Integration of Innovative Technologies in the Agri-Food Sector: The Fundamentals and Practical Case of DNA-Based Traceability of Olives from Fruit to Oil.

Several socio-economic problems have been hidden by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Particularly, the agricultural and food industrial sectors have been harshly affected by this devastating disease. Moreover, with the worldwide population increase and the agricultural production technologies being inefficient or obsolete, there is a great need to find new and successful ways to fulfill the increasing food demand. A new era of agriculture and food industry is forthcoming, with revolutionary concepts, processes and technologies, referred to as Agri-food 4.0, which enables the next level of agri-food production and trade. In addition, consumers are becoming more and more aware about the origin, traceability, healthy and high-quality of agri-food products. The integration of new process of production and data management is a mandatory step to meet consumer and market requirements. DNA traceability may provide strong approach to certify and authenticate healthy food products, particularly for olive oil. With this approach, the origin and authenticity of products are confirmed by the means of unique nucleic acid sequences. Selected tools, methods and technologies involved in and contributing to the advance of the agri-food sector are presented and discussed in this paper. Moreover, the application of DNA traceability as an innovative approach to authenticate olive products is reported in this paper as an application and promising case of smart agriculture.

SNP discovery and structural insights into OeFAD2 unravelling high oleic/linoleic ratio in olive oil.

Fatty Acid Desaturase 2 (FAD2), a key enzyme in the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, is involved in the desaturation and conversion of oleic acid to linoleic acid. Therefore, it plays a crucial role in oleic/linoleic acid ratio and the quality of olive oil. DNA sequencing of 19 FAD2 genes from a set of olive oil varieties revealed several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and highlighted associations between some of the SNPs and saturated fatty acids contents. This was further confirmed by SNP-interaction and machine learning approach. Haplotype diversity analysis led to the discovery of three highly polymorphic SNPs and four haplotypes harboring differential oleic/linoleic acid ratios. Moreover, a combination of molecular modeling and docking experiments allowed a deeper and better understanding of the structure-function relationship of the FAD2 enzyme. Sequence patterns and variations involved in the regulation of the FAD2 activity were also identified. Furthermore, S82C and H213N substitutions in OeFAD2 make the Oueslati variety more interesting in terms of fatty acid profile and oleic acid level.

Assessment of population structure, genetic diversity and relationship of Mediterranean olive accessions using SSR markers and computational tools.

Olive tree is an emblematic crop of the Mediterranean region, mainly renowned for its fruit oil, although the species provides several industrial purposes. The Mediterranean basin constitutes the origin of olive species diversification and represents a valuable source of genetic variability of olive germplasm. Therefore, the evaluation of the diversity and the population structure of this Mediterranean germplasm is a challenge for olive species preservation, crop breeding and genetic improvement. In this context, our study aims to analyze the genetic diversity and the population structure of 79 Mediterranean olive accessions using 15 genomic SSRs and by applying computational model-based approaches. The used SSRs revealed a total number of 225 alleles with a mean of 15 alleles per locus. Observed and expected heterozygosity (Ho = 0.79, He = 0.805) with a Polymorphism Information Content value of 0.775 indicate high level of genetic diversity. All results of the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic (UPGMA), Jaccard similarity index, Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and the Bayesian analyses supported the separation of the Mediterranean varieties in two sub-populations, one of which mainly composed by Spanish accessions.

Information sur le risque familial de cancer colorectal. Regards croisés sur l'efficacité d'une intervention personnalisée.

OBJECTIVE: Information on risk levels is an essential part of the prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC). The objective of this article is to describe a tailored intervention carried out to inform the protagonists about the high risk of CRC due to family history and then to understand, through an interdisciplinary analysis, the mechanisms implemented during the intervention. METHOD: A randomized trial design was applied. The primary outcome was the colonoscopy uptake. The intervention concerned firstly the index patients with CRC or adenoma to advise and accompany them in the transmission of information about the elevated risk for their siblings. The siblings received tailored counselling carried out by a preventive nurse, by telephone then by mail. Epidemiological, linguistic and sociological cross-analyzes were carried out to understand the impact of the intervention. RESULTS: Colonoscopy rate was 56.3% in the intervention group, 35.4% in the control group (P = 0.0027; 304 siblings). The linguistic analysis of recorded nurse's interventions showed that, following the intervention (N = 59), the prevention themes were better assimilated while they remained vague and questioned in the discourse of the control siblings who had carried out the colonoscopy (N = 8). That was confirmed by the sociological analysis (four families) which also revealed the importance of information received from a health professional and of communication within families. CONCLUSION: The study showed the impact of transmission of information to convince siblings at high risk of CRC to carry out colonoscopy.

[Family risk information for colorectal cancer. Perspectives on the effectiveness of a tailored intervention] / Information sur le risque familial de cancer colorectal. Regards croisés sur l'efficacité d'une intervention personnalisée.

OBJECTIVE: Information on risk levels is an essential part of the prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC). The objective of this article is to describe a tailored intervention carried out to inform the protagonists about the high risk of CRC due to family history and then to understand, through an interdisciplinary analysis, the mechanisms implemented during the intervention. METHOD: A randomized trial design was applied. The primary outcome was the colonoscopy uptake. The intervention concerned firstly the index patients with CRC or adenoma to advise and accompany them in the transmission of information about the elevated risk for their siblings. The siblings received tailored counselling carried out by a preventive nurse, by telephone then by mail. Epidemiological, linguistic and sociological cross-analyzes were carried out to understand the impact of the intervention. RESULTS: Colonoscopy rate was 56.3% in the intervention group, 35.4% in the control group (P = 0.0027; 304 siblings). The linguistic analysis of recorded nurse's interventions showed that, following the intervention (N = 59), the prevention themes were better assimilated while they remained vague and questioned in the discourse of the control siblings who had carried out the colonoscopy (N = 8). That was confirmed by the sociological analysis (four families) which also revealed the importance of information received from a health professional and of communication within families. CONCLUSION: The study showed the impact of transmission of information to convince siblings at high risk of CRC to carry out colonoscopy.

First study of correlation between oleic acid content and SAD gene polymorphism in olive oil samples through statistical and bayesian modeling analyses.

BACKGROUND: Virgin olive oil is appreciated for its particular aroma and taste and is recognized worldwide for its nutritional value and health benefits. The olive oil contains a vast range of healthy compounds such as monounsaturated free fatty acids, especially, oleic acid. The SAD.1 polymorphism localized in the Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase gene (SAD) was genotyped and showed that it is associated with the oleic acid composition of olive oil samples. However, the effect of polymorphisms in fatty acid-related genes on olive oil monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids distribution in the Tunisian olive oil varieties is not understood. METHODS: Seventeen Tunisian olive-tree varieties were selected for fatty acid content analysis by gas chromatography. The association of SAD.1 genotypes with the fatty acids composition was studied by statistical and Bayesian modeling analyses. RESULTS: Fatty acid content analysis showed interestingly that some Tunisian virgin olive oil varieties could be classified as a functional food and nutraceuticals due to their particular richness in oleic acid. In fact, the TT-SAD.1 genotype was found to be associated with a higher proportion of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), mainly oleic acid (C18:1) (r = - 0.79, p < 0.000) as well as lower proportion of palmitic acid (C16:0) (r = 0.51, p = 0.037), making varieties with this genotype (i.e. Zarrazi and Tounsi) producing more monounsaturated oleic acid (C18: 1) than saturated acid. These varieties could be thus used as nutraceuticals and functional food. CONCLUSION: The SAD.1 association with the oleic acid composition of olive oil was identified among the studied varieties. This correlation fluctuated between studied varieties, which might elucidate variability in lipidic composition among them and therefore reflecting genetic diversity through differences in gene expression and biochemical pathways. SAD locus would represent an excellent marker for identifying interesting amongst virgin olive oil lipidic composition.

Bayesian and Phylogenic Approaches for Studying Relationships among Table Olive Cultivars.

To enhance table olive tree authentication, relationship, and productivity, we consider the analysis of 18 worldwide table olive cultivars (Olea europaea L.) based on morphological, biological, and physicochemical markers analyzed by bioinformatic and biostatistic tools. Accordingly, we assess the relationships between the studied varieties, on the one hand, and the potential productivity-quantitative parameter links on the other hand. The bioinformatic analysis based on the graphical representation of the matrix of Euclidean distances, the principal components analysis, unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean, and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed three major clusters which were not correlated with the geographic origin. The statistical analysis based on Kendall's and Spearman correlation coefficients suggests two highly significant associations with both fruit color and pollinization and the productivity character. These results are confirmed by the multiple linear regression prediction models. In fact, based on the coefficient of determination (R 2) value, the best model demonstrated the power of the pollinization on the tree productivity (R 2 = 0.846). Moreover, the derived directed acyclic graph showed that only two direct influences are detected: effect of tolerance on fruit and stone symmetry on side and effect of tolerance on stone form and oil content on the other side. This work provides better understanding of the diversity available in worldwide table olive cultivars and supplies an important contribution for olive breeding and authenticity.

Chemical messages in 170-year-old champagne bottles from the Baltic Sea: Revealing tastes from the past.

Archaeochemistry as the application of the most recent analytical techniques to ancient samples now provides an unprecedented understanding of human culture throughout history. In this paper, we report on a multiplatform analytical investigation of 170-y-old champagne bottles found in a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, which provides insight into winemaking practices used at the time. Organic spectroscopy-based nontargeted metabolomics and metallomics give access to the detailed composition of these wines, revealing, for instance, unexpected chemical characteristics in terms of small ion, sugar, and acid contents as well as markers of barrel aging and Maillard reaction products. The distinct aroma composition of these ancient champagne samples, first revealed during tasting sessions, was later confirmed using state-of-the-art aroma analysis techniques. After 170 y of deep sea aging in close-to-perfect conditions, these sleeping champagne bottles awoke to tell us a chapter of the story of winemaking and to reveal their extraordinary archaeometabolome and elemental diversity in the form of chemical signatures related to each individual step of champagne production.

Genetic similarity among Tunisian olive cultivars and two unknown feral olive trees estimated through SSR markers.

We used eight informative microsatellite markers for fingerprinting and evaluation of genetic similarity among 15 Tunisian olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars and two feral unknown trees named Soulela 1 and Soulela 2. Thirty-one alleles were revealed, and the number of alleles per SSR varied from 2 (UDO12) to 6 (GAPU71A). Cluster analysis grouped cultivars into three main clusters. The two unknown varieties could not be reliably classified into any of these cultivar groups. SSR analysis indicated the presence of three erroneous denominations of cultivars. We resolved two synonymy cases (Zalmati and Chemlali; Rkhami and Chetoui) and one case of homonymy (Chemlali Tataouine). Genetic analyses of DNA extracted from leaves, oils, and embryos of the two unknown cultivars and the two major Tunisian olive cultivars (Chemlali and Chetoui) were also studied. We conclude that the reliable identification of these two feral cultivars needs to be addressed by a larger set of markers.