For centuries, people have judged meat by what they could see, smell, or taste. Yet beneath those familiar qualities lies a biological fingerprint invisible to the naked eye: the intricate architecture of tissues, the arrangement of muscle fibers, the distribution of fats, and the collagen scaffolds that give each species its unique structural identity. Far from being a homogeneous block of cells, meat is a highly organized biological material whose microscopic heterogeneity contains a wealth of information about its origin and composition. During her UNU-BIOLAC fellowship, María Sofía Castaño Ledesma explored this hidden topography, applying advanced spatial-omics and bioimaging approaches to reveal species-specific tissue signatures.
Hosted at the Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo's Advanced Bioimaging Unit and guided by Dr. Leonel Malacrida, with academic supervision from Dr. María Sumampa Coria of INBIONATEC, Argentina, Maria Sofia integrated hyperspectral imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, and multi-harmonic microscopy to characterize bovine, caprine, and porcine tissues at unprecedented resolution, generating detailed structural fingerprints for each species.
The project contributes to the development of precise identification toolkits capable of detecting adulteration and species substitution. Such tools could become valuable assets for the meat-packing industry, regulatory agencies, and, most importantly, consumers, who depend on reliable traceability systems to ensure product authenticity and quality.
More broadly, this line of research demonstrates how emerging optical technologies can transform our ability to characterize biological tissues non-invasively, with implications far beyond food science. As these approaches continue to evolve, society may gain powerful new ways to fingerprint tissues and understand their transformations.
UNU-BIOLAC acknowledges the dedication of Fellow Castaño Ledesma, the guidance of Dr. María Sumampa Coria and Dr. Leonel Malacrida, and the support provided by INBIONATEC and the Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo. We also wish to recognize Uruguay's remarkable role over the last decade as a regional hub for scientific training. Through the strategic development of advanced research infrastructure and the openness of institutions such as the Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo, the country has welcomed and trained scientists from across Latin America, creating an intelligent and carefully crafted scientific ecosystem that continues to strengthen regional capacities in cutting-edge technologies.
