Marine Sponge Derived Natural Products between 2001 and 2010: Trends and Opportunities for Discovery of Bioactives

Marine sponges belonging to the phylum Porifera (Metazoa), evolutionarily the oldest animals are the single best source of marine natural products. The present review presents a comprehensive overview of the source, taxonomy, country of origin or geographical position, chemical class, and biological activity of sponge-derived new natural products discovered between 2001 and 2010. The data has been analyzed with a view to gaining an outlook on the future trends and opportunities in the search for new compounds and their sources from marine sponges.     

Intensification of redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus culture: II. Growout in a separate cell system

In the process of exploring ways to intensify crayfish culture, a growout system of individual cages (cells) was designed to determine the effects of gender and cell size on the growth of the red claw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus. Cells of three different diameters—large (25 cm), medium (20 cm) and small (16 cm)—were used. When crayfish were stocked at a mean weight of approximately 10 g, growth rate of males was significantly higher than that of females. The growth rate of the males in the large cells was 0.31±0.14 g/day, while that of the females was 0.18±0.09 g/day. The size of the cell had significant influence on the weight of males. Male crayfish in the large and medium cells grew better than those in the small cells. When males were stocked at a higher mean weight (about 23 g), their mean weight after 206 days was higher in the large cells (69.28±15.72 g) than in the small cells (58.11±12.66 g), suggesting that the growth of large males was also affected by cell size. Regardless of cell size, male animals of this species grew faster than females under conditions of individual cells. This intensive culture method appears to present a powerful improvement in yields, by as much as two orders of magnitude, in comparison with communal cultures.     

Effects of the extensive culture system as finishing production strategy on biometric and chemical parameters in rainbow trout

The effect of finishing extensive farming period, to reduce fat content and manipulate the fatty acid profile of fish muscle, was evaluated in rainbow trout. Fish were stocked in an artificial lake, in which fish were fed only on naturally available nutrients with no supply of artificial feed, for different lengths of time from 0 to 120 days. No weight loss was noted during the whole finishing period while total length increased from 228±7 to 269±3 mm and the condition factor decreased from 1.41±0.04 to 0.89±0.02. The total fat content of the fillets decreased considerably from 4.7±0.6% at the beginning to 2.4±0.4% and 0.7±0.2% after 45 and 120 days respectively. Fillet fatty acid composition was affected by the time of stocking in the extensive farm. In contrast to the reduction in C18:1n‐9, C18:2n‐6, total monounsaturated fatty acid and total n‐6 percent values, an increase in the C20:5n‐3, C22:6n‐3, total polyunsaturated fatty acid and total n‐3 percent values was observed. It was shown that while other finishing strategies for salmonids have some disadvantages, the extensive culture system seems to be a potentially useful tool for increasing the general quality of the end product.     

QTL mapping of volatile compounds in ripe apples detected by proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry

The availability of genetic linkage maps enables the detection and analysis of QTLs contributing to quality traits of the genotype. Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS), a relatively novel spectrometric technique, has been applied to measure the headspace composition of the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted by apple fruit genotypes of the progeny ‘Fiesta’ × ‘Discovery’. Fruit samples were characterised by their PTR-MS spectra normalised to total area. QTL analysis for all PTR-MS peaks was carried out and 10 genomic regions associated with the peaks at m/z = 28, 43, 57, 61, 103, 115 and 145 were identified (LOD > 2.5). We show that it is possible to find quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to PTR-MS characterisation of the headspace composition of single whole apple fruits indicating the presence of a link between molecular characterisation and PTR-MS data. We provide tentative information on the metabolites related to the detected QTLs based on available chemical information. A relation between apple skin colour and peaks related to carbonyl compounds was established. The two authors contributed equally to this work.     

Institutional Structure,Industrialization and Rural Development: An Evolutionary Interpretation of the Italian Experience

This paper proposes an evolutionary reading of rural development referred to cases of rapid industrial growth, where a strong concentration process has involved the main urban centers and the successful industrial districts. This territorial development pattern has gradually extinguished rural society and its institutional basis, creating a clear separation between new central and peripheral areas. The consequent effects on local economy and social dynamics reveal the long‐term risks raised in terms of development sustainability. An empirical study of two Italian provinces is also carried out to show how this framework can be helpful in interpreting real historical patterns.     

Marker assisted polycross breeding to increase diversity and yield in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Summary In this study, the application of molecular markers to optimise genetic diversity in a polycross breeding program of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was evaluated. The genetic diversity among 98 potential parental plants from three maturity groups (early, intermediate and late flowering) was investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. For each maturity group, two polycrosses of six parental plants with contrasting levels of genetic diversity were composed. Average genetic diversity among parents selected for narrow polycrosses was 36% lower than among parents selected for wide polycrosses. Diversity within first generation synthetic progenies (Syn1) was proportional to the diversity within the respective parental polycrosses. However, differences were less pronounced with Syn1 progenies from narrow polycrosses showing 16% reduced diversity when compared to Syn1 progenies from wide polycrosses. Multivariate analyses allowed for a clear separation of the six Syn1 progenies based on AFLP markers and demonstrated their genetic distinctness. Evaluation of dry matter yield, date of ear emergence and stem length of Syn1 and Syn2 progenies showed progenies from wide polycrosses to be constantly higher yielding when compared to progenies from narrow polycrosses. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in variability for the two morphological traits between progenies of narrow- and wide polycrosses. The results presented here provide evidence for an efficient application of molecular markers to select genetically diverse polycross parents which resulted in an average yield increase of 3.8%.     

Solid olive residues: insight into their phenolic composition

Solid olive residues (SOR) are byproducts of the olive-milling process, but they have an increasing importance in the pharmaceutical industry due to their rich content of biophenols. Such compounds are studied widely for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, but there is a lack of information about their quantitative recovery. This research highlighted the key role played both by the selection of the cultivar and by the degree of olive fruit ripening on the phenolic content on the SOR. The extraction methods were selected to reach the best quantitative results mainly using a safe food solvent. In light of the results the Soxhlet extraction with ethanol could be proposed as preferential for a higher recovery of verbascoside and its analogues.     

Off-vine grape drying effect on volatile compounds and aromatic series in must from Pedro Ximénez grape variety

Changes in 36 volatile compounds of must from ripe grapes dried by direct exposure to sun and must from ripe grapes were studied. Compounds not dependent on sampling site in both musts were selected, and their concentration/Brix degree ratio values, were subjected to variance analysis. Only butan-1-ol and isoamyl alcohols showed no differences, while (E)-hex-3-en-1-ol, (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol, (E)-hex-2-en-1-ol, (E)-hex-2-enal, hexanoic acid, isobutanol, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, gamma-butyrolactone, gamma-hexalactone, and 5-methylfurfural, showed significant differences between the two must types, which may be ascribed to the drying process. An approach to describe must odor has been carried out by grouping volatile compounds in aromatic series, increasing their values in the fruity, solvent, sweet, and roasted series and diminishing the herbaceous as a consequence of the drying process.