@misc{GaertnerSteinfathAndorfetal.2009,
  author    = {G{\"a}rtner, Tanja and Steinfath, Matthias and Andorf, Sandra and Lisec, Jan and Meyer, Rhonda C. and Altmann, Thomas and Willmitzer, Lothar and Selbig, Joachim},
  title     = {Improved heterosis prediction by combining information on DNA- and metabolic markers},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45132},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Background: Hybrids represent a cornerstone in the success story of breeding programs. The fundamental principle underlying this success is the phenomenon of hybrid vigour, or heterosis. It describes an advantage of the offspring as compared to the two parental lines with respect to parameters such as growth and resistance against abiotic or biotic stress. Dominance, overdominance or epistasis based models are commonly used explanations. Conclusion/Significance: The heterosis level is clearly a function of the combination of the parents used for offspring production. This results in a major challenge for plant breeders, as usually several thousand combinations of parents have to be tested for identifying the best combinations. Thus, any approach to reliably predict heterosis levels based on properties of the parental lines would be highly beneficial for plant breeding. Methodology/Principal Findings: Recently, genetic data have been used to predict heterosis. Here we show that a combination of parental genetic and metabolic markers, identified via feature selection and minimum-description-length based regression methods, significantly improves the prediction of biomass heterosis in resulting offspring. These findings will help furthering our understanding of the molecular basis of heterosis, revealing, for instance, the presence of nonlinear genotype-phenotype relationships. In addition, we describe a possible approach for accelerated selection in plant breeding.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{DurekSchudomaWeckwerthetal.2009,
  author    = {Durek, Pawel and Schudoma, Christian and Weckwerth, Wolfram and Selbig, Joachim and Walther, Dirk},
  title     = {Detection and characterization of 3D-signature phosphorylation site motifs and their contribution towards improved phosphorylation site prediction in proteins},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45129},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Background: Phosphorylation of proteins plays a crucial role in the regulation and activation of metabolic and signaling pathways and constitutes an important target for pharmaceutical intervention. Central to the phosphorylation process is the recognition of specific target sites by protein kinases followed by the covalent attachment of phosphate groups to the amino acids serine, threonine, or tyrosine. The experimental identification as well as computational prediction of phosphorylation sites (P-sites) has proved to be a challenging problem. Computational methods have focused primarily on extracting predictive features from the local, one-dimensional sequence information surrounding phosphorylation sites. Results: We characterized the spatial context of phosphorylation sites and assessed its usability for improved phosphorylation site predictions. We identified 750 non-redundant, experimentally verified sites with three-dimensional (3D) structural information available in the protein data bank (PDB) and grouped them according to their respective kinase family. We studied the spatial distribution of amino acids around phosphorserines, phosphothreonines, and phosphotyrosines to extract signature 3D-profiles. Characteristic spatial distributions of amino acid residue types around phosphorylation sites were indeed discernable, especially when kinase-family-specific target sites were analyzed. To test the added value of using spatial information for the computational prediction of phosphorylation sites, Support Vector Machines were applied using both sequence as well as structural information. When compared to sequence-only based prediction methods, a small but consistent performance improvement was obtained when the prediction was informed by 3D-context information. Conclusion: While local one-dimensional amino acid sequence information was observed to harbor most of the discriminatory power, spatial context information was identified as relevant for the recognition of kinases and their cognate target sites and can be used for an improved prediction of phosphorylation sites. A web-based service (Phos3D) implementing the developed structurebased P-site prediction method has been made available at http://phos3d.mpimp-golm.mpg.de.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{SchroederLissoLangeetal.2009,
  author    = {Schr{\"o}der, Florian and Lisso, Janina and Lange, Peggy and M{\"u}ssig, Carsten},
  title     = {The extracellular EXO protein mediates cell expansion in Arabidopsis leaves},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45107},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Background: The EXO (EXORDIUM) gene was identified as a potential mediator of brassinosteroid (BR)-promoted growth. It is part of a gene family with eight members in Arabidopsis. EXO gene expression is under control of BR, and EXO overexpression promotes shoot and root growth. In this study, the consequences of loss of EXO function are described. Results: The exo loss of function mutant showed diminished leaf and root growth and reduced biomass production. Light and scanning electron microscopy analyses revealed that impaired leaf growth is due to reduced cell expansion. Epidermis, palisade, and spongy parenchyma cells were smaller in comparison to the wild-type. The exo mutant showed reduced brassinolide-induced cotyledon and hypocotyl growth. In contrast, exo roots were significantly more sensitive to the inhibitory effect of synthetic brassinolide. Apart from reduced growth, exo did not show severe morphological abnormalities. Gene expression analyses of leaf material identified genes that showed robust EXO-dependent expression. Growth-related genes such as WAK1, EXP5, and KCS1, and genes involved in primary and secondary metabolism showed weaker expression in exo than in wild-type plants. However, the vast majority of BR-regulated genes were normally expressed in exo. HA- and GFP-tagged EXO proteins were targeted to the apoplast. Conclusion: The EXO gene is essential for cell expansion in leaves. Gene expression patterns and growth assays suggest that EXO mediates BR-induced leaf growth. However, EXO does not control BR-levels or BR-sensitivity in the shoot. EXO presumably is involved in a signalling process which coordinates BR-responses with environmental or developmental signals. The hypersensitivity of exo roots to BR suggests that EXO plays a diverse role in the control of BR responses in the root.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{SzarzynskaSobkowiakPantetal.2009,
  author    = {Szarzynska, Bogna and Sobkowiak, Lukasz and Pant, Bikram Datt and Balazadeh, Salma and Scheible, Wolf-R{\"u}diger and M{\"u}ller-R{\"o}ber, Bernd and Jarmolowski, Artur and Szweykowska-Kulinska, Zofia},
  title     = {Gene structures and processing of Arabidopsis thaliana HYL1-dependent pri-miRNAs},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45085},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Arabidopsis thaliana HYL1 is a nuclear doublestranded RNA-binding protein involved in the maturation of pri-miRNAs. A quantitative real-time PCR platform for parallel quantification of 176 primiRNAs was used to reveal strong accumulation of 57 miRNA precursors in the hyl1 mutant that completely lacks HYL1 protein. This approach enabled us for the first time to pinpoint particular members of MIRNA family genes that require HYL1 activity for efficient maturation of their precursors. Moreover, the accumulation of miRNA precursors in the hyl1 mutant gave us the opportunity to carry out 3' and 5' RACE experiments which revealed that some of these precursors are of unexpected length. The alignment of HYL1- dependent miRNA precursors to A. thaliana genomic sequences indicated the presence of introns in 12 out of 20 genes studied. Some of the characterized intron-containing pri-miRNAs undergo alternative splicing such as exon skipping or usage of alternative 5' splice sites suggesting that this process plays a role in the regulation of miRNA biogenesis. In the hyl1 mutant intron-containing pri-miRNAs accumulate alongside spliced primiRNAs suggesting the recruitment of HYL1 into the miRNA precursor maturation pathway before their splicing occurs.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{RianoPachonNagelNeigenfindetal.2009,
  author    = {Riano-Pachon, Diego Mauricio and Nagel, Axel and Neigenfind, Jost and Wagner, Robert and Basekow, Rico and Weber, Elke and M{\"u}ller-R{\"o}ber, Bernd and Diehl, Svenja and Kersten, Birgit},
  title     = {GabiPD : the GABI primary database - a plant integrative "omics" database},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45075},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {The GABI Primary Database, GabiPD (http:// www.gabipd.org/), was established in the frame of the German initiative for Genome Analysis of the Plant Biological System (GABI). The goal of GabiPD is to collect, integrate, analyze and visualize primary information from GABI projects. GabiPD constitutes a repository and analysis platform for a wide array of heterogeneous data from high-throughput experiments in several plant species. Data from different 'omics' fronts are incorporated (i.e. genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics), originating from 14 different model or crop species. We have developed the concept of GreenCards for textbased retrieval of all data types in GabiPD (e.g. clones, genes, mutant lines). All data types point to a central Gene GreenCard, where gene information is integrated from genome projects or NCBI UniGene sets. The centralized Gene GreenCard allows visualizing ESTs aligned to annotated transcripts as well as displaying identified protein domains and gene structure. Moreover, GabiPD makes available interactive genetic maps from potato and barley, and protein 2DE gels from Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus. Gene expression and metabolic-profiling data can be visualized through MapManWeb. By the integration of complex data in a framework of existing knowledge, GabiPD provides new insights and allows for new interpretations of the data.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{SchumannTeraoGarattinietal.2009,
  author    = {Schumann, Silvia and Terao, Mineko and Garattini, Enrico and Saggu, Miguel and Lendzian, Friedhelm and Hildebrandt, Peter and Leimk{\"u}hler, Silke},
  title     = {Site directed mutagenesis of amino acid residues at the active site of mouse aldehyde oxidase AOX1},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45030},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Mouse aldehyde oxidase (mAOX1) forms a homodimer and belongs to the xanthine oxidase family of molybdoenzymes which are characterized by an essential equatorial sulfur ligand coordinated to the molybdenum atom. In general, mammalian AOs are characterized by broad substrate specificity and an yet obscure physiological function. To define the physiological substrates and the enzymatic characteristics of mAOX1, we established a system for the heterologous expression of the enzyme in Eschericia coli. The recombinant protein showed spectral features and a range of substrate specificity similar to the native protein purified from mouse liver. The EPR data of recombinant mAOX1 were similar to those of AO from rabbit liver, but differed from the homologous xanthine oxidoreductase enzymes. Site-directed mutagenesis of amino acids Val806, Met884 and Glu1265 at the active site resulted in a drastic decrease in the oxidation of aldehydes with no increase in the oxidation of purine substrates. The double mutant V806E/M884R and the single mutant E1265Q were catalytically inactive enzymes regardless of the aldehyde or purine substrates tested. Our results show that only Glu1265 is essential for the catalytic activity by initiating the base-catalyzed mechanism of substrate oxidation. In addition, it is concluded that the substrate specificity of molybdo-flavoenzymes is more complex and not only defined by the three characterized amino acids in the active site.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{KuglerKoehlerPalmeetal.2009,
  author    = {Kugler, Annette and K{\"o}hler, Barbara and Palme, Klaus and Wolff, Patricia and Dietrich, Petra},
  title     = {Salt-dependent regulation of a CNG channel subfamily in Arabidopsis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45019},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Background: In Arabidopsis thaliana, the family of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGCs) is composed of 20 members. Previous studies indicate that plant CNGCs are involved in the control of growth processes and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. According to their proposed function as cation entry pathways these channels contribute to cellular cation homeostasis, including calcium and sodium, as well as to stress-related signal transduction. Here, we studied the expression patterns and regulation of CNGC19 and CNGC20, which constitute one of the five CNGC subfamilies. Results: GUS, GFP and luciferase reporter assays were used to study the expression of CNGC19 and CNGC20 genes from Arabidopsis thaliana in response to developmental cues and salt stress. CNGC19 and CNGC20 were differentially expressed in roots and shoots. The CNGC19 gene was predominantly active in roots already at early growth stages. Major expression was observed in the phloem. CNGC20 showed highest promoter activity in mesophyll cells surrounding the veins. Its expression increased during development and was maximal in mature and senescent leaves. Both genes were upregulated in the shoot in response to elevated NaCl but not mannitol concentrations. While in the root, CNGC19 did not respond to changes in the salt concentration, in the shoot it was strongly upregulated in the observed time frame (6-72 hours). Salt-induction of CNGC20 was also observed in the shoot, starting already one hour after stress treatment. It occurred with similar kinetics, irrespective of whether NaCl was applied to roots of intact plants or to the petiole of detached leaves. No differences in K and Na contents of the shoots were measured in homozygous T-DNA insertion lines for CNGC19 and CNGC20, respectively, which developed a growth phenotype in the presence of up to 75 mM NaCl similar to that of the wild type. Conclusion: Together, the results strongly suggest that both channels are involved in the salinity response of different cell types in the shoot. Upon salinity both genes are upregulated within hours. CNGC19 and CNGC20 could assist the plant to cope with toxic effects caused by salt stress, probably by contributing to a re-allocation of sodium within the plant.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{ZhangIgnatova2009,
  author    = {Zhang, Gong and Ignatova, Zoya},
  title     = {Generic algorithm to predict the speed of translational elongation : implications for protein biogenesis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-45007},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Synonymous codon usage and variations in the level of isoaccepting tRNAs exert a powerful selective force on translation fidelity. We have developed an algorithm to evaluate the relative rate of translation which allows large-scale comparisons of the non-uniform translation rate on the protein biogenesis. Using the complete genomes of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis we show that stretches of codons pairing to minor tRNAs form putative sites to locally attenuate translation; thereby the tendency is to cluster in near proximity whereas long contiguous stretches of slow-translating triplets are avoided. The presence of slow-translating segments positively correlates with the protein length irrespective of the protein abundance. The slow-translating clusters are predominantly located down-stream of the domain boundaries presumably to fine-tune translational accuracy with the folding fidelity of multidomain proteins. Translation attenuation patterns at highly structurally and functionally conserved domains are preserved across the species suggesting a concerted selective pressure on the codon selection and species-specific tRNA abundance in these regions.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{KartalEbenhoeh2009,
  author    = {Kartal, {\"O}nder and Ebenh{\"o}h, Oliver},
  title     = {Ground state robustness as an evolutionary design principle in signaling networks},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-44982},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {The ability of an organism to survive depends on its capability to adapt to external conditions. In addition to metabolic versatility and efficient replication, reliable signal transduction is essential. As signaling systems are under permanent evolutionary pressure one may assume that their structure reflects certain functional properties. However, despite promising theoretical studies in recent years, the selective forces which shape signaling network topologies in general remain unclear. Here, we propose prevention of autoactivation as one possible evolutionary design principle. A generic framework for continuous kinetic models is used to derive topological implications of demanding a dynamically stable ground state in signaling systems. To this end graph theoretical methods are applied. The index of the underlying digraph is shown to be a key topological property which determines the so-called kinetic ground state (or off-state) robustness. The kinetic robustness depends solely on the composition of the subdigraph with the strongly connected components, which comprise all positive feedbacks in the network. The component with the highest index in the feedback family is shown to dominate the kinetic robustness of the whole network, whereas relative size and girth of these motifs are emphasized as important determinants of the component index. Moreover, depending on topological features, the maintenance of robustness differs when networks are faced with structural perturbations. This structural off-state robustness, defined as the average kinetic robustness of a network's neighborhood, turns out to be useful since some structural features are neutral towards kinetic robustness, but show up to be supporting against structural perturbations. Among these are a low connectivity, a high divergence and a low path sum. All results are tested against real signaling networks obtained from databases. The analysis suggests that ground state robustness may serve as a rationale for some structural peculiarities found in intracellular signaling networks.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{EbenhoehHandorf2009,
  author    = {Ebenh{\"o}h, Oliver and Handorf, Thomas},
  title     = {Functional classification of genome-scale metabolic networks},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-44975},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {We propose two strategies to characterize organisms with respect to their metabolic capabilities. The first, investigative, strategy describes metabolic networks in terms of their capability to utilize different carbon sources, resulting in the concept of carbon utilization spectra. In the second, predictive, approach minimal nutrient combinations are predicted from the structure of the metabolic networks, resulting in a characteristic nutrient profile. Both strategies allow for a quantification of functional properties of metabolic networks, allowing to identify groups of organisms with similar functions. We investigate whether the functional description reflects the typical environments of the corresponding organisms by dividing all species into disjoint groups based on whether they are aerotolerant and/or photosynthetic. Despite differences in the underlying concepts, both measures display some common features. Closely related organisms often display a similar functional behavior and in both cases the functional measures appear to correlate with the considered classes of environments. Carbon utilization spectra and nutrient profiles are complementary approaches toward a functional classification of organism-wide metabolic networks. Both approaches contain different information and thus yield different clusterings, which are both different from the classical taxonomy of organisms. Our results indicate that a sophisticated combination of our approaches will allow for a quantitative description reflecting the lifestyles of organisms.},
  language  = {en}
}