Electrophoretically detectable genetic variability of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. was examined at 15 allozyme loci in 21 populations ranging from Santander (northern Spain) to Livorno (northwestern Italy). A major genetic break between Almeria and Alicante (southeastern Spain), as evidenced by 11 of 13 polymorphic loci examined, delimits 2 groups of populations with a high internal homogeneity. Roughly 75% of the total genetic differentiation was attributable to the divergence between these 2 groups of populations that displayed a genetic distance between them (D = 0.03) in the range of conspecific populations. This genetic break in M. galloprovincialis contrasts with earlier reports of genetic homogeneity among conspecific populations of the genus Mytilus over vast geographical distances, and represents an uncommon result in manne organisms with larval dispersal. The Zone of genetic divergence in M. galloprovincialis corresponds to a discontinuity in the distribution of this mussel, and to tbe position of the well-defined Almeria-Oran oceanographic front, with a distributional boundary between Atlantic and Mediterranean communities. In this region, other manne species exhibit similar patterns of intraspecific divergence, suggesting the action of common biogeographic processes. It is proposed that contemporary influences on gene flow related to an ecological barrier, perhaps in combination with selective pressures associated to water mass differences, maintain the abrupt change in southeastern Spain.

This study reports the optimised conditions (temperature, ethanol concentration and processing-time) for antioxidant extraction from potato peel (Agria variety) waste. At short extraction times (34 min), optimal yields of phenolic (TP) and flavonoid (Fv) compounds were reached at 89.9°C and ethanol concentrations of 71.2% and 38.6%, respectively. The main phenolic compounds identified in the extracts were chlorogenic (Cl) and ferulic (Fer) acids. A significant positive correlation was found between antioxidant activity and TP, Fv, Fer and Cl responses. Potato peel extracts were able to stabilize soybean oil under accelerated oxidation conditions, minimising peroxide, totox and p-anisidine indices. The production of hexanal and 2-hexenal in soybean oil samples was maximal for extracts obtained at intermediate temperatures and ethanol concentrations. Our results demonstrate potato peel waste is a good source of antioxidants able to effectively limit oil oxidation, while contributing to the revalorisation of these agrifood by-products.

The development of the theory of estimation of gametic disequilibrium for multiallelic systems is particularly necessary, since a large number of the genetic markers available at present are highly polymorphic multiallelic systems. The Dh coefficient is one of the most commonly used measures of the extent of overall disequilibrium between all possible pairs of alleles at two multiallelic loci. Nevertheless, the sampling properties of this measure of overall disequilibrium, are to date, unknown. In this work, we have derived explicit expressions by large-sample theory to compute the approximate sampling variance of D< h between pairs of multiallelic loci, when samples of haplotypes are taken from populations. Formulae for calculating the asymptotic sampling variance were checked by Monte Carlo simulation. In addition, the magnitude of the sampling variance of D< h was investigated under different scenarios of disequilibrium between multiallelic loci. Extensive simulations were also carried out for describing the sampling distribution of D< h, conditioned on the sample size, number of alleles and their frequencies, and disequilibrium components. It was found that the sampling distribution of D< h generally approaches well the theoretical normal distribution for experimental sample sizes, particularly when loci have many alleles. Disequilibrium data between microsatellite loci of human chromosome 11p are used for illustration. These investigations increase substantially our knowledge about this widely used measure of overall disequilibrium, which is relevant to evaluate disequilibrium between multiallelic loci in populations. The study of non-random association of alleles at different loci, or gametic disequilibrium, is useful for revealing the location and relationships of the genes along the chromosomes, the relative influence of different evolutionary forces, and the history of populations. Searching for gametic disequilibrium between pairs of multiallelic loci often makes use of the theory of estimation for the two-allele, twolocus model.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, fat replacement in meat products is a matter of concern in the meat industry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the replacement of pork backfat with two oleogels of linseed in dry-cured sausages. RESULTS: Five batches of dry-cured sausages were prepared with two oleogels, a mixture of -oryzanol and -sitosterol (SO) and beeswax (B), at two levels of replacement (20% and 40%) (SO-20, SO-40, B-20, and B-40, respectively) and a control batch. The fatty acid profile improved in terms of nutrition: the polyunsaturated fatty acid / saturated fatty acid (PUFA/SFA) and n-6/n-3 ratio was about 1.41 and 0.93 for the higher levels of replacement, SO-40 and B-40, respectively. Quality parameters such as pH and color also changed with the inclusion of oleogels, resulting in changes in the sensory quality. CONCLUSION: Oleogels based on linseed enabled the replacement of pork backfat in fermented sausages. Depending on the level of fat substitution, such oleogels could replace fat in dry-cured sausages at the industrial level. Statistical analysisStatistical analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 23 software package (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). A total of 50 dry-cured sausages (ten samples per each batch × five batches) were analyzed for different quality traits. The effect of inclusion of two oleogels at two levels was evaluated employing a mixed-model ANOVA and these traits were set as dependent variables, oleogel concentration (0, 20 and 40%) as a fixed effect, and replicate as a random effect. The pairwise differences between least-square means were examined using J Sci Food Agric 2020; 100: 218-224

Different health institutions from western countries ha–ve recommended a diet higher in polyunsaturated fats, especially of the n-3 family. However, this is not a trivial task, especially for meat-processing sectors. The objective of this work was to assess the influence of replacing pork backfat with linseed oleogel on the main quality parameters of frankfurters. The frankfurters were formulated by the pork backfat replacement of 0% (control), 25% (SF-25), and 50% (SF-50), using a linseed oleogel gelled with beeswax. The determination of quality parameters (pH, colour, chemical composition, and texture parameters), the fatty acid profile, and the sensory evaluation was carried out for each batch. The fatty acid profile was substantially improved, and the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was reduced from 35.15g/100g in control sausages to 33.95 and 32.34g/100 g in SF-25 and SF-50, respectively, and more balanced ratios n-6/n-3 were achieved. In addition, the sausages with linseed oleogel also decreased the cholesterol content from 25.08 mg/100 g in control sausages to 20.12 and 17.23 mg/100 g in SF-25 and SF-50, respectively. It may therefore be concluded that these innovative meat products are a healthier alternative. However, sensory parameters should be improved in order to increase consumer acceptability, and further research is needed.