bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.09.05.611339

Environmental Impacts of Serum-free Food-grade and Complex Culture Medium Production for Cultivated Meat

Takenaka, N.·Mitsui, K. H.·Kunimasa, K.·Kawajiri, K.·Kayo, C.·Yoshikawa, N.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Culture medium accounts for most of the environmental impact of cultivated meat production. This study quantitatively evaluated and analyzed the environmental impact of producing a culture medium consisting of serum-free, food and complex ingredients for cultivated meat by performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) based on activity data at the laboratory scale. In addition, specific measures were proposed to reduce the environmental impact further. LCAs were performed at current and future production scales. This study also evaluated the impact of multiple electricity sources on the environmental impact of culture medium production. Energy, animal-derived materials, and expendables at the current scale, and energy, animal-derived materials, amino acids, and glucose at future scale are hotspots in the environmental impact of this culture medium production. The production of serum substitutes accounts for most of the environmental impact. As the scale shifts, the environmental impacts are expected to decrease by more than 70% in all impact categories. As the composition of electricity sources changed, the impact on certain categories decreased. However, as the share of renewable energy increased, the impact on land use also increased significantly. This study promotes the practical application of new culture-media for low-cost and low-environment-impact cultivated meat. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=108 SRC="FIGDIR/small/611339v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (52K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@ac6daorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1852ef4org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@cdbbe8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@eb8703_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOGraphical abstract.C_FLOATNO SYNOPSIS. This study evaluated the environmental impact of culture-medium production for cultivated meat and reports that energy, animal-derived materials, expendables, amino acids and glucose are hotspots of this impact. C_FIG

Source connections

Explore related subjects

ecologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Takenaka, N., Mitsui, K. H., Kunimasa, K., Kawajiri, K., Kayo, C., Yoshikawa, N.. 2024-09-10. Environmental Impacts of Serum-free Food-grade and Complex Culture Medium Production for Cultivated Meat. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.05.611339

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Species-composition distributions under competition, ecological drift and immigration

Understanding how species interactions, ecological drift, and immigration jointly shape community composition is a central goal of community ecology. These processes determine not only average community composition, but also how often different community states occur. Here, we ask how competition reshapes the neutral distribution of community composition generated by drift and immigration. We analyze a stochastic two-species competition model with immigration and derive the stationary distribution of relative species composition near neutrality. The stationary distribution shows when communities are usually balanced and when they are instead dominated by one species. Species dominance can become common even when the corresponding deterministic model predicts stable coexistence, particularly in smaller communities. Balanced and dominance states can also occur together, producing a trimodal distribution. Competitive asymmetry further biases the distribution toward the competitively favored species. Thus, the interplay between competition, ecological drift, and immigration determines not only how much community composition varies, but also which community states are most likely to be observed. Our results provide an analytical bridge between neutral and competition theory and a framework for interpreting variation in community composition.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2026

Floristic composition, phenology, and conservation value of four peat bogs in Bucovina, with the presence of Betula nana

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the floristic composition and site characteristics of four peat bogs in Bucovina, Romania: Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, Saru Dornei, and Gaina-Lucina. The research was based on phytosociological releves on 25 msq plots and direct field phenological observations, on six field visits from May to August 2026. Vegetation was characterised using the Braun Blanquet method, and floristic similarity between sites was assessed with the Sorensen and Bray Curtis indices. All four plots shared a common core of taxa characteristic of peatland vegetation: Sphagnum spp., Carex rostrata, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum, and Vaccinium species. Species richness was 13 taxa at Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, and Saru Dornei, and 12 at Gaina-Lucina. Romanesti and Saru Dornei showed the highest floristic similarity (descriptive values, not statistically tested, given a single releve per site), while Gaina-Lucina differed most markedly, not through species richness, which was similar across sites, but through species identity and through the presence of Betula nana, a glacial relict absent from the other sites. The results provide a descriptive basis for future research on the floristic composition and conservation of these habitats.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2026

Long-Term Surveillance Reveals Establishment of Aedes albopictus in Eastern Nebraska, USA

Aedes albopictus (Skuse), the Asian tiger mosquito, is a highly competent arboviral vector whose range has expanded substantially across the United States over the past four decades. Despite predictive models placing Nebraska within the species' climatically suitable range, its establishment status in the state has remained poorly characterized. Here, we report results from a nine-year mosquito surveillance program (2017-2025) conducted across 44 Nebraska counties in collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Ae. albopictus was detected in five counties, with sustained, annually increasing populations documented in Richardson, Douglas, and Lancaster counties. Richardson County recorded continuous detections during 2017-2025, with proportional representation rising to 60.50% of collected mosquitoes by 2025. In Douglas and Lancaster counties, temporal advancement of first seasonal detection in 2024 and 2025 provide evidence consistent with successful overwintering rather than annual reintroduction. A cumulative degree-day model predicted adult emergence in mid-May across all county-year combinations, consistently preceding trap deployment by two to seven weeks and revealing a systematic early-season surveillance gap. Generalized linear mixed-effects models indicated that trap-level detection persistence, rather than urban location, was the primary predictor of yearly Ae. albopictus positivity, suggesting that current invasion dynamics are driven by focal source populations. These findings provide strong evidence for the establishment of Ae. albopictus in eastern Nebraska and highlight the need for earlier seasonal surveillance and standardized criteria to define establishment in northward-expanding vector populations.

ecology↗