The nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor of two cricket species - Acheta domesticus and Gryllus bimaculatus

The Kjeldahl method is the most utilized method for total protein content analysis in food. Using the universal nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor of 6.25, the protein content of insects is likely to be overestimated due to their chitin content. We have calculated nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors for two crickets, house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and field cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus), which are used for food and feed in Europe. By analyzing their nitrogen and amino acid content we were able to show that a conversion factor of 5.09 could be used for house cricket and 5.00 for field cricket in protein content calculation. Based on these results with a reservation about slight variation in farming conditions, we suggest a nitrogen conversion factor of 5.0 for both crickets

Policy brief. Strawberries with fraudulent country-of-origin information can now be revealed

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Alkuperältään aidot – koordinoidulla yhteistyöllä uusi työkalu kasvituotteiden alkuperän määrittämiseen ja alkuperäväärennösten osoittamiseen. Loppuraportti

Hankkeessa kehitettiin työkalu, jolla puutarhamansikasta voidaan selvittää, ovatko marjat alkuperältään suomalaisia. Stabiilien isotooppien analyysien avulla luotiin kotimaisen mansikan isotooppisuhteista tietokanta viranomaiskäyttöön. Lisäksi selvitettiin mansikan alkuainepitoisuuksien käyttömahdollisuutta alkuperän varmentamiseen. Hankkeen tuloksena ulkomaista edullisemmin tuotettua mansikkaa ei enää voi myydä suomalaisena ilman, että asia pystytään todistamaan ja elintarvikevalvonnassa pystytään antamaan lausunto tuotteiden alkuperän suomalaisuudesta. Tämä pitää kotimaisen mansikan hinnan sillä tasolla, jolle tuotantokustannukset sen asettavat, mikä varmistaa marjanviljelyn tuotannon kannattavuutta ja kilpailukykyä. Samoin kuluttajat, kauppa ja elintarvikejalostajat pystyvät luottamaan marjojen kotimaisuustietoon.202

Åtgårdsrekommendationer. Förfalskningar av jordgubbarnas ursprung blir avslöjade

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Toimintasuositukset. Mansikan alkuperäväärennökset paljastuvat.

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Genome sequencing and population genomic analyses provide insights into the adaptive landscape of silver birch

Silver birch (Betula pendula) is a pioneer boreal tree that can be induced to flower within 1 year. Its rapid life cycle, small (440-Mb) genome, and advanced germplasm resources make birch an attractive model for forest biotechnology. We assembled and chromosomally anchored the nuclear genome of an inbred B. pendula individual. Gene duplicates from the paleohexaploid event were enriched for transcriptional regulation, whereas tandem duplicates were overrepresented by environmental responses. Population resequencing of 80 individuals showed effective population size crashes at major points of climatic upheaval. Selective sweeps were enriched among polyploid duplicates encoding key developmental and physiological triggering functions, suggesting that local adaptation has tuned the timing of and cross-talk between fundamental plant processes. Variation around the tightly-linked light response genes PHYC and FRS10 correlated with latitude and longitude and temperature, and with precipitation for PHYC. Similar associations characterized the growth-promoting cytokinin response regulator ARR1, and the wood development genes KAK and MED5A.Peer reviewe

Author Correction: Genome sequencing and population genomic analyses provide insights into the adaptive landscape of silver birch.

In the version of this article initially published, there was a mistake in the calculation of the nucleotide mutation rate per site per generation: 1 × 10−9 mutations per site per generation was used, whereas 9.5 × 10−9 was correct. This error affects the interpretation of population-size changes over time and their possible correspondence with known geological events, as shown in the original Fig. 4 and supporting discussion in the text, as well as details in the Supplementary Note. Neither the data themselves nor any other results are affected. Figure 4 has been revised accordingly. Images of the original and corrected figure panels are shown in the correction notice

Involvement of CBF Transcription Factors in Winter Hardiness in Birch1[W][OA]

Cold acclimation of plants involves extensive reprogramming of gene expression. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), three cold-inducible transcriptional activators designated CBF1 to -3/DREB1a to -c have been shown to play an important regulatory role in this acclimation process. Similarly to Arabidopsis, boreal zone trees can increase their freezing tolerance (FT) in response to low temperature during the growing season. However, maximal FT of these trees requires short daylength-induced dormancy development followed by exposure to both low and freezing temperatures. To elucidate the molecular basis of FT in overwintering trees, we characterized the role of birch (Betula pendula) CBF transcription factors in the cold acclimation process. We identified four putative CBF orthologs in a birch expressed sequence tag collection designated BpCBF1 to -4. Ectopic expression of birch CBFs in Arabidopsis resulted in constitutive expression of endogenous CBF target genes and increased FT of nonacclimated transgenic plants. In addition, these plants showed stunted growth and delayed flowering, typical features for CBF-overexpressing plants. Expression analysis in birch showed that BpCBF1 to -4 are low temperature responsive but differentially regulated in dormant and growing plants, the expression being delayed in dormant tissues. Freeze-thaw treatment, simulating wintertime conditions in nature, resulted in strong induction of BpCBF genes during thawing, followed by induction of a CBF target gene, BpLTI36. These results suggest that in addition to their role in cold acclimation during the growing season, birch CBFs appear to contribute to control of winter hardiness in birch