Genetic markers in marine fisheries: Types, tasks and trends

Thirty years of industrial fishing have led to overexploitation of many species, triggering the urgent need to better assess and manage marine stocks for sustainability. From the very simple definition of stock as “an exploited fishery unit” to its complex delimitation using ecosystem approaches, genetic approaches provide a large number of potential markers to unveil the underlying molecular background of complex biological phenomena in marine species.The present study is a diagnostic assessment of the number of scientific data published in marine fisheries using genetic technologies since the onset of NGS up to 2014. This state of the art approach would allow to derive causalities of real figures and to hypothesize trends in the use and applications of genetic markers. We first briefly overview pros and cons of current technologies used to delineate fish stocks and address intrapopulation knowledge deficits identified under an open population paradigm. Then, in order to assess the advancement of the application of molecular genetic techniques in “fish stock delineation” we review the work published on spatio-temporal structures of fish stocks. Finally, the datamining effort is enlarged across marine fisheries during the period 2004–20014 to decipher the intensity of use of genetic tools per taxa, the main application of each marker type and the trend of use of classic, modern and new generation techniques in fishery research tasks. Although microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA-based markers have being used at a growing pace in fishery research tasks until 2011, a time when application of gene sequencing and NGS-derived markers to fishery research has significantly grown. NGS technologies are underused in fishery science regarding their wide application in other research fields such as agriculture and aquaculture. So a significant increment of new genetic marker types is expected to be implemented in the near future. Conversely, application of classic marker types such as allozymes, AFLPs, whole mitochondrial genomes, RAPDs and RFLPs on mtDNA has been much less used in the period 2004–2014 following the advent of fast and cheap genotypic screening and NGS-derived markers. Power gain afforded from the combination of different genetic markers to address complex processes is lacking in current fishery research since only 21% of the studies over that period employed two genetic marker types and only 3% employed more than two.Combinations of methods would allow addressing management issues such as distribution shifts and population expansion in response to climatic fluctuations and global change, as well as overfishing and fishery collapses

Methods for Seafood Authenticity Testing in Europe

56 pages, 5 figuresSeafood authenticity is a key parameter for seafood quality, particularly in Europe where regulations provide a strict framework for seafood labeling. A wide variety of methods are commonly used in control laboratories (private or public) to identify seafood species, but emergent approaches for the development of new and fast DNA- and protein-based methods for species differentiation are also considered. To address the challenges in controlling further labeling requirements in the latest European legislation on seafood product traceability and labeling (Regulation (EU) 1379/2013), a review of the development of methods to identify fishing areas and to distinguish between wild and farmed fish, as well as an overview of the advanced methods that could be used for differentiation of fresh and frozen-thawed fish, is given. These methods will become increasingly important in the near future as the risk-based control of food authenticity is prescribed by the new EU control regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/625)N

Colombian surgical outcomes study insights on perioperative mortality rate, a main indicator of the lancet commission on global surgery – a prospective cohort studyResearch in context

Summary: Background: Surgical care holds significant importance in healthcare, especially in low and middle-income countries, as at least 50% of the 4.2 million deaths within the initial 30 days following surgery take place in these countries. The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery proposed six indicators to enhance surgical care. In Colombia, studies have been made using secondary data. However, strategies to reduce perioperative mortality have not been implemented. This study aims to describe the fourth indicator, perioperative mortality rate (POMR), with primary data in Colombia. Methods: A multicentre prospective cohort study was conducted across 54 centres (hospitals) in Colombia. Each centre selected a 7-day recruitment period between 05/2022 and 01/2023. Inclusion criteria involved patients over 18 years of age undergoing surgical procedures in operating rooms. Data quality was ensured through a verification guideline and statistical analysis using mixed-effects multilevel modelling with a case mix analysis of mortality by procedure-related, patient-related, and hospital-related conditions. Findings: 3807 patients were included with a median age of 48 (IQR 32–64), 80.3% were classified as ASA I or II, and 27% of the procedures had a low-surgical complexity. Leading procedures were Orthopedics (19.2%) and Gynaecology/Obstetrics (17.7%). According to the Clavien–Dindo scale, postoperative complications were distributed in major complications (11.7%, 10.68–12.76) and any complication (31.6%, 30.09–33.07). POMR stood at 1.9% (1.48–2.37), with elective and emergency surgery mortalities at 0.7% (0.40–1.23) and 3% (2.3–3.89) respectively. Interpretation: The POMR was higher than the ratio reported in previous national studies, even when patients had a low–risk profile and low-complexity procedures. The present research represents significant public health progress with valuable insights for national decision-makers to improve the quality of surgical care. Funding: This work was supported by Universidad del Rosario and Fundación Cardioinfantil-Instituto de Cardiología grant number CTO-057-2021, project-ID IV-FGV017