Sustainability vs. Quality in gilthead seabream (Sparusaurata L.) farming: are trade-offs inevitable?

European aquaculture industry should be at the forefront of sustainable development, providing healthy and safe food of the highest quality to the consumer, through an environmentally sound approach. The purpose of this review was to explore in what way the current drive for sustainability has affected what the consumer perceives as quality in fish, specifically in gilthead seabream, one of the most important farmed species in the Mediterranean. It focuses on nutritional aspects such as fish meal and fish oil replacement, quality tailoring through finishing strategies, the influence of different farming systems and the effect of slaughter stress on seabream quality. In general, fish meal and fish oil replacement with vegetable ingredients will result in changes in the fatty acid profile of the fillets, and consequently the potential health benefits seabream offers to the consumer. While organoleptic properties suffer little change, the impact of these ingredients on welfare has not been fully investigated. Further studies are also needed to evaluate the effect of land animal ingredients on seabream quality. In either case, although finishing strategies to restore essential fatty acids are not completely effective, seabream can still retain a high nutritional value. Information on the use of dietary supplements as finishing strategies is still extremely scarce. Regarding fish welfare, the high densities practised in intensive production systems pose concerns which warrant further research in this area. Furthermore, new alternatives for common harvesting and slaughter methods are needed to improve welfare, as traditional methods are clearly stressful.FCT, Portugal [SFRH/BD/40886/2007, SFRH/BD/41392/2007]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Association of DNA methylation and genetic variations of the <i>APOE</i> gene with the risk of diabetic dyslipidemia

International audienceApolipoprotein E (APOE) is a key regulator of lipoprotein metabolism, and consequently, affects the plasma and tissue lipid contents. The aim of the present study was to investigate the parallel effects of APOE genetic variants and promoter methylation levels of six CpGs on the risk of diabetic dyslipidemia. A total of 204 Palestinian type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients (mean age ± SD: 62.7±10.2) were enrolled in the present study (n=96 with dyslipidemia and n=108 without dyslipidemia). Next generation sequencing was performed to analyze five single nucleotide polymorphisms: Two variants rs7412 and rs429358 that determine APOE ε alleles, and three variants in the promoter region (rs769446, rs449647, and rs405509). For all subjects, the most common genotype was ε3/ε3 (79.4%). No statistical differences were observed in the APOE ε polymorphisms and the three promoter variants among T2D patients with and without dyslipidemia (P>0.05). A comparison of lipid parameters between ε3/ε3 subjects and ε4 carriers in both groups revealed no significant differences in the mean values of LDL-C, HDL-C, TG, and TC levels (P>0.05). Six CpG sites in the APOE promoter on chromosome 19:44905755-44906078 were identified, and differential DNA methylation in these CpGs were observed between the study groups. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association of DNA methylation level at the six CpGs with an increased risk of diabetic dyslipidemia (odds ratio, 1.038; 95% confidence interval, 1.012-1.064; P=0.004). In conclusion, the present study revealed that DNA methylation levels in six CpGs in the APOE promoter region was associated with the risk of diabetic dyslipidemia independently of the APOE ε4 variant which could be a potential therapeutic target to reverse the methylation of the APOE promoter