), larvae are voracious consumers of a wide range of organic materials ranging from fruits and vegetables to animal remains, and manure. Thanks to this ability and considering the larval high protein and lipid content, BSF larvae are a useful additive in animal feeds and biodiesel production. Unfortunately, the feasibility of using the black soldier fly as a tool for waste valorization and feed production has primarily been investigated at the benchtop scale. Thus, mobilization of current practices to an industrial scale is challenging because scaling up from small laboratory studies to large industrial studies is not necessarily linear. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the ability of the BSF to recycle organic waste at an industrial scale. To accomplish this goal, three organic waste streams were used (e.g., apples, bananas, and spent grain from a brewery) to test six diet treatments (1) apple, (2) banana, (3) spent grain, (4) apple and banana, (5) apple and spent grain, and (6) banana and spent grain. Working at scale of 10,000 BSF larvae life history traits, waste valorization, protein and lipid profiles were measured for each diet treatment. Differences were recorded across all variables, except substrate conversion, for larvae fed on fruit and spent grain (alone or with fruit). Growth rate significantly differed across treatments; larvae reared on spent grain grew twice as fast as those fed apples alone, but those reared on the apple and spent grain mixture produced twice as much insect biomass. However, it should be noted that larvae resulting from the apple diet contained 50% more fat than larvae fed the fruit and spent grain mixtures. Commonly-available organic wastes were successfully used at an industrial scale to produce BSF larvae that have the potential to substitute other sources of protein and lipids in different industrial applications. Industrialization efforts are encouraged to assess these impacts when integrating diverse ingredients into larval diets as a means to more precisely predict output, such as larval development time and final larval biomass

Insect antimicrobial peptides: potential weapons to counteract the antibiotic resistance

Misuse and overuse of antibiotics have contributed in the last decades to a phenomenon known as antibiotic resistance which is currently considered one of the principal threats to global public health by the World Health Organization. The aim to find alternative drugs has been demonstrated as a real challenge. Thanks to their biodiversity, insects represent the largest class of organisms in the animal kingdom. The humoral immune response includes the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are released into the insect hemolymph after microbial infection. In this review, we have focused on insect immune responses, particularly on AMP characteristics, their mechanism of action and applications, especially in the biomedical field. Furthermore, we discuss the Toll, Imd, and JAK-STAT pathways that activate genes encoding for the expression of AMPs. Moreover, we focused on strategies to improve insect peptides stability against proteolytic susceptibility such as D-amino acid substitutions, N-terminus modification, cyclization and dimerization

Insect antimicrobial peptides: potential weapons to counteract the antibiotic resistance

Misuse and overuse of antibiotics have contributed in the last decades to a phenomenon known as antibiotic resistance which is currently considered one of the principal threats to global public health by the World Health Organization. The aim to find alternative drugs has been demonstrated as a real challenge. Thanks to their biodiversity, insects represent the largest class of organisms in the animal kingdom. The humoral immune response includes the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are released into the insect hemolymph after microbial infection. In this review, we have focused on insect immune responses, particularly on AMP characteristics, their mechanism of action and applications, especially in the biomedical field. Furthermore, we discuss the Toll, Imd, and JAK-STAT pathways that activate genes encoding for the expression of AMPs. Moreover, we focused on strategies to improve insect peptides stability against proteolytic susceptibility such as D-amino acid substitutions, N-terminus modification, cyclization and dimerization

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\u2019s 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