@phdthesis{Belkius2017, author = {Belkius, Karolina Dorota}, title = {Systems biology approach to investigate the development and degradation of the photosynthetic apparatus during leaf ontogenesis in higher plants}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {121}, year = {2017}, language = {en} } @article{MachensBalazadehMuellerRoeberetal.2017, author = {Machens, Fabian and Balazadeh, Salma and M{\"u}ller-R{\"o}ber, Bernd and Messerschmidt, Katrin}, title = {Synthetic Promoters and Transcription Factors for Heterologous Protein Expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae}, series = {Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology}, volume = {5}, journal = {Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {2296-4185}, doi = {10.3389/fbioe.2017.00063}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Orthogonal systems for heterologous protein expression as well as for the engineering of synthetic gene regulatory circuits in hosts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae depend on synthetic transcription factors (synTFs) and corresponding cis-regulatory binding sites. We have constructed and characterized a set of synTFs based on either transcription activator-like effectors or CRISPR/Cas9, and corresponding small synthetic promoters (synPs) with minimal sequence identity to the host's endogenous promoters. The resulting collection of functional synTF/synP pairs confers very low background expression under uninduced conditions, while expression output upon induction of the various synTFs covers a wide range and reaches induction factors of up to 400. The broad spectrum of expression strengths that is achieved will be useful for various experimental setups, e.g., the transcriptional balancing of expression levels within heterologous pathways or the construction of artificial regulatory networks. Furthermore, our analyses reveal simple rules that enable the tuning of synTF expression output, thereby allowing easy modification of a given synTF/synP pair. This will make it easier for researchers to construct tailored transcriptional control systems.}, language = {en} } @misc{RomaoCoelhoSantosSilvaetal.2017, author = {Romao, Maria Joao and Coelho, Catarina and Santos-Silva, Teresa and Foti, Alessandro and Terao, Mineko and Garattini, Enrico and Leimk{\"u}hler, Silke}, title = {Structural basis for the role of mammalian aldehyde oxidases in the metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics}, series = {Current Opinion in Chemical Biology}, volume = {37}, journal = {Current Opinion in Chemical Biology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {1367-5931}, doi = {10.1016/j.cbpa.2017.01.005}, pages = {39 -- 47}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Aldehyde oxidases (AOXs) are molybdo-flavoenzymes characterized by broad substrate specificity, oxidizing aromatic/aliphatic aldehydes into the corresponding carboxylic acids and hydroxylating various heteroaromatic rings. Mammals are characterized by a complement of species specific AOX isoenzymes, that varies from one in humans (AOX1) to four in rodents (AOX1, AOX2, AOX3 and AOX4). The physiological function of mammalian AOX isoenzymes is unknown, although human AOX1 is an emerging enzyme in phase-I drug metabolism. Indeed, the number of therapeutic molecules under development which act as AOX substrates is increasing. The recent crystallization and structure determination of human AOX1 as well as mouse AOX3 has brought new insights into the mechanisms underlying substrate/inhibitor binding as well as the catalytic activity of this class of enzymes.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Bremer2017, author = {Bremer, Anne}, title = {Structural and functional characterization of three closely related intrinsically disordered proteins from the model plant Arabidopsiis thaliana}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {86}, year = {2017}, language = {en} } @article{NietzscheGuerraAlseekhetal.2017, author = {Nietzsche, Madlen and Guerra, Tiziana and Alseekh, Saleh and Wiermer, Marcel and Sonnewald, Sophia and Fernie, Alisdair R. and B{\"o}rnke, Frederik}, title = {STOREKEEPER RELATED1/G-Element Binding Protein (STKR1) Interacts with Protein Kinase SnRK1}, series = {Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants}, volume = {176}, journal = {Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Society of Plant Physiologists}, address = {Rockville}, issn = {0032-0889}, doi = {10.1104/pp.17.01461}, pages = {1773 -- 1792}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Sucrose nonfermenting related kinase1 (SnRK1) is a conserved energy sensor kinase that regulates cellular adaptation to energy deficit in plants. Activation of SnRK1 leads to the down-regulation of ATP-consuming biosynthetic processes and the stimulation of energy-generating catabolic reactions by transcriptional reprogramming and posttranslational modifications. Although considerable progress has been made during the last years in understanding the SnRK1 signaling pathway, many of its components remain unidentified. Here, we show that the catalytic alpha-subunits KIN10 and KIN11 of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SnRK1 complex interact with the STOREKEEPER RELATED1/G-Element Binding Protein (STKR1) inside the plant cell nucleus. Overexpression of STKR1 in transgenic Arabidopsis plants led to reduced growth, a delay in flowering, and strongly attenuated senescence. Metabolite profiling revealed that the transgenic lines exhausted their carbohydrates during the dark period to a greater extent than the wild type and accumulated a range of amino acids. At the global transcriptome level, genes affected by STKR1 overexpression were broadly associated with systemic acquired resistance, and transgenic plants showed enhanced resistance toward a virulent strain of the biotrophic oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis Noco2. We discuss a possible connection of STKR1 function, SnRK1 signaling, and plant immunity.}, language = {en} } @article{PerillonPoeschkeLewandowskietal.2017, author = {P{\´e}rillon, C{\´e}cile and P{\"o}schke, Franziska and Lewandowski, J{\"o}rg and Hupfer, Michael and Hilt, Sabine}, title = {Stimulation of epiphyton growth by lacustrine groundwater discharge to an oligo-mesotrophic hard-water lake}, series = {Freshwater Science}, volume = {36}, journal = {Freshwater Science}, publisher = {Univ. of Chicago Press}, address = {Chicago}, issn = {2161-9549}, doi = {10.1086/692832}, pages = {555 -- 570}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Periphyton is a major contributor to aquatic primary production and often competes with phytoplankton and submerged macrophytes for resources. In nutrient-limited environments, mobilization of sediment nutrients by groundwater can significantly affect periphyton (including epiphyton) development in shallow littoral zones and may affect other lake primary producers. We hypothesized that epiphyton growth in the littoral zone of temperate oligomesotrophic hard-water lakes could be stimulated by nutrient (especially P) supply via lacustrine groundwater discharge (LGD). We compared the dry mass, chlorophyll a (chl a), and nutrient content of epiphyton grown on artificial substrates at different sites in a groundwater-fed lake and in experimental chambers with and without LGD. During the spring-summer periods, epiphyton accumulated more biomass, especially algae, in littoral LGD sites and in experimental chambers with LGD compared to controls without LGD. Epiphyton chl a accumulation reached up to 46 mg chl a/m(2) after 4 wk when exposed to LGD, compared to a maximum of 23 mg chl a/m(2) at control (C) sites. In the field survey, differences in epiphyton biomass between LGD and C sites were most pronounced at the end of summer, when epilimnetic P concentrations were lowest and epiphyton C:P ratios indicated P limitation. Groundwater-borne P may have facilitated epiphyton growth on macrophytes and periphyton growth on littoral sediments. Epiphyton stored up to 35 mg P/m(2) in 4 wk (which corresponds to 13\% of the total P content of the littoral waters), preventing its use by phytoplankton, and possibly contributing to the stabilization of a clear-water state. However, promotion of epiphyton growth by LGD may have contributed to an observed decline in macrophyte abundance caused by epiphyton shading and a decreased resilience of small charophytes to drag forces in shallow littoral areas of the studied lake in recent decades.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Heim2017, author = {Heim, Olga}, title = {Spatiotemporal effects on bat activity above intensively managed farmland}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {ii, 150}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Intakte und widerstandsf{\"a}hige {\"O}kosysteme sind essenziell f{\"u}r die Aufrechterhaltung optimaler Lebensbedingungen f{\"u}r das Leben auf der Erde. Die Basis f{\"u}r solche {\"O}kosysteme bilden intakte {\"o}kologische Wechselwirkungen zwischen einer Vielzahl von Arten. Durch den beispiellosen Verlust der Biodiversit{\"a}t, welcher durch die in der zweiten H{\"a}lfte des 20. Jahrhunderts zunehmende Intensivierung der Agrarwirtschaft und die Zerst{\"o}rung und Fragmentierung von Habitaten hervorgerufen wurde, k{\"o}nnen {\"o}kologische Wechselwirkungen und damit die Funktionsf{\"a}higkeit von Agrar{\"o}kosystemen stark eingeschr{\"a}nkt werden. Um den R{\"u}ckgang der Biodiversit{\"a}t in Agrar{\"o}kosystemen abschw{\"a}chen zu k{\"o}nnen, m{\"u}ssen wir die {\"o}kologischen Wechselwirkungen in Agrar{\"o}kosystemen besser verstehen. Hierbei spielen Flederm{\"a}use eine besondere Rolle, weil sie verschiedenste {\"o}kologische Nischen besetzen und eine Reihe von {\"O}kosystemleistungen erf{\"u}llen so wie z.B. die Kontrolle von Sch{\"a}dlingspopulationen in Agrarlandschaften. {\"U}berdies tr{\"a}gt die Ordnung der Flederm{\"a}use (Chiroptera) betr{\"a}chtlich zur globalen Diversit{\"a}t der S{\"a}ugetiere bei. Obwohl viele Fledermauspopulationen durch die Intensivierung der Agrarwirtschaft dezimiert wurden, ist noch relativ wenig dar{\"u}ber bekannt wie unterschiedliche Fledermausarten die offene Agrarlandschaft nutzen. Dieses Wissen ist jedoch essenziell f{\"u}r den Schutz von Fledermausarten in intensiv bewirtschafteten Agrarlandschaften und dringend notwendig besonders vor dem Hintergrund der vorhergesagten erweiterten Ausweitung der intensiven Agrarwirtschaft. Zus{\"a}tzlich werden Flederm{\"a}use durch den zuletzt massiven Ausbau von Windkraftanlagen, welche f{\"u}r viele Vogel- und Fledermausarten ein erh{\"o}htes T{\"o}tungsrisiko darstellen, bedroht. Das Ziel dieser Dissertation war es deshalb, die Einfl{\"u}sse ausgew{\"a}hlter raum-zeitlicher Faktoren auf die artspezifische Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t {\"u}ber intensiv genutzten Agrarfl{\"a}chen in einer von Agrarwirtschaft dominierten Landschaft zu untersuchen. Dazu habe ich die Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t mittels passiver akustischer Echoortungsaufnahme in den Jahren 2012 bis 2014 auf insgesamt 113 Untersuchungsfl{\"a}chen in offenen Ackerfl{\"a}chen im Nordosten Brandenburgs erfasst. Die Echoortungsrufe in etwa 27.779 Aufnahmen habe ich manuell bis auf die Art bestimmt und die berechneten artspezifischen Aktivit{\"a}tsparameter mit Hilfe von komplexen statistischen Verfahren untersucht. Im ersten Kapitel dieser Arbeit, habe ich die berechneten Aktivit{\"a}tsparameter von {\"o}kologisch unterschiedlichen Fledermausgruppen auf saisonale Muster hin untersucht. Dabei war ich besonders an Unterschieden zu den bekannten saisonalen Aktivit{\"a}tsmustern in naturnahen Habitaten interessiert. Im zweiten Kapitel dieser Arbeit, habe ich den Einfluss von linearen Geh{\"o}lzstrukturen am Feldrand und von kleinen Wasserfl{\"a}chen (S{\"o}llen) innerhalb von Ackerfl{\"a}chen auf die Flug- und Jagdaktivit{\"a}t verschiedener Fledermausarten {\"u}ber diesen Fl{\"a}chen untersucht. Zus{\"a}tzlich war ich daran interessiert, ob sich etwaige Effekte dieser Landschaftselemente auf die Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t im Laufe des Jahres ver{\"a}ndern. Im dritten Kapitel dieser Arbeit war es mein Ziel den Zusammenhang zwischen unterschiedlichen r{\"a}umlichen und zeitlichen Einfl{\"u}ssen auf die artspezifische Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t {\"u}ber offenen Agrarfl{\"a}chen zu untersuchen. Dabei habe ich meine Untersuchungen auf Faktoren fokussiert, die daf{\"u}r bekannt sind Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t zu beeinflussen, wie z.B. Faktoren auf kleinr{\"a}umiger Skala, die mit der Beuteverf{\"u}gbarkeit zusammenh{\"a}ngen, und verschiedene Landschaftscharakteristika auf großr{\"a}umiger Skala. Auf der zeitlichen Skala, habe ich mich auf den Einfluss der Saison konzentriert. Zusammenfassend heben die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit die Wichtigkeit naturnaher Landschaftselemente f{\"u}r die Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t {\"u}ber Agrarfl{\"a}chen hervor. Allerdings war nicht nur die Landschaftsstruktur f{\"u}r die Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t {\"u}ber Ackerfl{\"a}chen ausschlaggebend, sondern auch der Einfluss von interaktiven Effekten zwischen z.B. Landschaftscharakteristika und der lokalen Beuteverf{\"u}gbarkeit. Ein weiteres Kernergebnis ist die saisonale Variabilit{\"a}t des Einflusses der Landschaftsstruktur auf die Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t. Hierbei hatten bestimmte Landschaftselemente vor allem im Sommer einen großen Einfluss auf die Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t. Das Potenzial der {\"O}kosystemleistung durch spezifische Fledermausarten, welches wiederholt in den unterschiedlichen Kapiteln hervorgehoben wurde, ist ein weiteres Kernergebnis. Da die Fledermausaktivit{\"a}t jedoch stark von der Landschaftsstruktur in der Umgebung abh{\"a}ngt, ist es wichtig diese fledermausfreundlich zu gestalten, um die {\"O}kosystemleistung der Sch{\"a}dlingskontrolle {\"u}ber Agrarfl{\"a}chen nutzen zu k{\"o}nnen. Schlussendlich tr{\"a}gt diese Arbeit in ihrer Gesamtheit zum bestehenden Wissen {\"u}ber die Fledermausbiologie und -{\"o}kologie bei und verdeutlicht die komplexen Wechselwirkungen unterschiedlicher Einfl{\"u}sse auf mehreren raum-zeitlichen Ebenen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit k{\"o}nnen als Basis zur Verbesserung und Entwicklung von Schutzmaßnahmen f{\"u}r Flederm{\"a}use in intensiv genutzten Agrarlandschaften dienen. Da Flederm{\"a}use als gute Bioindikatoren gelten, k{\"o}nnen effektive Schutzmaßnahmen f{\"u}r Flederm{\"a}use auch zum Schutz anderer Arten beitragen und damit potenziell den weiteren Verlust der Biodiversit{\"a}t in Agrarlandschaften abschw{\"a}chen.}, language = {en} } @article{BentsRybakGroth2017, author = {Bents, Dominik and Rybak, Alexander and Groth, Detlef}, title = {Spatial conscript body height correlation of Norwegian districts in the 19th century}, series = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {74}, journal = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {1}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2017/0700}, pages = {65 -- 69}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: We investigated height of Norwegian conscripts in view of the hypothesis of a "community effect on height" using autocorrelation analysis of district heights within a time-span of 20 years at the end of the 19th century and correlations between neighboring districts at this time. Material and methods: After digitalizing available body height data of Norwegian draftees in 1877-1878, 1880 (averaged as 1878), and 1895-1897 (averaged as 1896) we calculated the magnitude of autocorrelation of body height within the same municipality at different time points. Furthermore, we generated three different neighborhood networks, (1) based on Euclidean distances, (2) a minimum spanning tree build on those distances, (3) a network founded on real world road connections. The networks were used to determine the correlation between body height of neighboring districts depending on the number of edges required to connect two municipalities. Results: The autocorrelation value for body heights was around r = 0.5 (for all p < 0.001) in the years 1878 and 1896. The correlation between neighboring districts varied in the Euclidean distance based network between 0.47 and 0.27 approximately for both years in a sorted order, descending from nearest (0-50 km) to farthest (150-200 km, for all p < 0.001). First order neighbors in the minimum spanning tree network correlation was 0.36 in 1878 and 0.42 in 1896 (for all p < 0.001). The values of neighbor correlation in the road connection based network ranged in 1878 from 0.42 (first order neighbors) to 0.17 (forth order neighbors, for all p < 0.01) and in 1896 from 0.46 (first order neighbors) to 0.12 (forth order neighbors, for all p < 0.05). Conclusion: This initial study of Norwegian conscript height data from the 19th century showed significant medium sized effects for the within district autocorrelation between 1878 and 1896 as well as medium neighborhood correlation, slightly lower in comparison to a recent study regarding Swiss conscripts. Digitalizing more data from other years in this and later time spans as well as using older road and ship connections instead of the actual road data might stabilize and improve those findings.}, language = {en} } @article{MummCzernitzkiBentsetal.2017, author = {Mumm, Rebekka and Czernitzki, Anna-Franziska and Bents, Dominik and Musalek, Martin}, title = {Socioeconomic situation and growth in infants and juveniles}, series = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {74}, journal = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2017/0706}, pages = {101 -- 107}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: Physical growth of children and adolescents depends on the interaction of genetic and environmental factors e.g. diet and living conditions. Aim: We aim to discuss the influence of socioeconomic situation, using income inequality and GDP per capita as indicators, on body height, body weight and the variability of height and weight in infants and juveniles. Material and methods: We re-analyzed data from 439 growth studies on height and weight published during the last 35 years. We added year-and country-matched GDP per capita (in current US\$) and the Gini coefficient for each study. The data were divided into two age groups: infants (age 2) and juveniles (age 7). We used Pearson correlation and principal component analysis to investigate the data. Results: Gini coefficient negatively correlated with body height and body weight in infants and juveniles. GDP per capita showed a positive correlation with height and weight in both age groups. In infants the standard deviation of height increases with increasing Gini coefficient. The opposite is true for juveniles. A correlation of weight variability and socioeconomic indicators is absent in infants. In juveniles the variability of weight increases with declining Gini coefficient and increasing logGDP per capita. Discussion: Poverty and income inequality are generally associated with poor growth in height and weight. The analysis of the within-population height and weight variations however, shows that the associations between wealth, income, and anthropometric parameters are very complex and cannot be explained by common wisdom. They point towards an independent regulation of height and weight.}, language = {en} } @article{SchaeferMenzJeltschetal.2017, author = {Sch{\"a}fer, Merlin and Menz, Stephan and Jeltsch, Florian and Zurell, Damaris}, title = {sOAR: a tool for modelling optimal animal life-history strategies in cyclic environments}, series = {Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology ; research papers forum}, volume = {41}, journal = {Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology ; research papers forum}, number = {3}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0906-7590}, doi = {10.1111/ecog.03328}, pages = {551 -- 557}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Periodic environments determine the life cycle of many animals across the globe and the timing of important life history events, such as reproduction and migration. These adaptive behavioural strategies are complex and can only be fully understood (and predicted) within the framework of natural selection in which species adopt evolutionary stable strategies. We present sOAR, a powerful and user-friendly implementation of the well-established framework of optimal annual routine modelling. It allows determining optimal animal life history strategies under cyclic environmental conditions using stochastic dynamic programming. It further includes the simulation of population dynamics under the optimal strategy. sOAR provides an important tool for theoretical studies on the behavioural and evolutionary ecology of animals. It is especially suited for studying bird migration. In particular, we integrated options to differentiate between costs of active and passive flight into the optimal annual routine modelling framework, as well as options to consider periodic wind conditions affecting flight energetics. We provide an illustrative example of sOAR where food supply in the wintering habitat of migratory birds significantly alters the optimal timing of migration. sOAR helps improving our understanding of how complex behaviours evolve and how behavioural decisions are constrained by internal and external factors experienced by the animal. Such knowledge is crucial for anticipating potential species' response to global environmental change.}, language = {en} }