The last century was dominated by the widespread use of plastics, both in terms of invention and increased usage. The environmental challenge we currently face is not just about reducing plastic usage but finding new ways to manage plastic waste. Recycling is growing but remains a small part of the solution. There is increasing focus on studying organisms and processes that can break down plastics, offering a modern approach to addressing the environmental crisis. Here, we provide an overview of the organisms associated with plastics biodegradation, and we explore the potential of harnessing and integrating their genetic and biochemical features into a single organism, such as Drosophila melanogaster. The remarkable genetic engineering and microbiota manipulation tools available for this organism suggest that multiple features could be amalgamated and modeled in the fruit fly. We outline feasible genetic engineering and gut microbiome engraftment strategies to develop a new class of plastic-degrading organisms and discuss of both the potential benefits and the limitations of developing such engineered Drosophila melanogaster strains.

Gene and genome comparison represent an invaluable tool to identify evolutionarily conserved sequences with possible functional significance. In this work, we have analyzed orthologous genes encoding subunits and assembly factors of the V-ATPase complex, an important enzymatic complex of the vacuolar and lysosomal compartments of the eukaryotic cell with storage and recycling functions, respectively, as well as the main pump in the plasma membrane that energizes the epithelial transport in insects. This study involves 70 insect species belonging to eight insect orders. We highlighted the conservation of a short sequence in the genes encoding subunits of the V-ATPase complex and their assembly factors analyzed with respect to their exon-intron organization of those genes. This study offers the possibility to study ultra-conserved regulatory elements under an evolutionary perspective, with the aim of expanding our knowledge on the regulation of complex gene networks at the basis of organellar biogenesis and cellular organization.

Transposable elements (TEs) impact genes and genomes in different ways. In Drosophila, TEs play a critical role in establishing heterochromatic loci, such as centromeric and pericentromeric regions, and contribute to ectopic heterochromatin formation especially when found in a tandem repeat configuration. The Bari transposon family belongs to the Tc1/mariner superfamily. Bari1 is featured by a unique tandem repeat arrangement in the heterochromatin of D. melanogaster. Despite its conservation could suggest a structural role in both natural and laboratory populations, little is known about the role of the Bari1 repeat in the heterochromatin. In this paper, we have studied the impact of the Bari1 transposon clusters on chromatin. We obtained transgenic strains of D. melanogaster carrying arrays of either three or seven copies of the Bari1 transposon in a typical heterochromatic tandem repeat configuration. We performed qualitative and quantitative phenotypic assays to evaluate the impact of these arrays on the chromatin status. Our results suggest that Bari1 arrays probably act poorly as heterochromatin seeding sites. Our findings expand the knowledge on the structural and functional impact of TEs, whose potentially neutral, beneficial, or detrimental effect cannot be envisioned without experimental validation.

Grape pomace extract (GPE) from Vitis vinifera L. cv. Aglianico is rich in polyphenols with recognized cardioprotective properties, yet its direct electrophysiological effects on spontaneous cardiac activity have not been previously investigated. Here, we examined the chronotropic effects of GPE using two complementary models: HL-1 cardiomyocytes, assessed by whole-cell patch-clamp and intracellular Ca²⁺ imaging, and the Drosophila melanogaster larval heart tube, evaluated by optical recording. In HL-1 cells, chronic treatment with 25 µg/mL GPE for 48 h significantly reduced potential spontaneous action frequency and selectively prolonged the diastolic depolarization phase without altering action potential morphology, depolarization-activated currents, or cytosolic Ca²⁺ homeostasis. GPE reduced the hyperpolarization-activated funny current (I_f) density without shifting its voltage dependence. GPE-treated cells retained cAMP sensitivity, as both isoproterenol and intracellular 8-Br-cAMP significantly increased I_f amplitude, while ELISA quantification confirmed that global cAMP levels were unaffected by GPE. In Drosophila larvae, a cAMP-independent myogenic preparation, GPE administered in the diet significantly reduced heart rate. These findings demonstrate that Aglianico GPE exerts a negative chronotropic effect through a mechanism that reduces functional I_f density without altering cAMP availability or HCN channel voltage dependence, and reveal a cAMP-independent component of action conserved across phylogenetically distant species.

Transposable elements (TEs) impact genes and genomes in different ways. In Drosophila, TEs play a critical role in establishing heterochromatic loci, such as centromeric and pericentromeric regions, and contribute to ectopic heterochromatin formation especially when found in a tandem repeat configuration. The Bari transposon family belongs to the Tc1/mariner superfamily. Bari1 is featured by a unique tandem repeat arrangement in the heterochromatin of D. melanogaster. Despite its conservation could suggest a structural role in both natural and laboratory populations, little is known about the role of the Bari1 repeat in the heterochromatin. In this paper, we have studied the impact of the Bari1 transposon clusters on chromatin. We obtained transgenic strains of D. melanogaster carrying arrays of either three or seven copies of the Bari1 transposon in a typical heterochromatic tandem repeat configuration. We performed qualitative and quantitative phenotypic assays to evaluate the impact of these arrays on the chromatin status. Besides, we performed Southern Blot Hybridization analyses to evaluate the stability of Bari1 repeats over multiple generations. Our results suggest that Bari1 arrays are very stable over time and can poorly act as heterochromatin seeding sites. Our findings expand the knowledge on the structural and functional impact of TEs, whose potentially neutral, beneficial, or detrimental effect cannot be envisioned without experimental validation.