4629 research outputs found
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Mechanistic insights into antibody recognition of tetrodotoxin analogues: Implications for neurotoxicological assessment
Get PDFTetrodotoxins (TTXs) pose significant food safety risks due to their potent neurotoxicity. Growing concerns about the impact of these toxins on public health have driven the development of new detection methods, with immunoassays showing strong potential. However, limited knowledge of the cross-reactivity of anti-TTX antibodies with analogues may compromise the reliability of these assays in food safety applications. To address this, cross-reactivity factors (CRFs) for five TTX analogues (i.e., 11-norTTX-6(S)-ol, 11-deoxyTTX, 6,11-dideoxyTTX, 5,11-dideoxyTTX, and 5,6,11-trideoxyTTX) were assessed using a magnetic bead-based immunoassay. In parallel, the antibody's ability to neutralise the toxicity of TTX analogues was evaluated in Neuro-2a cells using automated patch clamp, a single-cell biosensing platform specifically designed for in vitro toxicity assessment and characterisation. Antibody cross-reactivity towards the tested analogues correlated with their relative toxicity, enabling a selective detection of the most hazardous compounds. These findings highlight the dual role of molecular structure in dictating both toxicological potency and immunological recognition, and support the use of immunoassays as effective tools for TTX monitoring in food safety applications.This research was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) (Spain) through the CELLECTRA (PID2020-112976RB-C21 and PID2020-112976RB-C22) and the BiOCEANsing (PID2023-149899OB-C21 and PID2023-149899OB-C22) projects. Jaume Reverté acknowledges IRTA for his PhD grant (CPI0422). Mounira Alkassar acknowledges MICIN and AEI for her PhD grant (PRE2019-088181). Andres Sanchez-Henao acknowledges the Canary Islands Research Agency (ACIISI) for his research staff training aid through the Catalina Ruiz Program (APCR2022010011). The authors also acknowledge the support from CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Methanotrophic bacterial meal as an alternative feed ingredient for whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) diets
Get PDFA nutritional trial evaluated a bacterial single-cell protein (BSCP) as an alternative to fishmeal (FM) in whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) diets. Four diets with increasing levels of FM replacement (0, 25, 50 and 75 %), which corresponded to an inclusion of 0, 40, 80 and 120 g BSCP/kg feed, were tested in triplicate for 139 days at 27 ºC. Results showed that up to 50 % FM substitution supported optimal whiteleg shrimp growth performance, whereas 75 % FM replacement reduced shrimp growth by 18.1 % (P 0.05). Higher FM replacement by BSCP (50 % and 75 %) resulted in decreased levels of total n-3 PUFA and DHA in whiteleg shrimp body contents (P < 0.05), which may be corrected by the increasing the levels of fish oil in diets with high levels of BSCP. Fishmeal replacement at 50 and 75 % by BSCP did not modify alpha diversity indices of gut microbiota, whereas gut bacterial community structures were different (P < 0.05). The replacement of FM by BSCP at 75 % (120 g BSCP/kg) tended to enhance disease resistance of whiteleg shrimp against V. harveyi infection, even though this trend was not significant (P = 0.08), while enhanced the activity of antioxidative stress enzymes (P < 0.05), which pointed out potential immunomodulatory effects of BSCP beyond standard nutritional endpoints. The improved activity of antioxidative stress enzymes coupled with the modulation of gut microbiota might explain the increase in disease resistance trend observed in whiteleg shrimp fed higher BSCP levels. While dietary supplementation with methionine and lysine is required to achieve a well-balanced amino acid profile, these findings confirm the promising role of BSCP as a alternative to FM in shrimp diets.This work has been financed through the VALUEWASTE project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 818312. The research stage of Mikhail Solovyev at IRTA by the MEGAGRANT project (No. 075–15–2022–1134; Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Russian Federation). We are also thankful to Dr. B. Gomez-Gil (CIAD, Mazatlán, Mexico) for sharing with IRTA the strain of V. harveyi used in the in vivo bacterial challenge. Authors would like to express their gratitude to Magda Monllaó, Esteban Hernandez, Marta Sastre, Maria Curto and Olga Bellot, staff from IRTA la Ràpita, for all their dedication and valuable assistance during the execution of the experiment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Understanding the impact of social stress on serum metabolome and saliva biomarkers in growing–finishing pigs
Get PDFHigh levels of social stress are known to negatively impact pig welfare. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of social stress in growing–finishing pigs by measuring serum metabolome changes and saliva biomarkers. Seventy-two undocked pigs (thirty-six males and thirty-six females) were housed in single-sex pens of four, with the second dominant pig in each pen selected as the focal pig. A social challenge was conducted by mixing the focal pig with three new pigs in its home pen on two consecutive days on trial days 62–64. Saliva and blood samples were collected, and the pigs’ behaviour and body lesions were evaluated pre- and post-challenge. A total of 630 serum metabolites were analysed, 292 of which could be statistically compared using Biocrates WebIDQ v5 software. Salivary haptoglobin concentrations and the number of body lesions significantly increased after the challenge (p < 0.001), whereas the average daily weight gain decreased (p < 0.05). The serum showed decreases in essential amino acids (Thr, Met, and Phe), non-essential amino acids (Glu, Asn, Asp, Pro, and Tyr), betaine, ornithine, indoxyl sulphate, taurine, and some blood di- and triacylglycerols (q < 0.05), and increases in oleic, eicosanoic, eicosadienoic, and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acids; EPA; and DHA post-challenge (q < 0.05). Overall, the results suggest the potential of metabolomics as a tool providing a more holistic view of the impact of social stress.Funding for this study was provided by DSM-Firmenich, Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Epidemiology of Xylella fastidiosa in Ibiza and Formentera: A Comprehensive Study of Insect Vectors and Transmission Dynamics
Get PDFXylella fastidiosa (XF) is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for severe plant diseases affecting a wide range of host plants, some of them important crops. Since 2017, only the pauca subspecies (ST80) have been identified in Ibiza. XF is naturally transmitted by xylem sap-feeding insects; among them, only Philaenus spumarius (PS) and Neophilaenus campestris Fallén (NC) have been reported as potential insect vectors for XF in Ibiza. This study aims to investigate the dissemination of XF and to propose effective control strategies. The crops and the surrounding vegetation were sampled for potential vectors. DNA from insects was extracted and amplified by three qPCR methods, allowing subspecies identification. The results confirmed the continuous presence of adults of PS and NC in Ibiza and Formentera from May to December with important populations. During the summer period, PS captures predominantly took place within the surrounding woody vegetation adjacent to the plots. The main host plant for PS was Pinus halepensis Miller in Ibiza and Juniperus phoenicea subsp. turbinata (Guss.) Nyman in Formentera. In Ibiza, off the total PS captures, 4.47% tested positive for XF. These results confirm that PS is the main vector of XF on these islands, both in terms of captures and the percentage of positive insects for XF. In Formentera, despite the presence of potential vectors and the proximity and contact with Ibiza, no XF-positive insects were found, confirming the absence of the bacterium on the island.This research was funded by grants 4384/2018 from the Government of the Balearic Islands and E-RTA 2017-00004-C06-05 from INIA-AEI, Spain.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Construction of a Multitissue Cell Atlas Reveals Cell-Type-Specific Regulation of Molecular and Complex Phenotypes in Pigs
Get PDFThe systematic characterization of cellular heterogeneity among tissues and cell-type-specific regulation underlying complex phenotypes remains elusive in pigs. Within the Pig Genotype-Tissue Expression (PigGTEx) project, this work presents a single-cell transcriptome atlas of adult pigs encompassing 229 268 high-quality nuclei from 19 tissues, annotated to 67 major cell types. Besides cellular heterogeneity within and across tissues, this work further characterizes prominent tissue-specific features and functions of muscle, epithelial, and immune cells. Through deconvoluting 3921 bulk RNA-seq samples from 17 matching tissues, this work dissects thousands of genetic variants with cell-type interaction effects on gene expression (ieQTL). By colocalizing these ieQTL with variants associated with 268 complex traits, new insights into the cellular mechanisms behind these traits are provided. Moreover, this work highlights that orthologous genes with cell-type-specific regulation in pigs exhibit significant heritability enrichment for some human complex phenotypes. Altogether, this work provides a valuable resource and highlights novel insights in cellular regulation of complex traits for accelerating pig precision breeding and human biomedical research.The authors thank Prof. Elisabetta Giuffra (INRAE, France) for her valuable comments and suggestions on this project. This work was supported by the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-SCAB-202302), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFF1000600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32002150 to G.Y., 32022078 to Z.Z.), the Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Province (2019BT02N630 to Z.Z.), the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-35 to Z.Z. and J.L.), the Key Research and Development projects in Yangzhou City (YZ2021037 to Z.C.), the Independent Research Fund Denmark (8048-00072A to L.L.), the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF21OC0071718 to L.L., NNF21OC0071031 and NNF21OC0068988 to Y.L.), and the Lundbeck Foundation (R396-2022-350 to Y.L.).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Comparison of LC-MS methods for the quantitation of ciguatoxins in fish – A collaborative study
Get PDFCiguatoxins (CTXs) are marine biotoxins that can contaminate seafood and if consumed can result in ciguatera poisoning (CP). The analysis of CTXs is challenging, as they occur in complex tissue matrices, cause CP symptoms at trace amounts (<1 μg kg−1), and certified reference materials are not available. Currently, no standard operating protocols exist for sample preparation or instrumental analysis. Five laboratories worldwide participated in this first-time method comparison study, which used sample extracts containing different CTX groups (CTX4A group, CTX3C group, C-CTX-1) to identify factors impacting CTX quantitation using LC-MS/MS and LC-HRMS. Matrix effects were found to significantly influence CTX quantitation, along with factors such as instrument, eluents, or selected precursor ion. CTXs were quantified using commercially available, non-certified CTX1B and CTX3C standards. Analogues of the CTX groups behaved differently with regard to matrix effects and suitable calibrants with differences between laboratories exceeding a factor of 10 in some cases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Evaluating Host Defense Peptides: A Comparative Analysis of Synthetic Peptides and Recombinant Concatemers
Get PDFThe global antibiotic resistance crisis raises concerns about antibiotic use, and alternative strategies are urgently needed. In this context, host defense peptides (HDPs) have rapidly gained interest. However, one of the main obstacles is their production strategy. Chemical synthesis is the most widely used, although it is not scalable and has sequence limitations. A possible alternative is recombinant production, but the strategies used so far have limited efficiency. In this study, we aim to compare the activity and main characteristics of different HDPs produced by both chemical synthesis and by recombinant production, using an approach based on tetramers to ameliorate the production process. The results obtained showed that the production of HDPs as tetrameric peptides by recombinant production in Lactococcus lactis enhanced the peptide activity, with HDPs being much more active in terms of antimicrobial activity, more structurally stable, and nanostructured. Thus, the recombinant strategy described herein, fusing four repetitions of the same peptide, can become a real alternative to produce highly active HDPs through a scalable production process.This research was funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, grant number PID2022-136521OB-I00. C.S. and A.L-C. were supported with a pre-doctoral fellowship from Generalitat de Catalunya (FI-AGAUR). R.B-M. is a recipient of a FPI fellowship (PRE2021–097678) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. The authors are also indebted to AGAUR for project 2021 SGR 01552. The authors are indebted to CERCA Programme (Generalitat de Catalunya) and the European Social Fund for supporting our research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Efficacy of gaseous ozone for the inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in fresh peach and grape juice
No full textOzonation is an emerging non-thermal technology with potential applications for reducing the microbial load of foods. The present research aimed to evaluate the impact of gaseous ozone treatment on artificially inoculated Listeria monocytogenes as pathogenic target and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as spoilage target. Moreover, the ozone's effect (with an O3 concentration between 0.49 and 1.14 ppm up to 15 min) on the key quality parameters of the PGJ was also assessed and compared to a conventional thermal treatment (90 ± 1 °C for 1 min). Despite ozone being demonstrated to completely inactivate L. monocytogenes in 4 min, only a 2-log reduction was obtained after 15 min on S. cerevisiae. The juice's physicochemical and microbiological quality parameters were not significantly affected either. Although the decrease in nutritional parameters after the most extended ozone treatments was not significantly different from the ones found with the thermal procedure, color degradation of PGJ resulted significantly more significantly after the thermal treatment, compared to the ozone exposure. Ozonation may be a promising technology to preserve safety, visual aspects, physicochemical, and functional properties while extending the self-life of peach and grape juice.This work was supported by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Grant number PID-2019-104269RR-C31, ALLFRUIT4ALL project), Generalitat de Catalunya (CERCA Programme), and Departament de Recerca i Universitats (Grant 2021 and SGR 01477). The authors also thank Angela Chic for technical support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Unveiling the global urban virome through wastewater metagenomics
No full textUnderstanding global viral dynamics is critical for public health. Traditional surveillance focuses on individual pathogens and symptomatic cases, which may miss asymptomatic infections or newly emerging viruses, delaying detection and response. Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used to track pathogens through targeted molecular assays, but its reliance on predefined targets limits detection of the full viral spectrum. Here, we analyse longitudinal wastewater samples from 62 cities across six continents (2017–2019) using metagenomics and capture-based sequencing with probes targeting viruses associated with gastrointestinal disease. We detect over 2500 viral species spanning 122 families, many with human, animal, or plant health relevance. The bacteriophage family Microviridae and plant virus family Virgaviridae dominate the metagenomic dataset, while Astroviridae and Picornaviridae prevail in the capture-based sequence dataset. Virus distributions are broadly similar across continents at the family and genus levels, yet distinct city-level fingerprints reveal geographical and temporal variation, enabling spatiotemporal surveillance of viruses such as astroviruses and enteroviruses. Global wastewater-based epidemiology enables early detection of emerging viruses, including Echovirus 30 in Europe and Tomato brown rugose fruit virus. These findings highlight the potential of wastewater sequencing for the early detection of emerging viruses and population-wide virome monitoring across diverse hosts.This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, project Veratile Emerging infectious disease Observatory (VEO) under grant agreement no. 874735 awarded to M.P.G.K and the NWO Stevin Prize 2018 awarded to M.P.G.K. by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Improving Sensory Differentiation: Refining the ‘Fruitiness’ Descriptor in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Get PDFSensory analysis is a fundamental tool in evaluating extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
quality, playing an essential role in both consumer markets and international competitions
that recognize and promote high-quality olive oils. Among the key attributes assessed, the
fruitiness descriptor—subcategorized as green or ripe—is particularly significant, especially
considering that higher green fruitiness is often associated with greater prestige. However,
a clear methodological approach to distinguish between green fruitiness and ripe fruitiness
perceptions, particularly in their overlapping zone, is still lacking. This study aims to
establish precise criteria for defining these boundaries by analyzing monovarietal EVOOs
produced from nine olive varieties at three maturity stages over two consecutive harvest
seasons (2021/2022 and 2022/2023). Sensory assessments were conducted by the Official
Tasting Panel of Virgin Olive Oils of Catalunya, ensuring representativeness across the
different fruitiness perceptions. Volatile compounds of the samples were extracted using
headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS/SPME) and separated and identified via gas
chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Multivariate analysis revealed three distinct
volatile profiles corresponding to different sensory perceptions. These findings suggest
that incorporating an intermediate sensory attribute between green fruitiness and ripe
fruitiness could improve classification accuracy in both competitions and premium markets,
enhancing the appreciation and valuation of high-quality EVOOsThis research was funded by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology of Catalonia, grant number 2020PMF-PIPF-6, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (2021PFR-URV-148 and 2022PFR-URV-86) and the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (2021 SGR 00705 CHEMOSENS). The Catalan olive oil quality improvement program is a project funded by the Catalan Agricultural Department (DACC)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio