•Glyphosate tolerant GM soybeans contain high residues of glyphosate and AMPA.•Soybeans from different agricultural practices differ in nutritional quality.•Organic soybeans showed a more healthy ...nutritional profile than other soybeans.•Organic soy contained more sugars, protein and zinc, but less fibre and omega-6.•This study rejects that GM soy is “substantially equivalent” to non-GM soybeans.
This article describes the nutrient and elemental composition, including residues of herbicides and pesticides, of 31 soybean batches from Iowa, USA. The soy samples were grouped into three different categories: (i) genetically modified, glyphosate-tolerant soy (GM-soy); (ii) unmodified soy cultivated using a conventional “chemical” cultivation regime; and (iii) unmodified soy cultivated using an organic cultivation regime. Organic soybeans showed the healthiest nutritional profile with more sugars, such as glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose, significantly more total protein, zinc and less fibre than both conventional and GM-soy. Organic soybeans also contained less total saturated fat and total omega-6 fatty acids than both conventional and GM-soy. GM-soy contained high residues of glyphosate and AMPA (mean 3.3 and 5.7mg/kg, respectively). Conventional and organic soybean batches contained none of these agrochemicals. Using 35 different nutritional and elemental variables to characterise each soy sample, we were able to discriminate GM, conventional and organic soybeans without exception, demonstrating “substantial non-equivalence” in compositional characteristics for ‘ready-to-market’ soybeans.
Brown trout Salmo trutta (L.) is a facultative anadromous species, where a portion of individuals in populations with access to the sea perform migrations to use the richer feeding resources. We ...investigated the effect of salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer 1837) infestation on the survival and behaviour of wild trout post-smolts (average fork length = 180 mm) during their marine migration. Comparisons of the marine migratory behaviour were made between an artificially infested group (n = 74) and a control group (n = 71) in an area with low natural lice infestation pressure. Artificial infestation was estimated to cause 100% prevalence and a mean intensity of 65 lice fish−1 (mean relative intensity of 2.4 lice g−1 fish). Survival analysis showed limited statistical power but revealed lice-induced mortality, with an estimated hazard ratio of 2.73 (95% CI = 1.04−7.13) compared to the control group, when data from a previous pilot study were included. Surviving individuals in the infested group additionally responded by residing closer to fresh water while at sea, and by prematurely returning to fresh water. On average, infested fish returned to fresh water after only 18 d at sea, while control fish spent on average 100 d at sea. The residency in the inner part of the fjord and the premature return to fresh water represent an adaptive behavioural response to survive the infestation, at the probable cost of reduced growth opportunities and compromised future fitness.
Anadromous Arctic charr
Salvelinus alpinus
is a cold-adapted salmonid that is vulnerable to climate warming and anthropogenic activities including salmon farming, hydropower regulation, and ...pollution, which poses a multiple-stressor scenario that influences or threatens populations. We studied the horizontal and vertical behaviour of Arctic charr tagged with acoustic transmitters (n = 45, mean fish length: 22 cm) in a pristine, subarctic marine area to provide insights into the behaviour of first-time migrants. Tagged fish spent up to 78 d at sea, with high marine survival (82% returned to their native watercourse). While at sea, they utilized mostly near-shore areas, up to 45 km away from their native river. Arctic charr showed large variation in migration distance (mean ± SD: 222 ± 174 km), and the migration distance increased with body size. Although the fish displayed a strong fidelity to surface waters (0-3 m), spatiotemporal variation in depth use was evident, with fish utilizing deeper depths during the day and in late July. These results represent baseline data on Arctic charr’s marine behaviour in a pristine fjord system and highlight the importance of near-shore surface water as feeding areas for first-time migrants. Furthermore, the observed dependency on coastal areas implies a vulnerability to increasing human-induced perturbations, on top of impacts by large-scale climate change in marine and freshwater habitats.
To estimate the relative fitness differences between glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecium (GREF) and glycopeptide-susceptible E. faecium (GSEF) from yearly surveillance data on the occurrence ...of GREF in Danish poultry farm environments.
A population genetic model was adapted to retrospectively estimate the biological fitness cost of acquired resistance. Maximization of a likelihood function was used to predict the longitudinal persistence of acquired resistance.
Our analysis suggests strong selection against GREF following the 1995 ban on the glycopeptide growth promoter avoparcin. However, parameterizing the model with two selection coefficients suggesting a reduced negative effect of the acquired resistance on bacterial fitness over time significantly improved the fit of the model. Our analyses suggest that the acquired glycopeptide resistance will persist for >25 years.
Acquired resistance determinants in commensal E. faecium populations in Danish farm environments are likely to persist for decades, even in the absence of glycopeptide use.
The genetically modified (GM) maize event MON810 has been inserted with a processed version of the transgene, cry1Ab, derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to express proteins ...with insecticidal properties. Such proteins may introduce new allergens and also act as adjuvants that promote allergic responses. While focus has been on safe consumption and hence the oral exposure to GM food and feed, little is known regarding inhalation of pollen and desiccated airborne plant material from GM crops. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plant material from the Cry1Ab‐expressing maize variety MON810, or trypsin‐activated Cry1Ab (trypCry1Ab) protein produced in recombinant bacteria, may act as adjuvants against the allergen ovalbumin (OVA) in a mouse model of airway allergy. A clear proallergic adjuvant effect of the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin (CT) was demonstrated, determined as increased specific IgE, eosinophils and Th2 cytokines in MLN cell supernates, while no elevation in OVA‐specific antibodies or cytokine release from MLN cells after stimulation with OVA were observed in mice receiving Cry1Ab‐containing plant materials or the trypCry1Ab protein. Our data suggest that Cry1Ab proteins had no detectable systemic adjuvant effect in mice after airway exposure. Further experiments with purified plant proteins, as well as long‐term exposures needs be conducted to further evaluate exposures experienced in real‐life situations.
Manipulating the surface energy, and thereby the wetting properties of solids, has promise for various physical, chemical, biological and industrial processes. Typically, this is achieved by either ...chemical modification or by controlling the hierarchical structures of surfaces. Here we report a phenomenon whereby the wetting properties of vermiculite laminates are controlled by the hydrated cations on the surface and in the interlamellar space. We find that vermiculite laminates can be tuned from superhydrophilic to hydrophobic simply by exchanging the cations; hydrophilicity decreases with increasing cation hydration free energy, except for lithium. The lithium-exchanged vermiculite laminate is found to provide a superhydrophilic surface due to its anomalous hydrated structure at the vermiculite surface. Building on these findings, we demonstrate the potential application of superhydrophilic lithium exchanged vermiculite as a thin coating layer on microfiltration membranes to resist fouling, and thus, we address a major challenge for oil-water separation technology.
Abstract
Atlantic salmon is an economically and culturally important species. The species encounters several natural and man-made threats during its migration between fresh water and the ocean, which ...in combination may explain its ongoing decline. With the aim to better understand whether post-smolt behaviour is influenced by physical oceanographic conditions, the migratory behaviour of 173 post-smolts in a high-latitude Norwegian fjord was investigated, combining acoustic telemetry with site- and time-specific environmental variables from an oceanographic model. Most post-smolts (94%) performed a unidirectional migration out the fjord. Progression rates were relatively high (0.42–2.41 km h−1; 0.84–3.78 BL s−1) and increased with distance from the river. While post-smolts had an affinity for lower salinities in the inner fjord, statistical models failed to detect any significant relationship between the small-scale (within arrays) migratory behaviour and salinity, temperature, or coastal surface currents within the fjord. In the outer part, the post-smolts predominantly exited the fjord system through the strait with the highest surface salinities and lowest temperatures, independently of the current direction. Our findings indicate that the macro-habitat selection of the Atlantic salmon post-smolts was influenced by environmental factors: the post-smolts directed their migration towards “ocean cues.” However, this was not confirmed on the micro-habitat level.
A lifelong feeding study with soybean from different production systems was carried out in the crustacean Daphnia magna (water flea), an acknowledged model organism for ecotoxicological studies. ...Experimental diets were prepared with soybean meal from different agriculture production systems: (i) genetically modified Roundup‐Ready soy (Glyphosate‐Tolerant), (ii) conventional soy and (iii) soy from organic agriculture (agriculture with neither synthetic pesticides nor synthetic fertilizers). Overall, feed produced from organic soybeans resulted in the highest fitness (higher survival, better growth and fecundity) in the model organism. Animals fed Roundup‐Ready soybean consistently performed less well compared to animals fed either conventional or organic soybeans. We conclude that accumulation of herbicide residues in Roundup‐Ready soy and related nutritional differences between the soy types may have caused the observed fitness differences. The results accentuate the need for further research clarifying qualitative aspects, including potential large‐scale consequences for food and feed quality, of this dominant crop.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The present study compared genetically modified (GM) crops with crops from different farming practices using high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HR-MS) and proteomics bioinformatics tools. In a ...previously published study, a number of significant differences regarding nutritional and elemental composition between a selection of GM, non-GM conventionally farmed, and organic soybeans have been found. In the present study, the proteome-level equivalence of the same samples was assessed using HR-MS. Direct comparison of tandem mass spectra and bottom-up proteomics bioinformatics indicated that proteomes of all samples investigated were very similar overall, with only a few distinct protein expression clusters obtained for GM and organic samples. Standard bottom-up proteome analyses identified 1025 soy proteins; of these 39 were found to be differentially expressed (p < 0.01) between GM, non-GM conventionally farmed, and organically farmed soybeans. Subsequent bioinformatics analyses of these proteins highlighted several potentially affected biochemical pathways that could contribute to the compositional differences reported earlier. In addition, protein markers separating conventionally, and organically farmed soybean seeds were found and peptide markers for the detection of GM soy in food and feed samples are described. Taken together, the data presented here shows that HR-MS based proteomics approaches can be used for the detection of transgenic events in food and feed grade soy, the differentiation of organically and conventionally farmed plants, and provide mechanistic explanations of effects observed on the phenotypic level of GM plants. HR-MS and proteomic bioinformatics thus should be considered key tools when developing molecular panel approaches for detection and safety assessments of novel crop varieties destined for use in feed and food.
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•31 soybean seed samples were analyzed using HR-MS.•Proteome-level equivalence of the soybean samples was accessed using compareMS2.•Proteome analyses identified and quantified 1025 soybean proteins in 31 soybean samples.•39 proteins were differentially expressed (p < 0.01) in GM, conventionally, and organically farmed soybeans.•Peptide markers for separating GM and non-GM soybean were detected.
There is an increased interest in secondary plant metabolites, such as polyphenols and carotenoids, due to their proposed health benefits. Much attention has focused on their bioavailability, a ...prerequisite for further physiological functions. As human studies are time consuming, costly, and restricted by ethical concerns, in vitro models for investigating the effects of digestion on these compounds have been developed and employed to predict their release from the food matrix, bioaccessibility, and assess changes in their profiles prior to absorption. Most typically, models simulate digestion in the oral cavity, the stomach, the small intestine, and, occasionally, the large intestine. A plethora of models have been reported, the choice mostly driven by the type of phytochemical studied, whether the purpose is screening or studying under close physiological conditions, and the availability of the model systems. Unfortunately, the diversity of model conditions has hampered the ability to compare results across different studies. For example, there is substantial variability in the time of digestion, concentrations of salts, enzymes, and bile acids used, pH, the inclusion of various digestion stages; and whether chosen conditions are static (with fixed concentrations of enzymes, bile salts, digesta, and so on) or dynamic (varying concentrations of these constituents). This review presents an overview of models that have been employed to study the digestion of both lipophilic and hydrophilic phytochemicals, comparing digestive conditions in vitro and in vivo and, finally, suggests a set of parameters for static models that resemble physiological conditions.
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