Legislation regarding the labeling of processed products is an important issue in the protection of consumer rights. This labeling is especially important in products that cannot be identified on the basis of their morphological characters, because these are removed from the animal in the transformation process. The goal of this study was the identification of mussel species using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and Forensically Informative Nucleotide Sequencing (FINS) methodologies. The molecular marker selected was 18S rDNA (nuclear small-subunit rDNA gene), which allows identification at the genus level and at the species level in some cases. The genera included in this study were Mytilus, Perna, Aulacomya, Semimytilus, Brachidontes, Choromytilus, and Perumytilus. Different markers were used for genetic identification at the species level. To identify the species included in the genus Perna and Choromytilus, a fragment of ITS 1 (Internal Transcribed Spacer 1) was amplified by multiplex PCR and digested with restrictases. The species of Mytilus were identified by length polymorphism and RFLP of the polyphenolic adhesive protein gene. This methodology was validated with products manufactured in the authors' pilot plant and applied to commercial samples. Therefore, this sequential method can be completely or partially used to determine the mussel genus or species present in any food product.

Lophius represents the most important genus of the family Lophiidae from a commercial point of view. The main marketing formats of the species included in this genus are tails and cheeks, making impossible the species identification on the basis of their morphological characters. In the present study, two methods based on the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences [forensically informative nucleotide sequencing (FINS)] were developed to differentiate the seven species contained in the genus Lophius. In both cases, the molecular marker studied was the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI). The RFLP analysis of the PCR products digested with the endonuclease Mbo I generated species-specific restriction profiles, and the phylogenetic analysis showing a neighbor-joining tree with independent nodes was strongly supported for all of the studied species. These methods were applied to 40 commercial samples, allowing us to detect the samples incorrectly labeled. The fraudulent labeling ratio was higher in processed products (68.75%) than whole fish (31.25%). The species subjected to mislabeling were L. budegassa (68.75%), L. vomerinus (18.75%), and L. piscatorius (12.5%). Therefore, both methodologies can be independently used to authenticate the species belonging to the genus Lophius, being useful to check the fulfillment of labeling regulations of seafood products and to verify the correct traceability of commercial trade and the control of fisheries.

In the present study a method for genetic identification of flatfish species was developed. The technique is based on DNA sequencing of amplified DNA by PCR and subsequent phylogenetic analysis ( FINS). A phylogenetic tree using the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) was constructed and the bootstrap values calculated. The mentioned technique allows the genetic identification of more than 50 flatfish species in fresh, frozen, and precooked products. This analytical system was validated and subsequently applied to 30 commercial samples, obtaining 13 that were incorrectly labeled (43%). Four of the mislabeled samples were whole fish (31%), and nine were fillets (69%). The species with the higher rate of incorrect labeling were Pleuronectes platessa (17%) and Solea solea (10%). Other species incorrectly labeled were Hipoglossus hipoglossus (7%), Reinharditus hippoglossoides, Limanda ferruginea, and Microstomus kitt (3% each species). Therefore, this molecular tool is appropriate to clarify questions related with the correct labeling of commercial products, the traceability of raw materials, and the control of imported flatfish, and also can be applied to questions linked to the control of fisheries.

No abstract

The intertidal snail Littorina saxatilis has repeatedly evolved two parallel ecotypes assumed to be wave adapted and predatory shore crab adapted, but the magnitude and targets of predator‐driven selection are unknown. In Spain, a small, wave ecotype with a large aperture from the lower shore and a large, thick‐shelled crab ecotype from the upper shore meet in the mid‐shore and show partial size‐assortative mating. We performed complementary field tethering and laboratory predation experiments; the first set compared the survival of two different size‐classes of the crab ecotype while the second compared the same size‐class of the two ecotypes. In the first set, the large size‐class of the crab ecotype survived significantly better than the small size‐class both on the upper shore and in the laboratory. In the second set, the small size‐class of the crab ecotype survived substantially better than that of the wave ecotype both on the upper shore and in the laboratory. Shell‐breaking predation on tethered snails was almost absent within the lower shore. In the laboratory shore crabs (Pachygrapsus marmoratus) with larger claw heights selected most strongly against the small size‐class of the crab ecotype, whereas those with medium claw heights selected most strongly against the thin‐shelled wave ecotype. Sexual maturity occurred at a much larger size in the crab ecotype than in the wave ecotype. Our results showed that selection on the upper shore for rapid attainment of a size refuge from this gape‐limited predator favors large size, thick shells, and late maturity. Model parameterization showed that size‐selective predation restricted to the upper shore resulted in the evolution of the crab ecotype despite gene flow from the wave ecotype snails living on the lower shore. These results on gape‐limited predation and previous ones showing size‐assortative mating between ecotypes suggest that size may represent a magic trait for the thick‐shelled ecotype.