Barnacles are notorious marine fouling organisms, whose life cycle initiates with the planktonic larva, followed by the free-swimming cyprid that voluntarily explores, and searches for an appropriate site to settle and metamorphoses into a sessile adult. Within this life cycle, both the cyprid and the adult barnacle deposit multi-protein adhesives for temporary or permanent underwater adhesion. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the biochemistries behind these different adhesion events in the life cycle of a barnacle. First, we introduce the multiple adhesion events and their corresponding adhesives from two complementary aspects: the in vivo synthesis, storage, and secretion as well as the in vitro morphology and biochemistry. The amino acid compositions, sequences, and structures of adult barnacle adhesive proteins are specifically highlighted. Second, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of adult barnacle underwater attachment in detail by analyzing the possible adhesive and cohesive roles of different adhesive proteins, and based on these analyses, we propose an update to the original barnacle underwater adhesion molecular model. We believe that this review can greatly promote the general understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the reversible and irreversible underwater adhesion of barnacles and their larvae. Such an understanding is the basis for the prevention of barnacle fouling on target surfaces as well as designing conceptually new barnacle-inspired artificial underwater adhesives.

The influence of temperature on plants is essential. However, our knowledge on the intricate regulation process underlying heat stress (HS) response in plants is limited. Recently, information about thermal sensors in vivo has begun to emerge. In this study, another primary environmental stimulus, light, was verified once again to work with temperature synergistically on plants, through the modulation of numerous biological processes. With the application of transcriptomic analysis, a substantial number of heat-responsive genes were detected involved in both light- and phytohormone-mediated pathways in Arabidopsis. During this process, phytoreceptor phyB acts as a molecular switch to turn on or turn off several other genes HS response, under different light conditions. Furthermore, a morphological study showed the afunction of phyB enhanced plants thermal tolerance, confirming the important role of this phytochrome in temperature perception and response in plants. This study adds data to the picture of light and temperature signaling cross-talk in plants, which is important for the exploration of complicated HS responses or light-mediated mechanisms. Furthermore, based on its influence on Arabidopsis thermal response in both morphological and physiological levels, phyB is a photoreceptor, as revealed before, as well as an essential thermal sensor in plants.

Wet adhesion technology has potential applications in various fields, especially in the biomedical field, yet it has not been completely mastered by humans. Many aquatic organisms (e.g., mussels, sandcastle worms, and barnacles) have evolved into wet adhesion specialists with excellent underwater adhesion abilities, and mimicking their adhesion principles to engineer artificial adhesive materials offers an important avenue to address the wet adhesion issue. The crustacean barnacle secretes a proteinaceous adhesive called barnacle cement, with which they firmly attach their bodies to almost any substrate underwater. Owing to the unique chemical composition, structural property, and adhesion mechanism, barnacle cement has attracted widespread research interest as a novel model for designing biomimetic adhesive materials, with significant progress being made. To further boost the development of barnacle cement–inspired adhesive materials (BCIAMs), it is necessary to systematically summarize their design strategies and research advances. However, no relevant reviews have been published yet. In this context, we presented a systematic review for the first time. First, we introduced the underwater adhesion principles of natural barnacle cement, which lay the basis for the design of BCIAMs. Subsequently, we classified the BCIAMs into three major categories according to the different design strategies and summarized their research advances in great detail. Finally, we discussed the research challenge and future trends of this field. We believe that this review can not only improve our understanding of the molecular mechanism of barnacle underwater adhesion but also accelerate the development of barnacle-inspired wet adhesion technology.