Phylogeography of the white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius italicus) in Spain: inferences from microsatellite markers.

The white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius italicus), a cornerstone of Spain's aquatic ecosystems, was once widely distributed throughout much of the country. Unfortunately, its populations have suffered very strong declines over the last 40 years due to the spread of introduced species (red swamp and signal crayfishes), diseases, habitat loss and other anthropogenic impacts. The present work examines the genetic variation in 23 Spanish and four Italian populations of white-clawed crayfish via the analysis of microsatellite loci. The data show genetic variation in the Spanish populations to be affected by drastic and successive bottlenecks. Notwithstanding, the diversity of these Spanish populations in terms of observed heterozygosity is similar to or even higher than that recorded for other European populations studied using these same markers. North-central Spanish populations are clearly differentiated from the country's remaining populations; they should be considered distinct management units. Processes occurred in historical and recent times, such as genetic drift and translocations, contribute greatly to this genetic structure. These data provide useful information for conservation of this species, since the preservation of its population structure and genetic variability should be goals for management decisions.

Protective effect of supercritical fluid rosemary extract, Rosmarinus officinalis, on antioxidants of major organs of aged rats.

Rosemary leaves, "Rosmarinus officinalis", possess a variety of antioxidant, anti-tumoral and anti-inflammatory bioactivities. We hypothesized that rosemary extract could enhance antioxidant defenses and improve antioxidant status in aged rats. This work evaluates whether supplementing their diet with supercritical fluid (SFE) rosemary extract containing 20% antioxidant carnosic acid (CA) reduces oxidative stress in aged rats. Aged Wistar rats (20 months old) were included in the study. Rats were fed for 12 weeks with a standard kibble (80%) supplemented with turkey breast (20%) containing none or one of two different SFE rosemary concentrations (0.2% and 0.02%). After sacrifice, tissue samples were collected from heart and brain (cortex and hippocampus). Enzyme activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) were quantitatively analyzed. Lipid peroxidation and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were also determined. Rosemary decreased lipid peroxidation in both brain tissues. The levels of catalase activities in heart and cortex were decreased in the rosemary-treated groups. The SFE rosemary-treated rats presented lower NOS levels in heart and lower ROS levels in hippocampus than the control rats. Supplementing the diet of aged rats with SFE rosemary extract produced a decrease in antioxidant enzyme activity, lipid peroxidation and ROS levels that was significant for catalase activity in heart and brain, NOS in heart, and LPO and ROS levels in different brain tissues. These observations suggest that the rosemary supplement improved the oxidative stress status in old rats.