Cockroach proteins as a source of sustainable food

Insects remain fascinating in their capacity to evolve and adapt to an ever changing world. The Pacific Beetle Cockroach, as the only reported viviparous cockroach, gives food to its offspring by secreting some highly energy rich mixture containing in vivo grown protein crystals. Inspired from this mastery of packaging energy through crystal formation, biomimetics are being engineered to propose sustainable food solutions in response to climate change and foreseen worldwide food shortages. In the current presentation, I will highlight the uniqueness of the protein structure constituting these naturally in vivo grown crystals, and develop further on the bio-engineering potential toward the design of sustainable food.