Specific Stress Conditions Research Articles

Electrophysiological properties of the mitochondrial permeability transition pores: Channel diversity and disease implication

The mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) is a channel that, when open, is responsible for a dramatic increase in the permeability of the mitochondrial inner membrane, a process known as the mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT). mPTP activation during Ca2+ dyshomeostasis and oxidative stress disrupts normal mitochondrial function and induces cell death. mPTP opening has been implicated as a critical event in many diseases, including hypoxic injuries, neurodegeneration, and diabetes. Discoveries of recent years indicate that mPTP demonstrates very complicated behavior and regulation, and depending on specific induction or stress conditions, it can function as a high-conductance pore, a small channel, or a non-specific membrane leak. The focus of this review is to summarize the literature on the electrophysiological properties of the mPTP and to evaluate the evidence that it has multiple molecular identities. This review also provides perspective on how an electrophysiological approach can be used to quantitatively investigate the biophysical properties of the mPTP under physiological, pharmacological, pathophysiological, and disease conditions.

The Mitochondrial Proteome of Tumor Cells: A SnapShot on Methodological Approaches and New Biomarkers.

Simple SummaryMitochondria are central hubs of cellular signaling, energy metabolism, and redox balance. The plasticity of these cellular organelles is an essential requisite for the cells to cope with different stimuli and stress conditions. Cancer cells are characterized by changes in energy metabolism, mitochondrial signaling, and dynamics. These changes are driven by alterations in the mitochondrial proteome. For this reason, in the last years a focus of basic and cancer research has been the implementation and optimization of technologies to investigate changes in the mitochondrial proteome during cancer initiation and progression. This review presents an overview of the most used technologies to investigate the mitochondrial proteome and recent evidence on changes in the expression levels and delocalization of certain proteins in and out the mitochondria for shaping the functional properties of tumor cells.Mitochondria are highly dynamic and regulated organelles implicated in a variety of important functions in the cell, including energy production, fatty acid metabolism, iron homeostasis, programmed cell death, and cell signaling. Changes in mitochondrial metabolism, signaling and dynamics are hallmarks of cancer. Understanding whether these modifications are associated with alterations of the mitochondrial proteome is particularly relevant from a translational point of view because it may contribute to better understanding the molecular bases of cancer development and progression and may provide new potential prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers as well as novel molecular targets for anti-cancer treatment. Making an inventory of the mitochondrial proteins has been particularly challenging given that there is no unique consensus targeting sequence that directs protein import into mitochondria, some proteins are present at very low levels, while other proteins are expressed only in some cell types, in a particular developmental stage or under specific stress conditions. This review aims at providing the state-of-the-art on methodologies used to characterize the mitochondrial proteome in tumors and highlighting the biological relevance of changes in expression and delocalization of proteins in and out the mitochondria in cancer biology.

Biodiversity in Bacterial Phyla Composite in Arid Soils of the Community of Desert Medicinal Plant Rhazya stricta

Rhazya stricta is an important medicinal plant used as native herbal drug to cure various diseases across Asia. Plant-microbe interactions represented by different environment abiotic stress factors that shows effects also on the host plants or on the associated microbial communities. Soil microorganism can be adapted to specific stress conditions and evolve tolerance to this stress. The adjustment of the plant microbiome can productively improve the yield production of essential crops. In the present study, metagenomics analysis of bacterial communities associated with five desert plants (Rhazya stricta, Enneapogon desvauxii, Citrullus colocynthis, Senna italica, and Zygophyllum simplex) was used to highlights the bacterial diversity in the communities of these desert plants, as they also have an importance as folkloric medicinal plants, in addition to their important roles in the ecological and agricultural applications. The results of the bacterial community’s taxonomy showed eleven phyla in each sample, and the most abundant were highlighted for further analysis as it was unassigned phyla. Results indicated that the most commonlyknownphylawere; Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Bacteroidetes. Further bioinformatics and functional analysis of bacteria are needed to investigate their effectiveness in promoting plant growth and understanding symbiotic relationships under drought-stress conditions, meanwhile, introducing the pinpointed ones in this study will help in achieving this task.

A serum containing vitamins C & E and a matrix-repair tripeptide reduces facial signs of aging as evidenced by Primos® analysis and frequently repeated auto-perception.

BackgroundAllegations on the benefits of incorporating vitamin C, vitamin E, and combinations thereof in topical skincare formulations are mostly based on in vitro and ex vivo experiments and/or limited protocols of specific stress conditions (pollution, UV exposure, laser irradiation,…).ObjectiveTo evaluate the instrumentally measurable effects and quantitative consumer perceptions of a protective and reparative serum on a panel of volunteers under normal nonstressed conditions of use, employing FOITS technology and innovative self‐assessment methods.MethodIn an open‐label study women of ≥40 years with visible signs of photoaging applied a serum comprising l‐ascorbic acid USP (15% w/v), tocopheryl acetate USP, and 5 ppm palmitoyl tripeptide‐38 to the face once daily for 56 days. Skin roughness and isotropy changes were evaluated on days 0, 28, and 56, visual instrumental evaluation of skin‐tone parameters was assessed on days 0 and 56. Subjects completed self‐assessment questionnaires every third day of the trial period for radiance, homogeneity, and wrinkle appearance.ResultsSkin‐roughness parameters decreased significantly by 8%‐9% (P < .05) and subjects experienced a significant increase in skin isotropy (P < .05). Photographic analysis revealed significant improvements in skin tone, with a 9% decrease in redness and 8% increase in homogeneity (P < .0001 for both), in excellent agreement with subjects' perception of significant improvements of radiance, complexion, and wrinkles.ConclusionThe study confirms statistically significant correlation between objectively measured and quantitative subjectively perceived benefits of the bespoke serum containing antioxidants and a matrix‐restoring peptide.

Identifying Barriers and Enablers for Climate Change Adaptation of Farmers in Semi-Arid North-Western China

The changing climate represents a large challenge for farmers, and adaptation responses are necessary to minimize impacts. Mixed approaches, which involve the analysis of meteorological data, web-based surveys, and face-to-face interviews, explore producers’ barriers and pressing needs to enhance climate resilience based on the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach in semi-arid north-western China. According to the main categories of farming activity, 85 crop farmers, 68 animal farmers, and 81 agro-tourism operators were interviewed. We found that most of the producers perceived climate impacts, and they encountered multiple adaptation obstacles, of which institutional and normative obstacles were more serious, such as farmers unable to obtain resources or government incentives, lacked scientific, and efficient coping measures. The survey also observed that crop farmers had a pressing need for agricultural subsidies, while animal farmers and agro-tourism operators had a strong enabler for animal housing infrastructure and credit facilities, respectively. Given the heterogeneity of the context and climate change experience of different categories of farmers, it is necessary to formulate flexible adaptation strategies and adjust them according to specific climate stress and farming conditions. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and implement the 2015 Paris Agreement, policymakers should plan and introduce appropriate adaptation strategies to minimize the adverse effects of climate change such as improving irrigation and weather forecasting system through technological advancement, cost reduction of farm inputs, ensuring availability of information, providing agricultural subsidies to the farmers, and increasing the access to agricultural markets.

Redefining proteostasis transcription factors in organismal stress responses, development, metabolism, and health.

Eukaryotic organisms have evolved complex and robust cellular stress response pathways to ensure maintenance of proteostasis and survival during fluctuating environmental conditions. Highly conserved stress response pathways can be triggered and coordinated at the cell-autonomous and cell-nonautonomous level by proteostasis transcription factors, including HSF1, SKN-1/NRF2, HIF1, and DAF-16/FOXO that combat proteotoxic stress caused by environmental challenges. While these transcription factors are often associated with a specific stress condition, they also direct "noncanonical" transcriptional programs that serve to integrate a multitude of physiological responses required for development, metabolism, and defense responses to pathogen infections. In this review, we outline the established function of these key proteostasis transcription factors at the cell-autonomous and cell-nonautonomous level and discuss a newly emerging stress responsive transcription factor, PQM-1, within the proteostasis network. We look beyond the canonical stress response roles of proteostasis transcription factors and highlight their function in integrating different physiological stimuli to maintain cytosolic organismal proteostasis.

Impedance flow cytometry allows the early prediction of embryo yields in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) microspore cultures

Haplomethods are key biotechnological tools that make it possible to rapidly produce perfectly homozygous lines, speeding up plant breeding programs. Under specific stress conditions, microspores are reprogrammed toward sporophytic pathways, leading to embryo formation. Various endogenous and exogenous factors affect embryo yield in androgenesis, so the improvement of androgenesis efficiency requires the development of early, reliable and robust reactivity markers. During the last decade, numerous cytological, cellular and biochemical approaches were carried out to finely characterize microspore development and fate during androgenesis. However, the different available markers are often species-dependent, and their development and application are time-consuming and cumbersome. In this study, we show the suitable use of impedance flow cytometry (IFC) to develop new robust, reliable and strong markers of androgenesis reactivity in wheat, leading to: (i) routine monitoring of the viability of heterogeneous cell cultures; (ii) quick and simple evaluation of stress treatment efficiency; and (iii) early prediction of embryo yields from microspore suspensions. IFC can therefore provide the fine characterization of all of the microspore developmental pathways that occur in a cell suspension, for embryogenic microspores as well as pollen-like microspores. IFC technology has become a very useful tool to track and characterize wheat microspores in androgenesis, but can also be adapted to other species and other in vitro cell culture systems.

How Does Proline Treatment Promote Salt Stress Tolerance During Crop Plant Development?

Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses restricting the use of land for agriculture because it limits the growth and development of most crop plants. Improving productivity under these physiologically stressful conditions is a major scientific challenge because salinity has different effects at different developmental stages in different crops. When supplied exogenously, proline has improved salt stress tolerance in various plant species. Under high-salt conditions, proline application enhances plant growth with increases in seed germination, biomass, photosynthesis, gas exchange, and grain yield. These positive effects are mainly driven by better nutrient acquisition, water uptake, and biological nitrogen fixation. Exogenous proline also alleviates salt stress by improving antioxidant activities and reducing Na+ and Cl− uptake and translocation while enhancing K+ assimilation by plants. However, which of these mechanisms operate at any one time varies according to the proline concentration, how it is applied, the plant species, and the specific stress conditions as well as the developmental stage. To position salt stress tolerance studies in the context of a crop plant growing in the field, here we discuss the beneficial effects of exogenous proline on plants exposed to salt stress through well-known and more recently described examples in more than twenty crop species in order to appreciate both the diversity and commonality of the responses. Proposed mechanisms by which exogenous proline mitigates the detrimental effects of salt stress during crop plant growth are thus highlighted and critically assessed.

Reducing liquid metal embrittlement cracking in resistance spot welding of Q&P980 steel

ABSTRACT The galvanized ultra-high-strength steels are prone to liquid metal embrittlement (LME) cracking during resistance spot welding (RSW), cracking is facilitated by the specific temperature and stress conditions on the steel surface. A two-dimensional electro-thermomechanical model was established to simulate the RSW of a galvanized Q&P980 steel, which was susceptible to LME. Temperature and stress histories in the welding area were obtained from simulation, they could well explain the occurrence of LME. A mild steel cover sheet was used during welding, which was placed between the Q&P980 steel and the electrode. It was found that the cover sheet modified the temperature and stress states on the surface of Q&P980 steels and made them less satisfying to LME, and consequently suppressed LME cracking.

CoViD-19 and stress in the pandemic: "sanity is not statistical"

CoViD-19 pandemic is causing serious consequences on mental health, consequences that are considered that bad that World Health Organization has affirmed that mental health defence is priority in this particular moment of development of pandemic. In light of this alertness, what we are interested in approaching in this work, is the specific stress condition caused by pandemic, which underlies and precedes the described classification of diseases and which is going towards an increase in the entire world, including Italy. The stress caused by pandemic is a new condition in comparison with what is known in clinical practice and with what is included in the classification of mental disorder. The ongoing stress condition and the mixture of different types of unconventional stress, which not only hits the present but also disrupts the future, create an entirely new form of clinical condition given by pandemic.

Acoustic emission characteristics in hydraulic fracturing of stratified rocks: A laboratory study

Acoustic emission (AE) is a popular technique to monitor the process of rock failure during hydraulic fracturing for unconventional natural gas production. It contains abundant information that will be useful to study in-depth the nature of hydraulic fracturing. In this study, we focused on the AE count, energy, peak frequency, crack classification, and location recorded from four rock specimens subjected to a specific triaxial stress condition. We found the multi-frequency-response phenomenon of AE, and proposed the multi-frequency-response index to indicate the moment of the macrohydraulic crack formation. Furthermore, it was found that the power law distribution index of AE energy of non-stratified specimen was bigger than that of stratified specimens during hydraulic fracturing. The tensile crack dominated in all hydraulic fracturing tests. Our results are of significance for understanding hydraulic fracturing in stratified rocks.

CoViD-19 and stress in the pandemic: "sanity is not statistical".

CoViD-19 pandemic is causing serious consequences on mental health, consequences that are considered that bad that World Health Organization has affirmed that mental health defence is priority in this particular moment of development of pandemic. In light of this alertness, what we are interested in approaching in this work, is the specific stress condition caused by pandemic, which underlies and precedes the described classification of diseases and which is going towards an increase in the entire world, including . The stress caused by pandemic is a new condition in comparison with what is known in clinical practice and with what is included in the classification of mental disorder. The ongoing stress condition and the mixture of different types of unconventional stress, which not only hits the present but also disrupts the future, create an entirely new form of clinical condition given by pandemic.

RNA helicase–regulated processing of the Synechocystis rimO–crhR operon results in differential cistron expression and accumulation of two sRNAs

The arrangement of functionally-related genes in operons is a fundamental element of how genetic information is organized in prokaryotes. This organization ensures coordinated gene expression by co-transcription. Often, however, alternative genetic responses to specific stress conditions demand the discoordination of operon expression. During cold temperature stress, accumulation of the gene encoding the sole Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD)-box RNA helicase in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, crhR (slr0083), increases 15-fold. Here, we show that crhR is expressed from a dicistronic operon with the methylthiotransferase rimO/miaB (slr0082) gene, followed by rapid processing of the operon transcript into two monocistronic mRNAs. This cleavage event is required for and results in destabilization of the rimO transcript. Results from secondary structure modeling and analysis of RNase E cleavage of the rimO-crhR transcript in vitro suggested that CrhR plays a role in enhancing the rate of the processing in an auto-regulatory manner. Moreover, two putative small RNAs are generated from additional processing, degradation, or both of the rimO transcript. These results suggest a role for the bacterial RNA helicase CrhR in RNase E-dependent mRNA processing in Synechocystis and expand the known range of organisms possessing small RNAs derived from processing of mRNA transcripts.

Development and validation of a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantitation and stability of α-lipoic acid in cosmetic creams.

To develop and validate a simple reversed-phase HPLC method for the quantitation and evaluation of stability of α-lipoic acid in cosmetics, according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) Guidelines. The chromatography was performed on a reversed-phase Luna C18, analytical column (150×4.6mm id, 5μm particle size) with a mobile phase of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pΗ 4.5; 0.05M) and acetonitrile (60:40, v/v) and a flow rate of 1.0mLmin-1 with UV detection at 340nm. Accelerated and long-term stability studies of α-lipoic acid in cosmetic cream were conducted under various degradation conditions including acid, basis, oxidation, and thermal and photolytic degradation, according to European Medicines Agency Guidelines CPMP/ICH/2736/99. The limit of detection (LOD) for the cosmetic cream was 0.9μgmL-1 and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 2.8μgmL-1 , while the retention time was 7.2min. The method proved to be linear, precise and accurate. The stability results demonstrated the selectivity of the proposed method to the analysis of α-LA, and the degradation products were determined and evaluated in specific stress conditions in cosmetic creams. The applicability of the method was tested in two different developed cosmetic products (cream with 1.5 % w/w and emulsion with 1.0 % w/w of LA) and proved to be reliable. A reversed-phase HPLC-UV method was developed and fully validated for the analysis of α-lipoic acid in cosmetics. It is the first reported application on the quantitation of lipoic acid in cosmetic creams, while at the same time evaluates the stability in forced degradation conditions, in new cosmetic formulations. It proved to be suitable for the reliable quality control of cosmetic products, with a run time of <8min that allows for the analysis of large number of samples per day.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF CLIMATE CHANGES

Global climate changes have and will have different outcomes which will impact the human population, such as natural disasters, or human-induced, environmental degradation. Solutions to a large number of environmental problems lie in human behavior, and behavior is, by its definition, the subject of the study of psychology. Therefore, in addition to natural changes (such as solar radiation or sea currents), the human factor becomes the object of two-sides study - on the one hand, as a cause of climate changes, and on the other, as the one on which the same changes have their impact (on physical and mental health). Such studies require a complex methodology, interdisciplinarity and, often, significant financial resources. It should be kept in mind that global climate change and its impact cannot be directly perceived, but only through certain indicators, such as, for example, circadian, seasonal or regional temperature variations and their impact on the psycho-physical status of individuals.Research on the effects of climate change has shown that certain types of individuals may develop different types of mental dysfunctions, as a consequence of those climate changes, like the reduction of emotional balance, anxiety, depression, generalized or specific stress conditions, etc. Although it is not possible to feel the climate change directly, thanks to the previous knowledge it is possible to prepare to those changes, to the extent that the adaptability of the human organism allows it, and to respond adequately to them. These preparations involve knowledge regarding those changes and management of the interaction of man and his environment, whether it is natural or artificial, made by people themselves.

Functional Micro–Nano Structure with Variable Colour: Applications for Anti-Counterfeiting

Colour patterns based on micro-nano structure have attracted enormous research interests due to unique optical switches and smart surface applications in photonic crystal, superhydrophobic surface modification, controlled adhesion, inkjet printing, biological detection, supramolecular self-assembly, anti-counterfeiting, optical device and other fields. In traditional methods, many patterns of micro-nano structure are derived from changes of refractive index or lattice parameters. Generally, the refractive index and lattice parameters of photonic crystals are processed by common solvents, salts or reactive monomers under specific electric, magnetic and stress conditions. This review focuses on the recent developments in the fabrication of micro-nano structures for patterns including styles, materials, methods and characteristics. It summarized the advantages and disadvantages of inkjet printing, angle-independent photonic crystal, self-assembled photonic crystals by magnetic field force, gravity, electric field, inverse opal photonic crystal, electron beam etching, ion beam etching, laser holographic lithography, imprinting technology and surface wrinkle technology, etc. This review will provide a summary on designing micro-nano patterns and details on patterns composed of photonic crystals by surface wrinkles technology and plasmonic micro-nano technology. In addition, colour patterns as switches are fabricated with good stability and reproducibility in anti-counterfeiting application. Finally, there will be a conclusion and an outlook on future perspectives.

Dynamic Rupture Modeling to Investigate the Role of Fault Geometry in Jumping Rupture Between Parallel‐Trace Thrust Faults

AbstractInvestigations of historic surface‐rupturing thrust earthquakes suggest that rupture can jump from one fault to another up to 8 km away. Additionally, there are observations of jumping rupture between thrust faults ∼50 km apart. In contrast, previous modeling studies of thrust faults find a maximum jumping rupture distance of merely 0.2 km. Here, we present a dynamic rupture modeling parameter study that attempts to reconcile these differences and determines geometric and stress conditions that promote jumping rupture. We use the 3D finite‐element method to model rupture on pairs of thrust faults with parallel surface traces and opposite dip orientations. We vary stress drop and fault strength ratio to determine conditions that produce jumping rupture at different dip angles and different minimum distance between faults. We find that geometry plays an essential role in determining whether or not rupture will jump to a neighboring thrust fault. Rupture is more likely to jump between faults dipping toward one another at steeper angles, and the behavior tapers down to no rupture jump in shallow dip cases. Our variations of stress parameters emphasize these toward‐orientation results. Rupture jump in faults dipping away from one another is complicated by variations of stress conditions, but the most prominent consistency is that for mid‐dip angle faults rupture rarely jumps. If initial stress conditions are such that they are already close to failure, the possibility of a long‐distance jump increases. Our models call attention to specific geometric and stress conditions where the dynamic rupture front is the most important to potential for jumping rupture. However, our models also highlight the importance of near‐field stress changes due to slip. According to our modeling, the potential for rupture to jump is strongly dependent on both dip angle and orientation of faults.

Neural network-based fingerprinting of monoclonal antibody aggregation using biolayer interferometry.

Aggregates are widely accepted to be a critical quality attribute (CQA) for biotherapeutics and believed to impact product immunogenicity. Monitoring of aggregates is typically performed using multiple orthogonal tools as any single tool is unable to offer comprehensive characterization of aggregate species over the entire size and morphology range that they can exist in. Researchers have attempted to categorize monoclonal antibody (mAb) aggregates into six classes based on their respective physicochemical properties. In this study, we have developed model based on artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the stress history of mAb contributing to the aggregate formation, based on binding sensogram profiles obtained with biolayer interferometry (BLI). It was observed that each class of mAb aggregates exhibited unique binding profiles that were characteristic fingerprint of that class. The proposed model uses principal components extracted from the mAb-Fcγ receptor binding sensogram (106 profiles from 9 stressed mAb samples) as inputs while the unique identification codes in the form of binary coded numbers are used as model outputs. The latter served as a fingerprint for each class of mAb aggregates generated by subjecting to specific stress conditions. The ANN was trained using Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm with Bayesian regularization, using 86 sensogram profiles, in the ratio of 80:10:10 for internal training, validation, and testing. The trained ANN accurately identified each single stress condition that the samples were subjected to based on their binding sensogram profiles. The model was also able to predict stress history for samples that had been subjected to more than one kind of stress with reasonable accuracy. The proposed approach therefore can be effectively employed for control of product quality in biopharmaceutical industry as well as for prediction of stress history of a sample.

An Occupational Heat-Health Warning System for Europe: The HEAT-SHIELD Platform.

Existing heat–health warning systems focus on warning vulnerable groups in order to reduce mortality. However, human health and performance are affected at much lower environmental heat strain levels than those directly associated with higher mortality. Moreover, workers are at elevated health risks when exposed to prolonged heat. This study describes the multilingual “HEAT-SHIELD occupational warning system” platform (https://heatshield.zonalab.it/) operating for Europe and developed within the framework of the HEAT-SHIELD project. This system is based on probabilistic medium-range forecasts calibrated on approximately 1800 meteorological stations in Europe and provides the ensemble forecast of the daily maximum heat stress. The platform provides a non-customized output represented by a map showing the weekly maximum probability of exceeding a specific heat stress condition, for each of the four upcoming weeks. Customized output allows the forecast of the personalized local heat-stress-risk based on workers’ physical, clothing and behavioral characteristics and the work environment (outdoors in the sun or shade), also taking into account heat acclimatization. Personal daily heat stress risk levels and behavioral suggestions (hydration and work breaks recommended) to be taken into consideration in the short term (5 days) are provided together with long-term heat risk forecasts (up to 46 days), all which are useful for planning work activities. The HEAT-SHIELD platform provides adaptation strategies for “managing” the impact of global warming.

A Cryptic Non-Inducible Prophage Confers Phage-Immunity on the Streptococcus thermophilus M17PTZA496.

Streptococcus thermophilus is considered one of the most important species for the dairy industry. Due to their diffusion in dairy environments, bacteriophages can represent a threat to this widely used bacterial species. Despite the presence of a CRISPR-Cas system in the S. thermophilus genome, some lysogenic strains harbor cryptic prophages that can increase the phage-host resistance defense. This characteristic was identified in the dairy strain S. thermophilus M17PTZA496, which contains two integrated prophages 51.8 and 28.3 Kb long, respectively. In the present study, defense mechanisms, such as a lipoprotein-encoding gene and Siphovirus Gp157, the last associated to the presence of a noncoding viral DNA element, were identified in the prophage M17PTZA496 genome. The ability to overexpress genes involved in these defense mechanisms under specific stressful conditions, such as phage attack, has been demonstrated. Despite the addition of increasing amounts of Mitomycin C, M17PTZA496 was found to be non-inducible. However, the transcriptional activity of the phage terminase large subunit was detected in the presence of the antagonist phage vB_SthS-VA460 and of Mitomycin C. The discovery of an additional immune mechanism, associated with bacteriophage-insensitive strains, is of utmost importance, for technological applications and industrial processes. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the capability of a prophage integrated into the S. thermophilus genome expressing different phage defense mechanisms. Bacteriophages are widespread entities that constantly threaten starter cultures in the dairy industry. In cheese and yogurt manufacturing, the lysis of Streptococcus thermophilus cultures by viral attacks can lead to huge economic losses. Nowadays S. thermophilus is considered a well-stablished model organism for the study of natural adaptive immunity (CRISPR-Cas) against phage and plasmids, however, the identification of novel bacteriophage-resistance mechanisms, in this species, is strongly desirable. Here, we demonstrated that the presence of a non-inducible prophage confers phage-immunity to an S. thermophilus strain, by the presence of ltp and a viral noncoding region. S. thermophilus M17PTZA496 arises as an unconventional model to study phage resistance and potentially represents an alternative starter strain for dairy productions.