The toxic benthic dinoflagellates of the genus Ostreopsis in temperate areas: a review

The genus Ostreopsis includes species largely distributed from tropical to temperate marine areas worldwide. Among the nine species of the genus, O. siamensis, O. mascarenensis, O. lenticularis and O. cf. ovata can produce toxins of the palytoxin group. In the last decade Ostreopsis cf. ovata and O. cf. siamensis originated intense blooms in all the rocky Mediterranean Sea coastal areas, typically during summer-late summer. The correct identification of Ostreopsis species in field samples is often problematic as Ostreopsis species are morphologically plastic and hardly discriminable under light microscopy and, therefore, molecular analyses are required. Ostreopsis blooms are often associated with noxious effects on health of both humans and benthic marine organisms mainly carried by aerosol and direct contact with seawater. Environmental factors have been shown to affect toxin content of Ostreopsis which generally produces more toxins per cell when growing under suboptimal conditions. O. cf. ovata is able to produce both temporary and resting cysts. In particular, the resting cysts are able to germinate in laboratory conditions for as long as 5 months after their formation at 25°C, but not at 21°C; the presence of a temperature threshold affecting cyst germination in the laboratory suggests that temperature represents a key factor for Ostreopsis cf. ovata bloom onset in natural environments as well. Several studies conducted to assess the role of abiotic factors (mainly hydrodynamics, water temperature and nutrients) on the bloom dynamics, revealed that the synergic effects of hydrodynamics, temperature and N:P ratios would lead the Ostreopsis blooms in temperate areas. Ostreopsis abundances showed a significant decrease with depth, likely related to light availability, although there are conflicting data about the relationship between light intensity and Ostreopsis growth in experimental conditions. The relationship between Ostreopsis blooms and salinity is not completely clear, complicated by the influence of high nutrient levels often associated to low salinity waters. Finally, Ostreopsis colonize a variety of substrata, although living substrata seems to allow lower concentration of epibionts than any other substrate, probably due to the production of some allelopathic compounds.</p

Modelado matemático del proceso de producción de concentrados proteicos de soja

Tesis para obtener el grado de Maestría en Ingeniería de Calidad presentada en Facultad Regional Rosario, Universidad Tecnológica Nacional en febrero de 2015El desarrollo de este trabajo surge como respuesta a la demanda actual de nuestra región de agregar valor en origen al subproducto derivado de la extracción de aceite por el método de Extrusado y prensado; el expeller. Para cumplir este objetivo, se planteó desarrollar una metodología optimizada de producción de productos proteicos, de bajo costo y con posibilidad de llevar a escala. Además, que alcance el máximo rendimiento y que los productos obtenidos cumplan con las exigencias de calidad establecidas tanto por la legislación como el mercado. El principal desafío planteado fue definir la metodología adecuada para la producción de productos proteicos de soja a partir de dicho subproducto, dado que hasta el momento no se ha publicado ninguna experiencia similar. Como resultado del estado del arte, se ha concluido que toda la experiencia conocida y desarrollada responde a la producción de productos proteicos a partir de harinas y flakes de soja, subproductos obtenidos de la extracción de aceite por solvente. Por ende, del material reclutado, se seleccionó el método tradicional de producción de aislados proteicos a partir de harinas, que propone una extracción alcalina de proteínas seguida de precipitación isoeléctrica. Durante el desarrollo experimental, se ha considerado replicar las condiciones óptimas de operación de la etapa de extracción propuestas por la bibliografía y se ha realizado un diseño de experimento del tipo Box Bhenken para la etapa de precipitación isoeléctrica, considerando como puntos centrales los óptimos tradicionales. La experiencia a escala laboratorio, por un lado, presento resultados satisfactorios dado que los productos obtenidos alcanzaron un contenido proteico que responde a las exigencias establecidas. Por el otro, las superficies de respuesta del modelado matemático, basado en los datos experimentales, arrojaron óptimos que difieren de los propuestos al utilizar harina o flakes de soja como materia prima. Se concluye que al variar la materia prima, de harina a expeller de soja, las condiciones óptimas de operación también varían. Por lo tanto, para completar el estudio resulta relevante plantear en el futuro la optimización las condiciones de operación de la primera etapa del proceso. Por último, se alcanza el objetivo propuesto; agregar valor al subproducto generado por la industria PyME, lo cual permite escalar un nuevo peldaño en el desarrollo de la industria de la región.EEA OliverosFil: Accoroni, Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros. Agencia de Extensión Rural Totoras; Argentin

Cadenas de las legumbres (garbanzo, arveja, lenteja)

En los últimos años, la presencia de dos factores definió a la cadena de las legumbres como un gran desafío para el futuro. El factor de mayor relevancia fue el aumento de producción de legumbres debido a las restricciones comerciales del trigo en el área de la Estación Experimental Agropecuaria INTA Oliveros (Santa Fe), convirtiendo a estos cultivos de invierno en una buena alternativa. El segundo es que, debido a las particularidades de su proceso productivo, ocupan más mano de obra que otros cultivos, en su etapa secundaria. Esto genera un gran impacto de demanda laboral que implica un fuerte desarrollo local. A continuación se describe la situación actual en materia de mercados, consumo, composiciones y un desarrollo de la cadena de agregado de valor en la cadena productiva para tres legumbres bajo estudio: lentejas (Lens culinaris), arvejas (Pisum sativum) y garbanzo (Cicer arietinum)EEA OliverosFil: Accoroni, Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros. Agencia de Extensión Rural Totoras; Argentin

Situación actual y prospectivas de la arveja

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la situación actual de la arveja en Argentina, respecto a su producción, exportación y procesamiento, y a su vez, evaluar la potencialidad para el desarrollo del sector en el futuro.EEA OliverosFil: Accoroni, Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; ArgentinaFil: Espósito, María Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; ArgentinaFil: Prieto, Gabriel María. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros. Agencia de Extensión Rural Arroyo Seco; Argentin

Marine phycotoxin levels in shellfish-14 years of data gathered along the Italian coast

Along the Italian coasts, toxins of algal origin in wild and cultivated shellfish have been reported since the 1970s. In this study, we used data gathered by the Veterinary Public Health Institutes (IZS) and the Italian Environmental Health Protection Agencies (ARPA) from 2006 to 2019 to investigate toxicity events along the Italian coasts and relate them to the distribution of potentially toxic species. Among the detected toxins (OA and analogs, YTXs, PTXs, STXs, DAs, AZAs), OA and YTX were those most frequently reported. Levels exceeding regulatory limits in the case of OA (≤2,448 μg equivalent kg-1) were associated with high abundances of Dinophysis spp., and in the case of YTXs (≤22 mg equivalent kg-1) with blooms of Gonyaulax spinifera, Lingulodinium polyedra, and Protoceratium reticulatum. Seasonal blooms of Pseudo-nitzschia spp. occur all along the Italian coast, but DA has only occasionally been detected in shellfish at concentrations always below the regulatory limit (≤18 mg kg-1). Alexandrium spp. were recorded in several areas, although STXs (≤13,782 μg equivalent kg-1) rarely and only in few sites exceeded the regulatory limit in shellfish. Azadinium spp. have been sporadically recorded, and AZAs have been sometimes detected but always in low concentrations (≤7 μg equivalent kg-1). Among the emerging toxins, PLTX-like toxins (≤971 μg kg-1 OVTX-a) have often been detected mainly in wild mussels and sea urchins from rocky shores due to the presence of Ostreopsis cf. ovata. Overall, Italian coastal waters harbour a high number of potentially toxic species, with a few HAB hotspots mainly related to DSP toxins. Nevertheless, rare cases of intoxications have occurred so far, reflecting the whole Mediterranean Sea conditions

New Approach Using the Real-Time PCR Method for Estimation of the Toxic Marine Dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata in Marine Environment

Background: We describe the development and validation of a new quantitative real time PCR (qrt-PCR) method for the enumeration of the toxic benthic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata in marine environment. The benthic Ostreopsis sp. has a world-wide distribution and is associated during high biomass proliferation with the production of potent palytoxin-like compounds affecting human health and environment. Species-specific identification, which is relevant for the complex of different toxins production, by traditional methods of microscopy is difficult due to the high morphological variability, and thus different morphotypes can be easily misinterpreted. Methodology/Findings: The method is based on the SYBR I Green real-time PCR technology and combines the use of a plasmid standard curve with a ‘‘gold standard’’ created with pooled crude extracts from environmental samples collected during a bloom event of Ostreopsis cf. ovata in the Mediterranean Sea. Based on their similar PCR efficiencies (95% and 98%, respectively), the exact rDNA copy number per cell was obtained in cultured and environmental samples. Cell lysates were used as the templates to obtain total recovery of DNA. The analytical sensitivity of the PCR was set at two rDNA copy number and 8.061024 cell per reaction for plasmid and gold standards, respectively; the sensitivity of the assay was of cells g21 fw or 121 in macrophyte and seawater samples, respectively. The reproducibility was determined on the total linear quantification range of both curves confirming the accuracy of the technical set-up in the complete ranges of quantification over time. Conclusions/Significance: We developed a qrt-PCR assay specific, robust and high sample throughput for the absolute quantification of the toxic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata in the environmental samples. This molecular approach may be considered alternative to traditional microscopy and applied for the monitoring of benthic toxic microalgal species in the marine ecosystems

The toxic benthic dinoflagellates of the genus Ostreopsis in temperate areas: a review

The genus Ostreopsis includes species largely distributed from tropical to temperate marine areas worldwide. Among the nine species of the genus, O. siamensis, O. mascarenensis, O. lenticularis and O. cf. ovata can produce toxins of the palytoxin group. In the last decade Ostreopsis cf. ovata and O. cf. siamensis originated intense blooms in all the rocky Mediterranean Sea coastal areas, typically during summer-late summer. The correct identification of Ostreopsis species in field samples is often problematic as Ostreopsis species are morphologically plastic and hardly discriminable under light microscopy and, therefore, molecular analyses are required. Ostreopsis blooms are often associated with noxious effects on health of both humans and benthic marine organisms mainly carried by aerosol and direct contact with seawater. Environmental factors have been shown to affect toxin content of Ostreopsis which generally produces more toxins per cell when growing under suboptimal conditions. O. cf. ovata is able to produce both temporary and resting cysts. In particular, the resting cysts are able to germinate in laboratory conditions for as long as 5 months after their formation at 25°C, but not at 21°C; the presence of a temperature threshold affecting cyst germination in the laboratory suggests that temperature represents a key factor for Ostreopsis cf. ovata bloom onset in natural environments as well. Several studies conducted to assess the role of abiotic factors (mainly hydrodynamics, water temperature and nutrients) on the bloom dynamics, revealed that the synergic effects of hydrodynamics, temperature and N:P ratios would lead the Ostreopsis blooms in temperate areas. Ostreopsis abundances showed a significant decrease with depth, likely related to light availability, although there are conflicting data about the relationship between light intensity and Ostreopsis growth in experimental conditions. The relationship between Ostreopsis blooms and salinity is not completely clear, complicated by the influence of high nutrient levels often associated to low salinity waters. Finally, Ostreopsis colonize a variety of substrata, although living substrata seems to allow lower concentration of epibionts than any other substrate, probably due to the production of some allelopathic compounds.</p

Performance evaluation of protein recovery from Argentinian soybean extruded-expelled meals under different operating conditions

The soybean extruded-expelled (EE) meals are the byproduct of the process commonly used by small or medium-sized Argentinian companies for obtaining soy oil. In this work, the performance of the pH-shifting process for obtaining a protein product from the EE meals was evaluated as a strategy for on-site value-adding.The EE meals were subjected to the proposed pH-shifting process under different operating parameters at the alkaline extraction stage (2 and 3 cycles at 55, 60 and 65 ºC with and without sodium sulfite) and isoelectric precipitation stage (0 ºC and 20 ºC with hydrochloric and phosphoric acids), which constitute the controlling steps in an industrial scaling of the process. The pH-shifting process consisting of 3 alkaline extraction cycles at 60 ºC followed by isoelectric precipitation at low temperature using hydrochloric acid was found to be well suited for obtaining a final product with a protein content upwards of 75%.Fil: Accoroni, Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Godoy, Ezequiel. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Reinheimer, Maria Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Rosario; Argentin