Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution

Gel electrophoresis of proteins has become a standard and powerful research tool for application in a multitude of biological disciplines One form of protein electrophoresis, isozyme analysis, has become particularly prominent in systematic and evolutionary biology as well as agronomy (Tanksley and Orton, 1983) Isozymes, or multiple molecular forms of enzymes, are enzymes that share a common substrate but differ in electrophoretic mobility (Markert and Moller, 1959) They are revealed when tissue extracts are subjected to electrophoresis in various types of gels and subsequently submersed in solutions containing enzyme-specific stains Genetic analysis may indicate that some of the variant electromorphs are encoded by alternate alleles at a single locus, in which case the allelic products are termed allozymes (Prakash et al, 1969) Data retrieved from electrophoretic gels consist of the number and relative mobilities of various enzyme products, which with appropriate genetic analyses become transformed into single or multilocus genotypes for each individual analyzed Reasons are many for the popularity of electrophoretic data (Avise, 1975; Gottlieb, 1977; Crawford, 1983), but foremost among these is that isozymes provide a series of readily scored, single-gene markers

Visualization and Interpretation of Plant Isozymes

Starch retrogradation is a process in which disaggregated amylose and amylopectin chains in a gelatinized starch paste reassociate to form more ordered structures. Starch retrogradation has been the subject of intensive research over the last 50 years, mainly due to its detrimental effect on the sensory and storage qualities of many starchy foods. However, starch retrogadation is desirable for some starchy food products in terms of textural and nutritional properties. To better understand the effect of starch retrogradation on the quality of starchy foods, measurement methods of starch retrogradation and factors that influence starch retrogradation have been studied extensively. This article provides a comprehensive review of starch retrogradation including the definition of the process, molecular mechanisms of how it occurs, and measurement methods and factors that influence starch retrogradation. The review also discusses the effect of retrogradation on the in vitro enzyme digestibility of starch. Spectroscopic methods such as FTIR and Raman are considered to be very promising in characterizing starch retrogradation at a molecular level, although more studies are needed in the future.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1541-4337.12143

Starch retrogradation: a comprehensive review

Global demand for macroalgal and microalgal foods is growing, and algae are increasingly being consumed for functional benefits beyond the traditional considerations of nutrition and health. There is substantial evidence for the health benefits of algal-derived food products, but there remain considerable challenges in quantifying these benefits, as well as possible adverse effects. First, there is a limited understanding of nutritional composition across algal species, geographical regions, and seasons, all of which can substantially affect their dietary value. The second issue is quantifying which fractions of algal foods are bioavailable to humans, and which factors influence how food constituents are released, ranging from food preparation through genetic differentiation in the gut microbiome. Third is understanding how algal nutritional and functional constituents interact in human metabolism. Superimposed considerations are the effects of harvesting, storage, and food processing techniques that can dramatically influence the potential nutritive value of algal-derived foods. We highlight this rapidly advancing area of algal science with a particular focus on the key research required to assess better the health benefits of an alga or algal product. There are rich opportunities for phycologists in this emerging field, requiring exciting new experimental and collaborative approaches.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10811-016-0974-5.pdf

Algae as nutritional and functional food sources: revisiting our understanding

Carbon-13 NMR studies of flavonoids. III. Naturally occurring flavonoid glycosides and their acylated derivatives

Form and functionality of starch

Starch is the most important glycemic carbohydrate in foods. The relationship between the rate and extent of starch digestion to produce glucose for absorption into the bloodstream and risk factors for diet-related diseases is of considerable nutritional interest. Native starch is attacked slowly by enzymes, but after hydrothermal processing its susceptibility to enzymatic breakdown is greatly increased. Most starch consumed by humans has undergone some form of processing or cooking, which causes native starch granules to gelatinize, followed by retrogradation on cooling. The extent of gelatinization and retrogradation are major determinants of the susceptibility of starch to enzymatic digestion and its functional properties for food processing. The type and extent of changes that occur in starch as a result of gelatinization, pasting and retrogradation are determined by the type of the starch, processing and storage conditions. A mechanistic understanding of the molecular disassembly of starch granules during gelatinization is critical to explaining the effects of processing or cooking on starch digestibility. This review focuses on the molecular disassembly of starch granules during starch gelatinization over a wide range of water levels, and its consequential effect on in vitro starch digestibility and in vivo glycemic index.

Molecular disassembly of starch granules during gelatinization and its effect on starch digestibility: a review.

Pasting and swelling properties of wheat flour and starch in relation to amylose content

Neanderthals disappeared sometime between 30,000 and 24,000 years ago. Until recently, Neanderthals were understood to have been predominantly meat-eaters; however, a growing body of evidence suggests their diet also included plants. We present the results of a study, in which sequential thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) were combined with morphological analysis of plant microfossils, to identify material entrapped in dental calculus from five Neanderthal individuals from the north Spanish site of El Sidron. Our results provide the first molecular evidence for inhalation of wood-fire smoke and bitumen or oil shale and ingestion of a range of cooked plant foods. We also offer the first evidence for the use of medicinal plants by a Neanderthal individual. The varied use of plants that we have identified suggests that the Neanderthal occupants of El Sidron had a sophisticated knowledge of their natural surroundings which included the ability to select and use certain plants.

Les Copeland

Papers

Starch retrogradation: a comprehensive review

Form and functionality of starch

Molecular disassembly of starch granules during gelatinization and its effect on starch digestibility: a review.

Pasting and swelling properties of wheat flour and starch in relation to amylose content

Neanderthal medics? Evidence for food, cooking, and medicinal plants entrapped in dental calculus