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Microbial assemblages under the sea ice of the Dease Strait, Canadian Arctic, were sequenced for metagenomes of a small size fraction (0.2–3 μm). The community from early March was typical for this season, with Alpha‐ and Gammaproteobacteria as the dominant taxa, followed by Thaumarchaeota and Bacteroidetes. Toward summer, Bacteroidetes, and particularly the genus Polaribacter, became increasingly dominant, followed by the Gammaproteobacteria. Analysis of genes responsible for microbial acquisition of iron showed an abundance of ABC transporters for divalent cations and ferrous iron. The most abundant transporters, however, were the outer membrane TonB‐dependent transporters of iron‐siderophore complexes. The abundance of iron acquisition genes suggested this element was essential for the microbial assemblage. Interestingly, Gammaproteobacteria were responsible for most of the siderophore synthesis genes. On the contrary, Bacteroidetes did not synthesize siderophores but accounted for most of the transporters, suggesting a role as cheaters in the competition for siderophores as public goods. This cheating ability of the Bacteroidetes may have contributed to their dominance in the summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial assemblages under the sea ice of the Dease Strait, Canadian Arctic, were sequenced for metagenomes of a small size fraction (0.2–3 μm). The community from early March was typical for this season, with Alpha‐ and Gammaproteobacteria as the dominant taxa, followed by Thaumarchaeota and Bacteroidetes. Toward summer, Bacteroidetes, and particularly the genus Polaribacter, became increasingly dominant, followed by the Gammaproteobacteria. Analysis of genes responsible for microbial acquisition of iron showed an abundance of ABC transporters for divalent cations and ferrous iron. The most abundant transporters, however, were the outer membrane TonB‐dependent transporters of iron‐siderophore complexes. The abundance of iron acquisition genes suggested this element was essential for the microbial assemblage. Interestingly, Gammaproteobacteria were responsible for most of the siderophore synthesis genes. On the contrary, Bacteroidetes did not synthesize siderophores but accounted for most of the transporters, suggesting a role as cheaters in the competition for siderophores as public goods. This cheating ability of the Bacteroidetes may have contributed to their dominance in the summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of vacuum packaging for fresh meat with low rate of turnover in the supermarket shelves, as it is the case of lamb meat in Spain, is recommended. Because the amount of mandatory information on fresh‐meat labels has increased, there is a need to design new labels to enhance the support for this information. Therefore, to anticipate the consumer's acceptance of vacuum packaging and the preferences for newly designed labels is of vital importance. This is the objective of the paper; in particular, it measures the consumers' relative importance of the vacuum packaging and different labels in relation to other important lamb‐meat characteristics (type of cut, price, and regional indication). To do that, a choice experiment was used and an error‐component random‐parameter model with correlated errors was estimated. Results suggest that consumers positively value all of the attributes except for the new designed labels. In particular, consumers positively value the vacuum packaging but to lesser extent than other lamb‐meat attributes such as the type of cut, the protected geographical indication certification, and the price. However, consumers only value the vacuum packaging in the case of fresh lamb meat with a protected geographical indication certification. Moreover, this valuation is higher for older consumers who use, to a higher extent, their own direct appraisal of the meat and the information on the label when shopping and give less importance to the presence of liquid around the meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined the impact of damp-heat aging on properties of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer and their blends. Particular focus is given to the assessment of changes in the structure and properties of copolymer blends using differential scanning calorimeter and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. Results of the study showed that the incorporation of oxygen into the polymeric chain of EVA has led to the increase of carbonyl index.

Fish and seafood substitution has become an important concern in domestic and international marketplaces, in part due to increased international trade, per capita seafood consumption, and production of processed foods. In many cases, seafood substitution is a form of economic deception, where highly prized species are substituted with those of lesser value. To prevent illegal species substitution, a number of DNA-based methods have been developed to detect fish and seafood species in commercial products. These methods, along with common gene targets, have been reviewed previously in this journal. The current article is meant to build upon earlier discussions by providing a comprehensive review of the application of these DNA-based methods to the discovery of fish and seafood substitution on the commercial market. Popular food uses, potential substitution cases, and peer-reviewed research articles published to date are discussed for all major species groups of concern, including flatfish, gadoids, scombroids, salmonids, percoids, sturgeons, sharks, eels, and bivalves. The use of DNA-based methods to monitor commercial whale meat products is also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of species substitution has become an important topic within the food industry and there is a growing need for rapid, reliable, and reproducible tests to verify species in commercial fish and seafood products. Increases in international trade and global seafood consumption, along with fluctuations in the supply and demand of different fish and seafood species, have resulted in intentional product mislabeling. The effects of species substitution are far-reaching and include economic fraud, health hazards, and illegal trade of protected species. To improve detection of commercial seafood fraud, a variety of DNA-based techniques have been developed, including Multiplex PCR, FINS, PCR-RFLP, PCR-RAPD, PCR-AFLP, and PCR-SSCP, which are all based on polymorphisms in the genetic codes of different species. These techniques have been applied in the differentiation of many types of fish and seafood species, such as gadoids, salmonids, scombroids, and bivalves. Some emerging technologies in this field include the use of real-time PCR, lab-on-a-chip, and DNA microarray chips. In this review article, the major DNA-based methods currently employed in the authentication of commercial fish and seafood species are discussed and future trends are highlighted. Examples of commercial applications and the use of online database resources are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]