The escalating global demand for sustainable proteins calls for a paradigm shift from conventional animal- and plant-based production toward innovative, resource-efficient alternatives. This review delineates a circular economy roadmap for deriving alternative proteins from agri-food residues, industrial by-products, and organic waste streams. It systematically examines microbial, algal, fungal, and insect-based conversion systems, highlighting their bioprocess efficiencies, nutritional potential, technology readiness, and environmental performance. Emerging technologies such as enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation biorefineries, and integrated waste-to-protein platforms are discussed as scalable approaches for valorizing waste into high-quality protein for food and feed applications. The study emphasizes that these waste-derived protein systems not only mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water consumption but also enhance food security and resource circularity. Key challenges including safety assurance, contaminant control, regulatory barriers, and consumer acceptance, are critically analyzed alongside enabling policy, innovation, and scale-up strategies. By redefining waste as a bioresource, this review advances the vision of a regenerative, low-carbon, and nutritionally secure global food system.

Reverse osmosis (RO) reject management is increasingly critical amid water scarcity, as domestic RO concentrate (ROC) poses a growing secondary pollutant challenge. This study introduces a practical framework for ROC valorization. Sterile ROC (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% dilutions) is blended with conventional media, supplemented with glycerol (carbon source) and sodium glutamate (nitrogen source), to create RO reject water medium (RORM) for cultivating Rhodopseudomonas palustris. We evaluated biomass productivity, pigment yield, essential amino acid profile, biomolecular composition (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates), and intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production to demonstrate waste-to-value transformation. Magnesium and calcium ion levels remained stable across dilutions before and after cultivation, indicating minimal uptake and their role as physiological cofactors rather than bulk nutrients. RORM25 and RORM75 matched control performance; RORM25 delivered high protein (75.0 f 2.4%), strong biomass (1.65 x 103 f 0.04 mg L-1), and pigment (10.60 f 0.90 mg L-1) yields. RORM75 offered balanced output with biomass (1.61 x 103 f 0.03 mg L-1), pigment (11.20 f 0.70 mg L-1), protein (70.0 f 2.0%), lipid (6.0 f 0.4%), carbohydrate (24.0 f 1.6%), and PHA (58.81 f 0.4% dry cell weight). RORM50 showed the highest essential amino acid enrichment, ideal for animal feed. Unlike traditional disposal methods, this approach diverts ROC from waste streams, curbing pollution while yielding value-added bioproducts and advancing a sustainable circular bioeconomy with reduced freshwater needs.

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), metals, and metalloids were analysed in liver of 42 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) and 28 common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) from South Australia (SA). Dolphins sampled between 1993 and 2015 (20 T. aduncus) were screened for eleven PFAS, while those sampled between 2021 and 2023 (22 T. aduncus and 28 D. delphis) were analysed for twenty-nine PFAS, and eighteen metals and metalloids. Twenty-one PFAS were identified overall, with PFOS comprising 80

Wet-weather overflows (WWOs) of raw untreated wastewater have the potential to introduce elevated concentrations of ammonia and metals into aquatic environments for brief periods, varying from a few hours to several days. Existing risk assessment tools for discharges typically compare toxicant concentrations with guideline values and use direct toxicity assessments assuming continuous rather than pulsed exposures. In this study, the water flea, Ceriodaphnia dubia, was used for both continuous (8-day, equivalent to 192-hr) and pulse (6-hr and 24-hr) chronic toxicity assessments of wet-weather, rain-ingress, and diluted influent, as well as water samples from the downstream receiving streams of Darling Mills Creek and Buffalo Creek in Sydney, Australia. Because partial responses were missing in some exposure scenarios, model fitting and the use of Effect Concentration causing 10% response values were deemed unreliable. Therefore, No Observed Effect Concentration values were used instead. No Observed Effect Concentration values for 6-hr and 24-hr pulse exposures were higher than those for continuous (8-day) exposure. When the concentrations of copper, zinc, and ammonia in pulse exposures were expressed as time-weighted average concentrations, they were found to be lower than those observed in continuous exposures to the same contaminants. The hazard quotient was below 1 during pulse exposures. The estimated required dilutions of influent were a high 1 in 4 during continuous exposure, but during 6-hr and 24-hr pulse exposures were considerably reduced to 1 in 1.25 to 2. This study enhances our comprehension of the toxicity associated with pulse contaminant exposures and contributes to the development of more effective approaches for the risk assessment and regulation of the more frequent (typical) short-duration sanitary sewer WWOs.

Antimicrobials pose ecological risks in aquatic environments, particularly to cyanobacteria, aquatic plants, and green algae, and with the potential to disrupt microbiomes on which all biota rely. Beyond direct toxicity, these chemicals also contribute to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, posing risks to human, animal (including wildlife), and plant crop health, particularly through wastewater discharges and water reuse. Despite these concerns, Australia and New Zealand currently lack environmental water quality guideline values for antimicrobials. Furthermore, existing guideline value derivation frameworks for this region do not consider environmental endpoints to protect against antimicrobial resistance. This study critically reviews international approaches to estimating antimicrobial hazards to identify possible improvements for use in Australia and New Zealand. Through a codesign process with stakeholders across the water sector, a method for deriving guideline values using species sensitivity distributions was developed that integrates both traditional toxicity and antimicrobial resistance endpoints. Critically, the approach includes microbiome data, essential for capturing the impacts of antimicrobials on complex aquatic microbial communities. A case study with ciprofloxacin demonstrated that combining microbiome and single-species data in species sensitivity distributions provides a scientifically robust and data-efficient approach for developing environmental guideline values for antimicrobials. The framework may also have applicability to other contaminants known to influence antimicrobial resistance, such as other pharmaceuticals, metals, pesticides, and microplastics. We also identified critical gaps that remain barriers to implementing antimicrobial resistance-inclusive frameworks for deriving water quality guideline values applicable to Australia and New Zealand.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent environmental contaminants increasingly associated with adverse effects in aquatic organisms. Fish gills are a primary site of PFAS uptake; however, the cellular mechanisms underlying PFAS toxicity in gill tissue remain poorly characterised. Here, we investigated the cytotoxic, oxidative, and lipidomic effects of seven PFAS (PFDA, PFOA, PFHxA, PFBA, PFOS, PFHxS, and PFBS) in the rainbow trout gill cell line RTgill-W1. Cell viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) assays revealed clear concentration- and time-dependent responses, with long-chain PFAS (PFDA and PFOS) inducing greater cytotoxicity and more sustained oxidative stress than short-chain analogues. Median effective concentrations (EC50, mg/L) ranged from 51.9 ± 1.7 for PFDA to 7107 ± 3.9 for PFBS, demonstrating pronounced differences in PFAS potency linked to chain length and functional group. Untargeted lipidomic profiling following exposure to 20 mg/L PFAS identified 202 significantly altered lipids across six major lipid classes. Glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids were most strongly affected, with perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) inducing more pronounced lipidomic disturbances than perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) and controls. Alterations in glycerolipid and fatty acyl metabolism, including disrupted acylcarnitine profiles, suggested changes in cellular energy metabolism and oxidative stress responses that may be associated with altered fatty acid utilisation and storage pathways. Collectively, these results demonstrate that PFAS toxicity in RTgill-W1 cells is strongly structure- and chain length-dependent, highlighting associations between oxidative stress and lipidomic perturbations in fish gill cells. However, these findings primarily provide insight within a short-term in vitro exposure framework and should be interpreted cautiously in relation to environmentally realistic exposure scenarios.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a widely used solvent in biological research due to its ability to enhance membrane permeability, facilitating drug delivery and molecular transport across cellular membranes. However, its effects on cellular metabolism, especially at low concentrations, remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated the metabolic disruptions induced by 0.1-10 % DMSO in the RTgill-W1 fish cell line, focusing on changes in cell viability, oxidative stress, and key metabolic pathways. Results revealed that DMSO exposure caused dose-dependent declines in cell viability at 0.5 % DMSO and increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) at 4 % and higher, indicating elevated oxidative stress. Metabolomic profiling revealed altered levels of numerous metabolites and significant impacts on 41 metabolic pathways belonging to five major functional groups: amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, vitamin and co-factor metabolism, and nucleotide metabolism. The effects were observed across all exposure concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1, 4, and 8 %), with more pronounced impacts at higher concentrations. These findings highlight that DMSO, even at low concentrations (≤ 0.5 %), can have widespread effects on cellular metabolism, impacting experimental outcomes in in vitro studies. This study provides valuable insights into the biochemical impacts of DMSO on fish cell lines and emphasizes a caution in using DMSO in biological research to minimize unintended cellular effects. Additionally, it highlights the critical need to include solvent controls at matching concentrations to accurately distinguish solvent-induced effects from those caused by experimental treatments.

Sanitary sewage influent released to the environment is one of the major sources of aquatic contaminants, yet their ecotoxicological impacts remain poorly understood. This study assessed the survival and sublethal biochemical responses of Chironomus tepperi larvae, exposed to increasing concentrations of unfiltered sanitary sewer influent (SSI) collected under dry weather (DW) condition and intermediate wet weather (IWW) condition associated with inflow and infiltration from a rainfall event. Water quality parameters revealed higher concentrations of ammonia, major ions, and trace metals in DW samples compared to IWW. Larval survival declined in a dose-dependent manner, with significantly lower survival observed in DW conditions than IWW condition. Significant reductions in larval survival were observed at 25 % unfiltered sewage influent under DW condition and 50 % under IWW conditions. Metabolomic and lipidomic analyses revealed widespread disruptions across multiple biological pathways, including amino acid, carbohydrate, lipid, energy, and nucleotide metabolism. Notably, alterations in lipid profiles suggest a dual impact of SSI contaminants: impaired lipid biosynthesis and increased energy demand to mitigate stress, resulting in the depletion of essential lipid reserves. These metabolic disruptions followed the same pattern as survival responses, with more pronounced effects at 25 % DW and 50 % IWW. This suggests that a spill of SSI under DW conditions has potential for a greater adverse ecological effect than a spill during wet weather when SSI has been diluted from inflow and infiltration of stormwater into the wastewater system and will be further diluted in receiving waters where stormwater inflow would be also occurring.

The rise in ocean temperatures and the increasing frequency of marine heatwave events pose significant threats to shellfish fisheries and marine ecosystems worldwide. In New Zealand, natural abalone (Haliotis iris) populations have recently experienced elevated mortalities, particularly during summer months, due to these extreme thermal events. This study employed a multi-platform metabolomics and lipidomics approach using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) approach, to investigate the metabolic responses of adult abalone to three temperature treatments (14, 19 and 24 degrees C) over a 24-hour exposure period in a controlled laboratory experiment. A total of 34 metabolites and 34 lipids were identified in foot muscle tissue as significantly altered across temperature treatments, with the majority exhibiting higher concentrations at 24 degrees C compared to the lower temperature groups. These metabolic shifts indicate cellular and oxidative damage induced by acute thermal stress, along with evidence of metabolic depression, disruptions in energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, osmotic regulation, and alterations in membrane composition and stability. Notably, the decrease in aspartic acid levels, alongside changes in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, suggests the activation of the aspartate-succinate pathway as an alternative energy production mechanism under heat stress. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the metabolic and lipidomic responses of abalone to rising ocean temperatures, enhancing our understanding of how marine organisms respond to climate change and extreme thermal events.

Teleost fishes play a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of immune system evolution because they retain the ancient characteristics of vertebrate immunity, encompassing both innate and adaptive immune systems. Among these, innate immunity plays a critical role in fish as the first line of defense, coordinating rapid responses to pathogen infections. However, the lack of fish-specific immunological methodologies has limited progress in elucidating fish immune mechanisms. To better understand how the innate immune response develops and resolves in fish, detailed observation and integrative analysis of leukocytes at multiple time points is necessary. In the present study, an intra-fin injection method for observing local immune responses in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) was tested and optimized to analyze the progression of zymosan-induced innate immune responses. Zymosan-injected medaka showed a rapid immune response characterized by leukocyte recruitment and phagocytosis. Using TG(FmpxP:mCherry) transgenic medaka with mCherry fluorescence driven by myeloperoxidase (mpx) promoter, granulocyte chemotaxis towards the site of zymosan entry was successfully visualized. The rapid increase in tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnfa), interleukin-1 beta (il1b), interleukin-6 (il6), and CXC motif chemokine ligand 8 (cxcl8) expressions in zymosan-injected anal fins provided a molecular basis for the visualized tissue-specific cellular response. Our study underscores the dynamic orchestration of immune components during the innate immune response in Japanese medaka and highlights their potential as a promising model for immunological research.

Significant environmental problems are caused by dye pollution from industrial effluents, which calls for effective and long-lasting remedial techniques. In this work, we prepared TiO2-incorporated gum acacia hydrogel nanocomposites (TiO2-GA hydrogel nanocomposites) as an effective catalytic material for investigating the degradation of synthetic dyes Rhodamine-B (Rh-B) and Methyl Orange (MO) by free radical polymerization method. Structural, morphological, and physicochemical properties of the hydrogel nanocomposites were confirmed by different characterization methods. XPS analysis clearly confirmed the incorporation of TiO2 into hydrogel network. Swelling studies showed that hydrogel nanocomposite exhibits maximum swelling percentage of 1540 % in basic medium at pH 10. The degradation experiments carried out by considering factors, such as pH, time of contact, initial dye concentration, and catalyst dosage under UV irradiation. The best degradation results were obtained at a dose of 30 mg (both Rh-B and MO) for 10 ppm dye concentration when observed for 30 min. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) when applied to Rh-B and MO dye Photocatalytic degradation percentage by TiO2-GA hydrogel nanocomposites shows that all parameters have a significant effect on dye degradation and statistically significant difference exists between group means. The hydrogel nanocomposite achieved 100 % and 92 % degradation within a fixed time of 30 min following PFO kinetic model with rate constant of k = 0.1356 min-1 and 0.1051 min-1 for Rh-B and MO dyes respectively. The nanocomposite hydrogels exhibited appreciable antibacterial activities against both gram +ve bacterial strain (Bacillus subtilis) and gram -ve bacterial strains (Escherichia coli) with appreciable zone of inhibition (16 mm and 20 mm respectively) with 120 mg of nanocomposite sample and ANOVA analysis shows dose dependent activities of the nanocomposite hydrogels. Overall, the material exhibits excellent potential for multifunctional applications, offering an effective solution to both environmental and biomedical challenges.

Fermented functional foods are gaining global recognition for their health-promoting properties, particularly their role as rich sources of natural antioxidants. These foods are increasingly recognized for their role in promoting a healthy gut microbiome and enhancing overall health. This review explores diverse fermented food categories including dairy, plant-based, grain-based, and beverages for their antioxidant potential, alongside emerging substrates such as algae and fruit by-products. Advances in fermentation technology, including precision fermentation and bioreactor optimization, are highlighted for their potential to enhance antioxidant yields sustainably. Additionally, the review delves into the development of novel functional foods and their role in promoting overall well-being. Despite significant progress, challenges such as antioxidant stability, regulatory hurdles, and consumer acceptance remain. This paper provides a comprehensive perspective on the progress, challenges, and future directions of fermented functional foods as antioxidant sources, emphasizing their importance in sustainable nutrition and health solutions.

The present study investigated the acute and chronic toxicity, bioaccumulation potential, and metabolic disruptions induced by perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in larvae of the freshwater Chironomus tepperi using a multidisciplinary approach integrating apical endpoints with targeted and untargeted metabolomics. Acute toxicity tests revealed a 48-h EC50 of 1.13 mg/L (95 % CI:1.14 to 1.51 mg/L) and EC10 of 0.40 mg/L, while 7-day chronic exposures resulted in an EC50 of 58.01 μg/L (95 % CI: 30.33 to 74.53 μg/L) and EC10 of 0.31 μg/L. Larval growth after 7 days of exposure, measured as length, was significantly affected at 50 μg/L, highlighting its sensitivity to PFOS exposure. Bioaccumulation of PFOS in midge larvae increased linearly with exposure concentrations, reaching 560 ± 212 μg/kg at 50 μg/L. Targeted amino acid profiling identified 15 significantly altered amino acids, including increased levels of glutamine and lysine, suggesting disrupted protein metabolism. Untargeted GC-MS metabolomics revealed 37 significantly affected metabolites and 24 enriched metabolic pathways, including those involved in amino acid biosynthesis, energy metabolism (glycolysis and pyruvate metabolism), nitrogen elimination, and redox balance (glutathione and taurine metabolism). Notably, this study provides the first integrated assessment of PFOS-induced metabolic perturbations in C. tepperi, linking molecular-level responses with organismal toxicity outcomes and identifying novel biochemical pathways affected even at environmentally relevant concentrations. The integration of metabolomics data with conventional toxicity endpoints provides mechanistic insight into PFOS-induced effects and supports the use of C. tepperi in environmental monitoring and risk assessment frameworks for PFAS.

Aquaculture plays a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for seafood worldwide. However, the sustainability of aquaculture practices faces challenges from environmental pollutants and toxins. Traditional methods of assessing aquatic toxicity often rely on whole organism tests, which can be time-consuming, expensive, and ethically challenging. In recent years, the utilization of fish cell lines as in-vitro testing models in aquaculture toxicology has emerged as a promising alternative approach. Fish cell lines offer several advantages, including cost-effectiveness, scalability, and reduced ethical concerns. This review paper provides an overview of the implementation of fish cell lines in aquaculture toxicology, focusing on their applications in assessing the toxicity of environmental contaminants, mechanistic studies, and biomarker discovery. Furthermore, we discuss the advantages and limitations of fish cell lines compared to traditional whole organism tests explore challenges and future perspectives for integrating fish cell lines into regulatory frameworks. Overall, the integration of fish cell lines into aquaculture toxicology holds great promise for enhancing the sustainability and safety of aquaculture practices in the face of increasing environmental pressures.

In the present scenario, growing population demands more food, resulting in the need for sustainable agriculture. Numerous approaches are explored in response to dangers and obstacles to sustainable agriculture. A viable approach is to be exploiting microbial consortium, which generate diverse biostimulants with growth-promoting characteristics for plants. These bioinoculants play an indispensable role in optimizing nutrient uptake efficiency mitigating environmental stress. Plant productivity is mostly determined by the microbial associations that exist at the rhizospheric region of plants. The engineered consortium with multifunctional attributes can be effectively employed to improve crop growth efficacy. A number of approaches have been employed to identify the efficient consortia for plant growth and enhanced crop productivity. Various plant growth-promoting (PGP) microbes with host growth-supporting characteristics were investigated to see if they might work cohesively and provide a cumulative effect for improved growth and crop yield. The effective microbial consortia should be assessed using compatibility tests, pot experimentation techniques, generation time, a novel and quick plant bioassay, and sensitivity to external stimuli (temperature, pH). The mixture of two or more microbial strains found in the root microbiome stimulates plant growth and development. The present review deals with mechanism, formulation, inoculation process, commercialization, and applications of microbial consortia as plant bioinoculants for agricultural sustainability.

On earth, soil is one of the most essential parts of nature which plays critical roles in plant growth, water flow, waste products recycling and provides habitats to various organisms. Soil is the combination of organic matter, air, water minerals, and sixteen different essential nutrient elements which are categorized into primary macronutrients, secondary macronutrients, and micronutrients. The nutrients elements present in soil either in organic forms or organic forms interchanged by the various microbial mechanisms such including fixation, chelation and solubilization. The microbes from all three domain i.e., archaea, bacteria, and eukarya have been reported for exhibiting the various mechanisms and strain belonging to genera Arthrobacter, Burkholderia, Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Natrinema, and Serratia are widely known for ruling the nutrients dynamics. The microbes playing role in nutrients dynamics, have great economic importance in agriculture sector as agriculturist is in pressure of producing high quality and quantity of food along with managing the sustainability. These microbes could solve agricultural problems such as soil degradation and environmental pollution by using them as bio-fertilizer over chemical-based products. A huge number of reports have supported such statements so, the purpose of the present review aims to complies microbial role in all category nutrients dynamics and their role in plant growth promotion.