Protein Signatures to Trace Seafood Contamination and Processing

This review presents some applications of proteomics and selected spectroscopic methods to validate certain aspects of seafood traceability. After a general introduction to traceability and the initial applications of proteomics to authenticate traceability information, it addresses the application of proteomics to trace seafood exposure to some increasingly abundant emergent health hazards with the potential to indicate the geographic/environmental origin, such as microplastics, triclosan and human medicinal and recreational drugs. Thereafter, it shows the application of vibrational spectroscopy (Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Fourier-Transform Raman Spectroscopy (FT Raman)) and Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF-NMR) relaxometry to discriminate frozen fish from thawed fish and to estimate the time and temperature history of frozen fillets by monitoring protein modifications induced by processing and storage. The review concludes indicating near future trends in the application of these techniques to ensure seafood safety and traceability.This research was funded by GAIN-Xunta de Galicia Project (IN607D 2017/01) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) of Spain and the European Regional Development Fund through projects CTM2017-84763-C3-1-R and AGL2015-68248-C2-1-R (ANIRISK). Mónica Carrera is supported by the Ramón y Cajal Contract (RYC-2016-20419, Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain)

Identification of the xenometabolome and novel contaminant markers in fish exposed to a wastewater treatment works effluent

Fish can bioconcentrate complex mixtures of xenobiotics arising from exposure to wastewater effluents discharged into surface waters. Wastewaters contain a complex mixture of organic compounds and little is known about their uptake into fish and their health effects. In this study, a chemical profiling approach was used to characterize the profile of xenobiotics and their metabolites (the xenometabolome) in biofluids (bile and plasma) of juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to a wastewater effluent. Metabolite profiles of effluent-exposed fish were compared with that from control fish exposed to uncontaminated river water. Samples were analysed by ultra performance liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and data analysed by multivariate statistics. Exposure to effluent resulted in accumulation in trout bile of alkylsulfophenyl and alkylpolyethoxy carboxylates, as well as glucuronide conjugates of nonylphenol ethoxylates, alcohol ethoxylates, naphthols, chlorinated xylenols and phenoxyphenols, chlorophenes, resin acids, mefenamic acid and oxybenzone. Nonconjugated or sulphate conjugates of many of these contaminants were also detected in plasma of effluent-exposed trout. In addition, changes in the concentrations of endogenously derived metabolites were also detected in trout plasma, and these included an increase in blood bile acids, methylbutryolcarnitine and a decrease in sphingosine levels. These observations were verified in a further exposure of sexually mature roach (Rutilus rutilus) to concentrations of the same effluent. Exposure to 50% or 100% effluent resulted in dose dependent increases in blood concentrations of xenobiotics, taurocholic acid, syprinol sulphate and lysophospholipids and decreases in sphingosine levels. This work reveals the complex nature of xenobiotics accumulating in effluent-exposed fish together with the identification of changes in concentrations of lipid metabolites associated with hepatotoxicity. These results reveal, for the first time, that metabolite profiling techniques can be used to screen for uptake of complex mixtures of contaminants into fish and also for the detection of natural metabolite pathways in the organism that are disrupted due to exposure to multiple xenobiotics

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows, August 2011 to May 2012

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows from August 2011 to May 2012

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows, August 2010 to May 2011

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows from August 2010 to May 2011

Neural synchronization deficits linked to cortical hyper-excitability and auditory hypersensitivity in fragile X syndrome

Background Studies in the fmr1 KO mouse demonstrate hyper-excitability and increased high-frequency neuronal activity in sensory cortex. These abnormalities may contribute to prominent and distressing sensory hypersensitivities in patients with fragile X syndrome (FXS). The current study investigated functional properties of auditory cortex using a sensory entrainment task in FXS. Methods EEG recordings were obtained from 17 adolescents and adults with FXS and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Participants heard an auditory chirp stimulus generated using a 1000-Hz tone that was amplitude modulated by a sinusoid linearly increasing in frequency from 0–100 Hz over 2 s. Results Single trial time-frequency analyses revealed decreased gamma band phase-locking to the chirp stimulus in FXS, which was strongly coupled with broadband increases in gamma power. Abnormalities in gamma phase-locking and power were also associated with theta-gamma amplitude-amplitude coupling during the pre-stimulus period and with parent reports of heightened sensory sensitivities and social communication deficits. Conclusions This represents the first demonstration of neural entrainment alterations in FXS patients and suggests that fast-spiking interneurons regulating synchronous high-frequency neural activity have reduced functionality. This reduced ability to synchronize high-frequency neural activity was related to the total power of background gamma band activity. These observations extend findings from fmr1 KO models of FXS, characterize a core pathophysiological aspect of FXS, and may provide a translational biomarker strategy for evaluating promising therapeutics

Stress-resilience differences related to emergence time in rainbow trout

In wild salmonid fish, individual behavioural traits have been suggested to be coupled with the timing of fry emergence form gravel spawning nests, in such a way that early emerging fish have shown to be more aggressive and to have a higher probability to become socially dominant than those fish emerging at a later stage. Besides aggression and dominance, other behavioural and metabolic traits such as boldness, metabolic rate or growth had also been coupled to emergence time. Altogether, early- and late-emerging fish have traits resembling those of proactive and reactive stress coping styles, respectively. Proactive fish are considered to be more resilient to stress. However, it is currently unclear if that coupling is maintained in farmed fish populations, which showed no consistent evidence of a clear relation between emergence time and stress coping style. In this study, fish were hatched and larvae were fractionated according their emergence time (Early fraction: first 20 % of fish to emerge; Intermediate fraction: mid 20 %; Late fraction: last 20 %). Several months later, the resilience against a mild stressor (30 min of high stocking density), along with the stress habituation ability was investigated in 5 g fish from the different fractions. Results showed that fish from different fractions di played a similar neuroendocrine response to a novel stressor. Interestingly, the capacity of habituation to stress was however better in the fish from the early emergence fraction, which showed no cortisol response to the stressor after being exposed daily for 15 days to another mild acute stressor (1.5 min of air exposure). These results demonstrate that at least some behavioural differences related to emergence time exist in a domesticated trout population. The aquaculture related implications of these stress resilience differences are currently under study

Hope College Abstracts: 11th Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Performance

The abstracts...are representative of student-faculty collaborative research and creative work that takes place throughout the year at Hope

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows, August 2009 to May 2010

Annual Report of Undergraduate Research Fellows from August 2009 to May 2010

Structure, function and context : the impact of morphometry and ecology on olfactory sensitivity

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February, 2005In this thesis, the relationships of olfactory sensitivity to three biological variables were tested. The sensitivity of a marine mammal, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) was measured in order to determine whether a marine lifestyle results in impaired olfaction. The effect of dietary relevance on sensitivity to specific odorants was evaluated. Finally, a new morphometric model of olfactory uptake efficiency was developed and tested against behavioral measurements of olfactory sensitivity in twelve mammalian species from five orders. Olfactory thresholds were obtained for the first time from two sea otters for seven odorant compounds from various natural sources. Otters were trained using operant conditioning to participate in direct behavioral testing. Sea otter olfactory sensitivity was comparable to that of previously studied terrestrial mammals. The incidence of an odorant in the diet of the olfactor was found to influence specific sensitivity to that compound but to varying degrees among different mammalian orders. Nasal cavity specimens were measured using radiologic (CT scan) and histologic (light microscopy) techniques. Surface areas and volumes of the nasal cavity were used to calculate the Olfactory Uptake Efficiency (OUE). OUE is significantly related to olfactory bulb volume. A possible relationship was found between OUE and general olfactory sensitivity.I am grateful to the Oregon Zoo and the Oregon Coast Aquarium, whose exhibit animals provided the olfactory threshold data, as well as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Point Defiance Zoo and the New England Aquarium, which also participated. Nasal cavity specimens were generously donated by the American Museum of Natural History, the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Biology Department of MIT, the California Oiled Wildlife Network, the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Institute for Hydrology and Ecology at Monk's Hood, Tufts Veterinary School, the New England Regional Primate Research Center, Lion Country Safari Zoo, and the Cameron Park Zoo. Funding was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Education Department, Biology Department and Ocean Ventures Fund, the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Gen Foundation, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Student Assistance Fund, the European Chemoreception Research Organization, the Society for Experimental Biology, the Company of Biologists, and the Office of Naval Research

CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF KEY ENDOCRINE GENES IN A STUDY ON ESTROGEN STIMULATED SEXUAL SIZE DIMORPHISM (SSD) IN YELLOW PERCH

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) exhibit an estrogen stimulated sexual sizedimorphism (SSD) wherein females grow faster and larger than males. In an effort togain better understanding of this phenomenon, several genes associated with sexualdevelopment, reproduction and growth were cloned, including prolactin (PRL),somatolactin (SL), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-Ib), the estrogen receptors (ER?? andER??a) and ovarian aromatase (CYP19A1). Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assaysfor all the genes listed above, plus growth hormone (GH), were developed to measuremRNA levels in pituitary, liver and ovary.Adult fish were collected from Lake Erie in the spring (May) and autumn(October) over two years and tissue mRNA levels, body weight, age, gonadasomaticindex (GSI) and hepatasomatic index (HSI) were determined. Sex-specific differencesincluded females having higher body weights, HSI and liver ER?? mRNA levels thanmales and males having higher liver ER??a and liver CYP19A1 mRNA levels thanfemales. Season had a significant effect on growth factors (GH and IGF-Ib), with highermRNA levels in spring, which corresponded with higher liver CYP19A1 mRNA levels.Ovary CYP19A1 mRNA levels, which were higher in autumn, had a significant negativecorrelation with GH and IGF-Ib mRNA levels and liver ER??a mRNA levels had asignificant positive correlation with IGF-Ib mRNA levels.A brood of juvenile yellow perch was sampled through the first year ofdevelopment up to 421 days post-hatching (dph). There was a significant effect of dphon body weight, GH, PRL, SL, IGF-Ib, liver ER??, liver ER??a and ovary CYP19A1mRNA levels. Only liver ER??a mRNA had a significant effect of sex and exhibitedsignificant differences between males and females at 379 and 421 days post-hatching(dph). This work on yellow perch can provide predictive capabilities for estrogendependentphysiological processes in other species, especially teleosts, and can also makeyellow perch an exciting option for future ecotoxicogenomic studies