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Comparison of Different Solid-Phase Cleanup Methods Prior to the Detection of Ciguatoxins in Fish by Cell-Based Assay and LC-MS/MS
Get PDFCiguatera poisoning (CP) is the most reported food poisoning associated with fish consumption. Ciguatoxins
(CTXs) are produced by microalgae and metabolized in fish; even low levels of these toxins in fish can lead to CP. To date, there is
no unique validated methodology for their study, and demonstrating their presence in fish tissues is an analytical challenge. The main
techniques used are cell-based assay and liquid chromatography, which may present different matrix effect interferences; thus,
purification protocols are necessary. Six cleanup strategies for fish extracts, assessing the principal analogues found in fish in different
parts of the world (CTX1B/CTX3C/C-CTX1), are compared here. Cleaned-up extracts are evaluated by cell-based assay and
chromatography. All protocols are suitable for recovering the analogues of CTXs. Two of them, those that used polystyrenedivinylbenzene and silica cartridges, achieve the most adequate results showing toxicity in their fractions over 53% and
chromatography efficiencies over 79% for CTX1B/CTX3C, proving to be the most versatile clean-ups for the study of the different
CTX analogues.This research received funding from the EuroCigua II project (GP/EFSA/KNOW/2022/03), SANIFISH (1/MAC/1/1.1/ 0087), and University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (CEI 2022/03), as well as from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICIN) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI) through the CIGUARISK (PID2019-108781RR-C21) and CIGUAADAPT (PID2022-137174OR-C21) projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The Olfactory System of Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris (Marsh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a Natural Enemy of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
Get PDFThe parasitoid wasp Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris is a key koinobiont solitary endoparasitoid of the invasive agricultural pest Tuta absoluta. This study investigates both the morphological and molecular foundations of sex-specific olfactory differentiation in this species. Morphological analysis revealed that males possess significantly longer antennae (2880.8 ± 20.36 μm) than females (2137.23 ± 43.47 μm), demonstrating pronounced sexual dimorphism. Scanning electron microscopy identified similar sensilla types on both sexes, but differences existed in the length and diameter of specific sensilla. Transcriptomic analysis of adult antennae uncovered molecular differentiation, identifying 11 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and 20 odorant receptors (ORs), with 27 chemosensory genes upregulated in females and 4 enriched in males. Integrating morphological and molecular evidence demonstrates complementary sexual specialization in the olfactory apparatus of D. gelechiidivoris. Linking these findings to the potential functions of different sensilla types, as discussed in the context of prior research, provides crucial insights into the sex-specific use of volatile cues. These findings provide critical insights into the use of volatile signals in this highly relevant species for biological control targeting T. absoluta.This research was funded by National Key Research and Development Project of China, grant number 2022YFC2601004.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Update of the list of qualified presumption of safety (QPS) recommended microbiological agents intentionally added to food or feed as notified to EFSA 22: Suitability of taxonomic units notified to EFSA until March 2025
Get PDFThe qualified presumption of safety (QPS) process was developed to assess the
safety of microorganisms used in food and feed chains. During the period covered
by this Statement, no new information warranted changes to the status of
previously recommended QPS taxonomic units. The QPS list was updated to verify
the correctness of the names and the completeness of synonyms. Of the 47
microorganisms notified to EFSA between October 2024 and March 2025 (25 as
feed additives, 7 as food enzymes or additives, 6 as novel foods, 8 as plant protection
products and 1 as food contact materials), 41 were not evaluated. These
latter included 11 filamentous fungi, 4 Escherichia coli and 1 Streptomyces spp. (all
excluded from the QPS evaluation), and 25 already on the QPS list. Two of the other
six notifications, Bacillus thuringiensis and Ensifer adhaerens, had been previously
assessed. The remaining four were assessed for a possible QPS status. Bacillus sonorensis
is recommended for the QPS list with the qualifications: ‘absence of bacitracin
production ability’ and ‘absence of toxigenic activity’. Vibrio natriegens is
also recommended but for ‘production purposes only’. Corynebacterium stationis
is not recommended due to a limited body of knowledge on its occurrence in the
food and feed chain and possible safety concerns in relation to human and animal
health. Papilotrema terrestris is not recommended due to a limited body of knowledge.
Furthermore, Lactobacillus paragasseri (formerly included in Lactobacillus
gasseri) is recommended for the QPS list. The QPS approach can also be followed
if the qualifications for QPS are met due to the removal of a gene(s) of concern, by
means of genetic modification. For QPS yeasts, used as active agents (viable cells),
the qualification ‘for production purposes only’ was added for when they are used
as production strains or as biomass (non-viable
cells).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Resultats de les noves varietats de pèsol proteaginós de primavera
No full textAls regadius de Lleida, els darrers vuit anys d’assajos, ASTRONAUTE, KAYANNE i MYTHIC han presentat una producció significativament més elevada que BAGOO, i amb quatre anys KAMELEON i GUINDA també s’han adaptat molt bé. Els darrers anys, a la zona del litoral de Girona no s’han obtingut bons resultats i els assajos s’han hagut de descartar. La varietat més alta ha estat BAGOO. Els majors continguts en proteïna s’han obtingut amb KARACTER i LG AURIS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Interactions between the oyster larvae pathogen Vibrio ostreicida and the bivalve hosts Mytilus galloprovincialis and Magallana gigas
Get PDFIntroduction: Marine bivalves are continuously exposed to a variety of environmental stressors, including different Vibrio species potentially involved in disease outbreaks that have severely impacted farmed populations over the past two decades. Vibrio ostreicida was firstly identified as a lethal pathogen for oyster larvae (Ostrea edulis), but its interactions with the immune system of the bivalve host are largely unexplored.
Methods: In this study, we investigated the pathogenic potential of a V. ostreicida strain r172, isolated from a 2022 mortality event in adult Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Ebro Delta (Spain), focusing on mussel early larval development and hemolymph immune responses in in vitro short-term exposure experiments. Immune responses were compared with those of the oyster Magallana gigas.
Results: Both live and heat-killed V. ostreicida significantly impaired normal larval development with a dose-concentration effect (EC50 ≈ 103 - 104 CFU/mL), with live bacteria inducing shell malformations and heat-killed Vibrio causing developmental arrest. In the hemocytes of adult mussels, exposure to heat-killed V. ostreicida led to dose-dependent lysosomal destabilization, reduced phagocytic activity, and increased intracellular ROS production. Similar lysosomal destabilization was observed with live V. ostreicida, which also stimulated extracellular ROS and nitric oxide release, but only in the presence of hemolymph serum (HS). Mussel HS displayed a strong bactericidal activity towards V. ostreicida, highlighting a key role for soluble immune effectors. In oyster hemocytes, V. ostreicida induced similar lysosomal stress; however, neither hemocytes nor serum showed any bactericidal activity towards this strain.
Discussion: This data represents the first attempt to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the interactions of an environmental strain of V. ostreicida with marine bivalves. The species-specific differences observed in immune responses highlight the complexity of host-pathogen interactions in these organisms and emphasize the need for further investigation into immune responses of different aquacultured species.The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. Project funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.4 - Call for tender No. 3138 of 16 December 2021, rectified by Decree n.3175 of 18 December 2021 of Italian Ministry of University and Research funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU; Award Number: Project code CN_00000033, Concession Decree No. 1034 of 17 June 2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, CUP D33C22000960007, Project title “National Biodiversity Future Center - NBFC”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Leaning on Smart Agricultural Systems for Crop Monitoring
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Les glummes ennegrides, una reacció fisiològica pròpia d'algunes varietats de blat
No full textAquest any s'han observat les glumes de les espigues d’alguns blats una pigmentació superficial de color marró – violaci. Els símptomes són coneguts com ‘pseudo black chaff’ o ‘melanisme’. Són el resultat d’una reacció vinculada a la genètica d’algunes varietats, que produeix uns pigments (melanines), que normalment no té gran incidència sobre el rendiment i la qualitat.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Resultats de les noves varietats d'ordi d'hivern
No full textLes noves varietats comercials d’ordi d’hivern assajades les darreres campanyes no han mostrat diferències significatives en producció en cap de les zones productores. Tot i així RUBIANA i LG AITANA són les que han mostrat un major rendiment a l’interior de Girona. Als secans frescals d’Osona i el Solsonès han destacat RGT ASTEROID i RGT GIBRALTAR. Als secans àrids i semiàrids les varietats KWS CHRISSIE i RUBIANA han mostrat les produccions més elevades amb 4 i 3 anys d’assaigs. A la zona dels secans semifrescals les diferències han estat poc notables, essent RUBIANA, KWS CHRISSIE, RGT ASTEROID i LAUREATE les que han presentat els rendiments més elevats.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Assessment of the Reversion to Virulence and Protective Efficacy in Pigs Receiving the Live Attenuated Classical Swine Fever Recombinant Vaccine Candidate FlagT4G
Get PDFBackground/Objectives: Control of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) in endemic countries relies on vaccination using live attenuated vaccines (LAVs). Most of these LAVs do not allow for the differentiation of vaccinated animals from infected animals (DIVA) based on their serological response. FlagT4G vaccine is a novel candidate that confers robust protective immunity early after vaccination and shows DIVA capabilities. Methods: This report presents the characterization of FlagT4G virus in terms of the stability of its genomic and attenuated phenotypes assessed by a reversion to virulence protocol, as well as its protective efficacy by determining the minimal protective dose. Results: Results presented here demonstrate that after five consecutive passages in groups of 5-week-old susceptible domestic pigs, FlagT4G virus remains genetically stable, and its attenuated phenotype remains unaltered. In terms of efficacy, FlagT4G virus induced solid protection against the intranasal challenge with 105 tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) of virulent field isolate Brescia virus, even with a vaccine dose as low as 102 TCID50. Conclusions: Results presented here indicate that the FlagT4G vaccine may be a useful tool for CSFV control.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Unveiling regulatory variants in the blood transcriptome and their association with immunity traits in pigs
Get PDFGenome wide association studies (GWAS) have been widely used to investigate the association of genetic markers with complex traits in both humans and livestock species. A particular trait of interest, when studying animal robustness and general immunocompetence, is the transcriptomic profile of blood. To identify genetic variants affecting gene expression in pig blood, we performed expression GWAS (eGWAS) in 255 animals from a commercial Duroc population between 8,499,177 imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the expression levels of 14,642 genes obtained from RNA sequencing. Out of the nearly 125 million associations tested, 23 million were found to be significant, grouped in 9,930 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated to the expression levels of 6,051 genes. Over 36% of detected eQTLs mapped in close proximity to the genomic location of their associated gene and were classified as cis-eQTLs. Moreover, 430,694 variants were found to be associated with the expression of 10 or more different genes and were annotated as transcriptional hotspots. Among genes regulated by these hotspots, we identified genes that encode transcription factors and co-factors regulating immune responses, such as ARNT, or co-expressed genes related to immunity (CSF3R, JAK2, SOCS3, STAT5B and UBE2D1) and associated with health traits, such as phagocytic activity or haptoglobin concentration. In addition, several of the cis-regulating variants for immunity candidate genes overlapped with previously described immunity QTLs. Colocalization studies revealed putative common causal variants between the proportion of memory and helper T cells and the candidate genes CLEC12B, IGKV2D, KLRC1, KLRD1 and ZAP70. In conclusion, the associations identified in this study enable the characterization of transcriptional regulators of the pig blood transcriptome. Moreover, the colocalization between immunity QTLs and eQTLs has revealed potential causative mutations regulating immunocompetence in pigs. All these data and results contribute to shedding light on the regulatory mechanisms of blood gene expression and porcine immune regulation.The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by grants PID2020-112677RB-C21 and PID2023-148961OB-C21 awarded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. Jové-Juncà, T. was supported by an IRTA fellowship (CPI1221) while Hernández-Banqué C. was funded by FPI grant (PRE2021-097825) granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Authors belong to the Consolidated Research Group “Sustainable animal husbandry” (reference 2021-SGR-01552), recognised by the Department of Universities, Research and Information Society (Generalitat de Catalunya).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio