TY - JOUR A1 - Zuppinger-Dingley, D. A1 - Schmid, Bernhard A1 - Chen, Y. A1 - Brandl, H. A1 - van der Heijden, M. G. A. A1 - Joshi, Jasmin Radha T1 - In their native range, invasive plants are held in check by negative soil-feedbacks JF - Ecosphere : the magazine of the International Ecology University N2 - The ability of some plant species to dominate communities in new biogeographical ranges has been attributed to an innate higher competitive ability and release from co-evolved specialist enemies. Specifically, invasive success in the new range might be explained by release from biotic negative soil-feedbacks, which control potentially dominant species in their native range. To test this hypothesis, we grew individuals from sixteen phylogenetically paired European grassland species that became either invasive or naturalized in new ranges, in either sterilized soil or in sterilized soil with unsterilized soil inoculum from their native home range. We found that although the native members of invasive species generally performed better than those of naturalized species, these native members of invasive species also responded more negatively to native soil inoculum than did the native members of naturalized species. This supports our hypothesis that potentially invasive species in their native range are held in check by negative soil-feedbacks. However, contrary to expectation, negative soil-feedbacks in potentially invasive species were not much increased by interspecific competition. There was no significant variation among families between invasive and naturalized species regarding their feedback response (negative vs. neutral). Therefore, we conclude that the observed negative soil feedbacks in potentially invasive species may be quite widespread in European families of typical grassland species. KW - biotic interactions KW - enemy release KW - invasive species KW - native range KW - naturalized species KW - plant invasions KW - plant-soil feedbacks KW - soil inoculation KW - soil sterilization Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1890/ES11-00061.1 SN - 2150-8925 VL - 2 IS - 5 PB - Wiley CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zude, Manuela A1 - Pflanz, Michael A1 - Spinelli, Lorenzo A1 - Dosche, Carsten A1 - Torricelli, Alessandro T1 - Non-destructive analysis of anthocyanins in cherries by means of Lambert-Beer and multivariate regression based on spectroscopy and scatter correction using time-resolved analysis JF - Journal of food engineering N2 - In high-value sweet cherry (Prunus avium), the red coloration - determined by the anthocyanins content - is correlated with the fruit ripeness stage and market value. Non-destructive spectroscopy has been introduced in practice and may be utilized as a tool to assess the fruit pigments in the supply chain processes. From the fruit spectrum in the visible (Vis) wavelength range, the pigment contents are analyzed separately at their specific absorbance wavelengths. A drawback of the method is the need for re-calibration due to varying optical properties of the fruit tissue. In order to correct for the scattering differences, most often the spectral intensity in the visible spectrum is normalized by wavelengths in the near infrared (NIR) range, or pre-processing methods are applied in multivariate calibrations. In the present study, the influence of the fruit scattering properties on the Vis/NIR fruit spectrum were corrected by the effective pathlength in the fruit tissue obtained from time-resolved readings of the distribution of time-of-flight (DTOF). Pigment analysis was carried out according to Lambert-Beer law, considering fruit spectral intensities, effective pathlength, and refractive index. Results were compared to commonly applied linear color and multivariate partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis. The approaches were validated on fruits at different ripeness stages, providing variation in the scattering coefficient and refractive index exceeding the calibration sample set. In the validation, the measuring uncertainty of non-destructively analyzing fruits with Vis/NIR spectra by means of PLS or Lambert-Beer in comparison with combined application of Vis/NIR spectroscopy and DTOF measurements showed a dramatic bias reduction as well as enhanced coefficients of determination when using both, the spectral intensities and apparent information on the scattering influence by means of DTOF readings. Corrections for the refractive index did not render improved results. KW - Cherry KW - DTOF KW - Effective pathlength KW - Fruit maturity KW - Lambert-Beer KW - NIR KW - Non-invasive KW - Pigments KW - PLS KW - Ripeness KW - Sensor fusion KW - Spectroscopy KW - Time-resolved spectroscopy KW - TIRF KW - Vis KW - Scattering Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2010.09.021 SN - 0260-8774 VL - 103 IS - 1 SP - 68 EP - 75 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zilliges, Yvonne A1 - Kehr, Jan-Christoph A1 - Meissner, Sven A1 - Ishida, Keishi A1 - Mikkat, Stefan A1 - Hagemann, Martin A1 - Kaplan, Aaron A1 - Börner, Thomas A1 - Dittmann-Thünemann, Elke T1 - The cyanobacterial hepatotoxin microcystin binds to proteins and increases the fitness of microcystis under oxidative stress conditions JF - PLoS one N2 - Microcystins are cyanobacterial toxins that represent a serious threat to drinking water and recreational lakes worldwide. Here, we show that microcystin fulfils an important function within cells of its natural producer Microcystis. The microcystin deficient mutant Delta mcyB showed significant changes in the accumulation of proteins, including several enzymes of the Calvin cycle, phycobiliproteins and two NADPH-dependent reductases. We have discovered that microcystin binds to a number of these proteins in vivo and that the binding is strongly enhanced under high light and oxidative stress conditions. The nature of this binding was studied using extracts of a microcystin-deficient mutant in vitro. The data obtained provided clear evidence for a covalent interaction of the toxin with cysteine residues of proteins. A detailed investigation of one of the binding partners, the large subunit of RubisCO showed a lower susceptibility to proteases in the presence of microcystin in the wild type. Finally, the mutant defective in microcystin production exhibited a clearly increased sensitivity under high light conditions and after hydrogen peroxide treatment. Taken together, our data suggest a protein-modulating role for microcystin within the producing cell, which represents a new addition to the catalogue of functions that have been discussed for microbial secondary metabolites. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017615 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 6 IS - 3 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Gong A1 - Lukoszek, Radoslaw A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Ignatova, Zoya T1 - Different sequence signatures in the upstream regions of plant and animal tRNA genes shape distinct modes of regulation JF - Nucleic acids research N2 - In eukaryotes, the transcription of tRNA genes is initiated by the concerted action of transcription factors IIIC (TFIIIC) and IIIB (TFIIIB) which direct the recruitment of polymerase III. While TFIIIC recognizes highly conserved, intragenic promoter elements, TFIIIB binds to the non-coding 5'-upstream regions of the tRNA genes. Using a systematic bioinformatic analysis of 11 multicellular eukaryotic genomes we identified a highly conserved TATA motif followed by a CAA-motif in the tRNA upstream regions of all plant genomes. Strikingly, the 5'-flanking tRNA regions of the animal genomes are highly heterogeneous and lack a common conserved sequence signature. Interestingly, in the animal genomes the tRNA species that read the same codon share conserved motifs in their upstream regions. Deep-sequencing analysis of 16 human tissues revealed multiple splicing variants of two of the TFIIIB subunits, Bdp1 and Brf1, with tissue-specific expression patterns. These multiple forms most likely modulate the TFIIIB-DNA interactions and explain the lack of a uniform signature motif in the tRNA upstream regions of animal genomes. The anticodon-dependent 5'-flanking motifs provide a possible mechanism for independent regulation of the tRNA transcription in various human tissues. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkq1257 SN - 0305-1048 VL - 39 IS - 8 SP - 3331 EP - 3339 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Gong A1 - Ignatova, Zoya T1 - Folding at the birth of the nascent chain: coordinating translation with co-translational folding JF - Current opinion in structural biology : review of all advances ; evaluation of key references ; comprehensive listing of papers N2 - In the living cells, the folding of many proteins is largely believed to begin co-translationally, during their biosynthesis at the ribosomes. In the ribosomal tunnel, the nascent peptide may establish local interactions and stabilize alpha-helical structures. Long-range contacts are more likely outside the ribosomes after release of larger segments of the nascent chain. Examples suggest that domains can attain native-like structure on the ribosome with and without population of folding intermediates. The co-translational folding is limited by the speed of the gradual extrusion of the nascent peptide which imposes conformational restraints on its folding landscape. Recent experimental and in silico modeling studies indicate that translation kinetics fine-tunes co-translational folding by providing a time delay for sequential folding of distinct portions of the nascent chain. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbi.2010.10.008 SN - 0959-440X VL - 21 IS - 1 SP - 25 EP - 31 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zaupa, Alessandro A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Pierce, Benjamin F. A1 - Nöchel, Ulrich A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Influence of tyrosine-derived moieties and drying conditions on the formation of helices in gelatin JF - Biomacromolecules : an interdisciplinary journal focused at the interface of polymer science and the biological sciences N2 - The single and triple helical organization of protein chains strongly influences the mechanical properties of gelatin-based materials. A chemical method for obtaining different degrees of helical organization in gelatin is covalent functionalization, while a physical method for achieving the same goal is the variation of the drying conditions of gelatin solutions. Here we explored how the introduction of desaminotyrosine (DAT) and desaminotyrosyl tyrosine (DATT) linked to lysine residues of gelatin influenced the kinetics and thermodynamic equilibrium of the helicalization process of single and triple helices following different drying conditions. Drying at a temperature above. the helix-to-coil transition temperature of gelatin (T > T-c, called nu(short)) generally resulted in gelatins with relatively lower triple helical content (X-c,X-t = 1-2%) than lower temperature drying (T < T-c, called nu(long)) (X-c,X-t = 8-10%), where the DAT(T) functional groups generally disrupted helix formation. While different helical contents affected the thermal transition temperatures only slightly, the mechanical properties were strongly affected for swollen hydrogels (E = 4-13 kPa for samples treated by nu(long) and E = 120-700 kPa for samples treated by nu(short)). This study shows that side group functionalization and different drying conditions are viable options to control the helicalization and macroscopic properties of gelatin-based materials. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/bm101029k SN - 1525-7797 VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 75 EP - 81 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yarman, Aysu A1 - Badalyan, Artavazd A1 - Gajovic-Eichelmann, Nenad A1 - Wollenberger, Ursula A1 - Scheller, Frieder W. T1 - Enzyme electrode for aromatic compounds exploiting the catalytic activities of microperoxidase-11 JF - Biosensors and bioelectronics : the principal international journal devoted to research, design development and application of biosensors and bioelectronics N2 - Microperoxidase-11 (MR-11) which has been immobilised in a matrix of chitosan-embedded gold nanoparticles on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode catalyzes the conversion of aromatic substances. This peroxide-dependent catalysis of microperoxidase has been applied in an enzyme electrode for the first time to indicate aromatic compounds such as aniline. 4-fluoroaniline, catechol and p-aminophenol. The electrode signal is generated by the cathodic reduction of the quinone or quinoneimine which is formed in the presence of both MP-II and peroxide from the substrate. The same sensor principle will be extended to aromatic drugs. KW - Microperoxidase-11 KW - Nanoparticles KW - p-Aminophenol KW - Aniline KW - Catechol KW - 4-Fluoroaniline KW - Biosensors Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2011.09.004 SN - 0956-5663 VL - 30 IS - 1 SP - 320 EP - 323 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wulf, Monika A1 - Rujner, Hendrik T1 - A GIS-based method for the reconstruction of the late eighteenth century forest vegetation in the Prignitz region (NE Germany) JF - Landscape ecology N2 - Our goal was to reconstruct the late eighteenth century forest vegetation of the Prignitz region (NE Germany) at a scale of 1:50,000. We also wanted to relate the historical forest vegetation to the actual and potential natural vegetation. For these purposes, we selected 15 woody species and transferred relevant data found in historical records from various sources together with the recent localities of (very) old individuals belonging to these woody species into ArcView GIS. Following multi-step data processing including the generation of a point density layer using a moving window with kernel estimation and derivation of vegetation units applying Boolean algebra rules together with information on site conditions, we derived 17 forest communities corresponding to the potential natural vegetation. We were able to reconstruct the historical forest vegetation for 90% of the forest area ca. 1780. Only two of the 17 forest communities covered large parts of the forested area. The oak forest with Agrostis capillaris covered about 44% of the total forest area, and alder forests on fenland made up about 37%. Oak-hornbeam forests with Stellaria holostea comprised slightly less than 6% of the forest area, while all other forest communities comprised less than 1%. The historical forest vegetation is more similar to the potential forest vegetation and quite different from the actual forest vegetation because coniferous tree species currently cover approximately two-thirds of the actual forest area. The most beneficial result of this study is the map of high-resolution historical vegetation units that may serve as the basis for various further studies, e.g., modelling long-term changes in biodiversity at the landscape scale. KW - Boolean algebra KW - Historical ecology KW - Kernel estimation KW - Moving window KW - Point density KW - Potential natural vegetation KW - Schmettau map KW - Toponymy KW - Vegetation map Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-010-9555-1 SN - 0921-2973 VL - 26 IS - 2 SP - 153 EP - 168 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wu, Yunhua A1 - Wollenberger, Ursula A1 - Hofrichter, Martin A1 - Ullrich, Rene A1 - Scheibner, Katrin A1 - Scheller, Frieder W. T1 - Direct electron transfer of Agrocybe aegerita peroxygenase at electrodes modified with chitosan-capped Au nanoparticles and its bioelectrocatalysis to aniline JF - Sensors and actuators : B, Chemical N2 - Three different sizes of chitosan-capped Au nanoparticles were synthesized and were used to incorporate Agrocybe aegerita peroxygenase (AaeAPO) onto the surface of glassy carbon electrode. The direct electron transfer of AaeAPO was achieved in all films. The highest amount of electroactive enzyme and highest electron transfer rate constant k(s) of AaeAPO were obtained in the film with the smallest size of chitosan-capped Au nanoparticles. In anaerobic solutions, quasi-reversible oxidation and reduction are obtained with a formal potential of -0.280V vs. Ag/AgCl 1 M KCl in 100 mM (pH 7.0) PBS at scan rate of 1 V s(-1). Bioelectrocatalytic reduction currents can be obtained with the AaeAPO-modified electrode on addition of hydrogen peroxide. This reaction was suppressed when sodium azide, an inhibitor of AaeAPO, was present. Furthermore, the peroxide-dependent conversion of aniline was characterized and it was found that a polymer product via p-aminophenol is formed. And the AaeAPO biosensor was applied to determine aniline and p-aminophenol. KW - Agrocybe aegerita peroxygenase KW - Au nanoparticles KW - Direct electron transfer KW - Aniline biosensor KW - Bioelectrocatalysis Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2011.09.090 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 160 IS - 1 SP - 1419 EP - 1426 PB - Elsevier CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Winck, Flavia Vischi A1 - Kwasniewski, Miroslaw A1 - Wienkoop, Stefanie A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd T1 - An optimized method for the isolation of nuclei from chlamydomas Reinhardtii (Chlorophyceae) JF - Journal of phycology N2 - The cell nucleus harbors a large number of proteins involved in transcription, RNA processing, chromatin remodeling, nuclear signaling, and ribosome assembly. The nuclear genome of the model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii P. A. Dang. was recently sequenced, and many genes encoding nuclear proteins, including transcription factors and transcription regulators, have been identified through computational discovery tools. However, elucidating the specific biological roles of nuclear proteins will require support from biochemical and proteomics data. Cellular preparations with enriched nuclei are important to assist in such analyses. Here, we describe a simple protocol for the isolation of nuclei from Chlamydomonas, based on a commercially available kit. The modifications done in the original protocol mainly include alterations of the differential centrifugation parameters and detergent-based cell lysis. The nuclei-enriched fractions obtained with the optimized protocol show low contamination with mitochondrial and plastid proteins. The protocol can be concluded within only 3 h, and the proteins extracted can be used for gel-based and non-gel-based proteomic approaches. KW - 2D gel electrophoresis KW - algae KW - Chlamydomonas KW - nuclear proteins KW - nucleus KW - proteomics Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2011.00967.x SN - 0022-3646 VL - 47 IS - 2 SP - 333 EP - 340 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - THES A1 - Winck, Flavia Vischi T1 - Nuclear proteomics and transcription factor profiling in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii T1 - Nukleare Proteomics und Transkriptionsfaktoren : Profiling in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii N2 - The transcriptional regulation of the cellular mechanisms involves many different components and different levels of control which together contribute to fine tune the response of cells to different environmental stimuli. In some responses, diverse signaling pathways can be controlled simultaneously. One of the most important cellular processes that seem to possess multiple levels of regulation is photosynthesis. A model organism for studying photosynthesis-related processes is the unicellular green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, due to advantages related to culturing, genetic manipulation and availability of genome sequence. In the present study, we were interested in understanding the regulatory mechanisms underlying photosynthesis-related processes. To achieve this goal different molecular approaches were followed. In order to indentify protein transcriptional regulators we optimized a method for isolation of nuclei and performed nuclear proteome analysis using shotgun proteomics. This analysis permitted us to improve the genome annotation previously published and to discover conserved and enriched protein motifs among the nuclear proteins. In another approach, a quantitative RT-PCR platform was established for the analysis of gene expression of predicted transcription factor (TF) and other transcriptional regulator (TR) coding genes by transcript profiling. The gene expression profiles for more than one hundred genes were monitored in time series experiments under conditions of changes in light intensity (200 µE m-2 s-1 to 700 µE m-2 s-1), and changes in concentration of carbon dioxide (5% CO2 to 0.04% CO2). The results indicate that many TF and TR genes are regulated in both environmental conditions and groups of co-regulated genes were found. Our findings also suggest that some genes can be common intermediates of light and carbon responsive regulatory pathways. These approaches together gave us new insights about the regulation of photosynthesis and revealed new candidate regulatory genes, helping to decipher the gene regulatory networks in Chlamydomonas. Further experimental studies are necessary to clarify the function of the candidate regulatory genes and to elucidate how cells coordinately regulate the assimilation of carbon and light responses. N2 - Pflanzen nutzen das Sonnenlicht um Substanzen, sogenannte Kohlenhydrate, zu synthetisieren. Diese können anschließend als Energielieferant für das eigene Wachstum genutzt werden. Der aufbauende Prozess wird als Photosynthese bezeichnet. Ein wichtiges Anliegen ist deshalb zu verstehen, wie Pflanzen äußere Einflüsse wahrnehmen und die Photosynthese dementsprechend regulieren. Ihre Zellen tragen diese Informationen in den Genen. Die Pflanzen nutzen aber in der Regel nicht alle ihre Gene gleichzeitig, die sie zur Anpassung an Umwelteinflüsse besitzen. Zu meist wird nur eine Teilfraktion der gesamten Information benötigt. Wir wollten der Frage nachgehen, welche Gene die Zellen für welche Situation regulieren. Im Zellkern gibt es Proteine, sogenannte Transkriptionsfaktoren, die spezifische Gene finden können und deren Transkription modulieren. Wenn ein Gen gebraucht wird, wird seine Information in andere Moleküle übersetzt (transkribiert), sogenannte Transkripte. Die Information dieser Transkripte wird benutzt um Proteine, Makromoleküle aus Aminsäuren, zu synthetisieren. Aus der Transkription eines Gens kann eine große Zahl des Transkripts entstehen. Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass ein Gen, dass gerade gebraucht wird, mehr Transkriptmoleküle hat als andere Gene. Da die Transkriptionsfaktoren mit der Transkription der Gene interferieren können, entwickelten wir in der vorliegenden Arbeit Strategien zur Identifikation dieser im Zellkern zu findenden Proteine mittels eines „Proteomics“-Ansatzes. Wir entwickelten weiterhin eine Strategie zur Identififikation von Transkripten Transkriptionsfaktor-codierender Gene in der Zelle und in welche Menge sie vorkommen. Dieser Ansatz wird als „Transcript-Profiling“ bezeichnet. Wir fanden Zellkern-lokalisierte Proteine, die als Signalmoleküle funktionieren könnten und Transkripte, die bei unterschiedlichen Umweltbedingungen in der Zelle vorhanden waren. Wir benutzten, die oben genannten Ansätze um die einzellige Grünalge Chlamydomonas zu untersuchen. Die Informationen, die wir erhielten, halfen zu verstehen welche Transkriptionsfaktoren notwendig sind, damit Chlamydomonas bei unterschiedlichen Umweltbedingungen, wie z.B. unterschiedliche Lichtintensitäten und unterschiedlicher Konzentration von Kohlenstoffdioxid, überlebt. KW - Proteomics KW - Transkriptionsfaktoren KW - Pflanzen KW - Chlamydomonas KW - Transcriptomics KW - Proteomics KW - Transcription factors KW - Plants KW - Chlamydomonas KW - Transcriptomics Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-53909 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiesner, Kerstin R. A1 - Loxdale, Hugh D. A1 - Köhler, Günter A1 - Schneider, Anja R. R. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. T1 - Patterns of local and regional genetic structuring in the meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera: Acrididae), in Central Germany revealed using microsatellite markers JF - Biological journal of the Linnean Society : a journal of evolution N2 - The meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt), is common and widespread in Central Europe, with a low dispersal range per generation. A population study in Central Germany (Frankenwald and Thuringer Schiefergebirge) showed strong interpopulation differences in abundance and individual fitness. We examined genetic variability using microsatellite markers within and between 22 populations in a short-to long-distance sampling (19 populations, Frankenwald, Schiefergebirge, as well as a southern transect), and in the Erzgebirge region (three populations), with the latter aiming to check for effects as a result of historical forest cover. Of the 671 C. parallelus captured, none was macropterous (functionally winged). All populations showed a high level of expected and observed heterozygosity (mean 0.80-0.90 and 0.60-0.75, respectively), whereas there was evidence of inbreeding (F(IS) values all positive). Allelic richness for all locus-population combinations was high (mean 9.3-11.2), whereas alleles per locus ranged from 15-62. At a local level, genic and genotypic differences were significant. Pairwise F(ST) values were in the range 0.00-0.04, indicating little interpopulation genetic differentiation. Similarly, the calculated gene flow was very high, based on the respective F(ST) (19.5) and using private alleles (7.7). A Neighbour-joining tree using Nei's D(A) and principal coordinate analysis separated two populations that were collected in the Erzgebirge region. Populations from this region may have escaped the effects of the historical forest cover. The visualization of the spatial arrangement of genotypes revealed one geographical barrier to gene flow in the short-distance sampling. KW - adaptation KW - gene flow KW - diversity KW - landscape structure KW - wing polyphenism Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01698.x SN - 0024-4066 VL - 103 IS - 4 SP - 875 EP - 890 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - THES A1 - Weiß, Julia T1 - Computer assisted proteomics in a systems biology context Y1 - 2011 CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weiz, Annika R. A1 - Ishida, Keishi A1 - Makower, Katharina A1 - Ziemert, Nadine A1 - Hertweck, Christian A1 - Dittmann-Thünemann, Elke T1 - Leader Peptide and a Membrane Protein Scaffold Guide the Biosynthesis of the Tricyclic Peptide Microviridin JF - Chemistry & biology N2 - Microviridins are unique protease inhibitors from bloom-forming cyanobacteria that have both ecological and pharmacological relevance. Their peptide backbones are produced ribosomally, and ATP grasp ligases introduce omega-ester and omega-amide bonds to yield rare cage-like structures. Bioinformatic analysis of the microviridin biosynthesis gene cluster suggests a novel type of processing machinery, which could rationalize the challenging in vivo/in vitro reconstitution of the pathway. In this work, we report the establishment of a minimal expression system for microviridins. Through bioinformatics and mutational analysis of the MdnA leader peptide we identified and characterized a strictly conserved binding motif that is specific for microviridin ligases. Furthermore, we showed that the ABC transporter MdnE is crucial for cyclization and processing of microviridins and demonstrated that MdnE is essential for stability of the microviridin biosynthesis complex. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2011.09.011 SN - 1074-5521 VL - 18 IS - 11 SP - 1413 EP - 1421 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weisse, Thomas A1 - Berendonk, Thomas U. A1 - Kamjunke, Norbert A1 - Moser, Michael A1 - Scheffel, U. A1 - Stadler, P. A1 - Weithoff, Guntram T1 - Significant habitat effects influence protist fitness evidence for local adaptation from acidic mining lakes JF - Ecosphere : the magazine of the International Ecology University N2 - It is currently controversially discussed if the same freshwater microorganisms occur worldwide wherever their required habitats are realized, i.e., without any adaptation to local conditions below the species level. We performed laboratory experiments with flagellates and ciliates from three acidic mining lakes (AML, pH similar to 2.7) to investigate if similar habitats may affect similar organisms differently. Such man-made lakes provide suitable ecosystem models to test for the significance of strong habitat selection. To this end, we analyzed the growth response of three protist taxa (three strains of the phytoflagellate Chlamydomonas acidophila, two isolates of the phytoflagellate Ochromonas and two species of the ciliate genus Oxytricha) by exposing them to lake water of their origin and from the two other AML in a cross-factorial design. Population growth rates were measured as a proxy for their fitness. Results revealed significant effects of strain, lake (= habitat), and strain X habitat interaction. In the environmentally most adverse AML, all three protist taxa were locally adapted. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that (1) the same habitat may affect strains of the same species differently and that (2) similar habitats may harbor ecophysiologically different strains or species. These results contradict the 'everything is everywhere' paradigm. KW - allopatric speciation KW - Chlamydomonas acidophila KW - ciliates KW - everything is everywhere KW - flagellates KW - freshwater microbes KW - habitat-species interaction KW - local adaptation KW - Ochromonas spp. KW - Oxytricha spp. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1890/ES11-00157.1 SN - 2150-8925 VL - 2 IS - 12 PB - Wiley CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Ewald T1 - Strong regeneration ability from rhizome fragments in two invasive clonal plants (Solidago canadensis and S. gigantea) JF - Biological invasions : unique international journal uniting scientists in the broad field of biological invasions N2 - The two rhizomatous perennials Solidago canadensis and S. gigantea belong to the most widespread alien plants in Europe. Anecdotal observations suggest that they disperse also by rhizome fragments. For testing their resprouting ability, rhizome fragments of different sizes from both species were buried at four different soil depths (0, 5, 10 and 20 cm, respectively) in a common garden. Rhizome fragments of S. canadensis ranged 3-6 cm in length, those of S. gigantea 5-20 cm in length. Resprouting plants were harvested after 3 months and growth related traits measured to assess their vitality. Resprouting rate in S. gigantea was far higher than in S. canadensis (85 and 19%, respectively). In S. gigantea, fragments of all sizes resprouted from all soil depths whereas none rhizome of S. canadensis emerged from 20 cm burial depth. In S. gigantea, size related traits showed significant interactions between fragment size and burial depth, but not relative shoot growth rate. At all burial depths, vitality of plants emerging from small rhizomes was lower than plants emerging from large rhizomes. Effects of rhizome size became stronger with increasing burial depth. The results show that both species are able to resprout from buried rhizome fragments, and that succesful regeneration is more likely to occur in S. gigantea. Managing these species should avoid any activities promoting rhizome fragmentation and dispersal of fragments. KW - Clonal growth KW - Dispersal KW - Establishment KW - Goldenrod KW - Invasive plant species KW - Vegetative regeneration Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-011-9977-y SN - 1387-3547 VL - 13 IS - 12 SP - 2947 EP - 2955 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wand, Inga A1 - Holzlöhner, Pamela A1 - Neupert, Steffi A1 - Micheel, Burkhard A1 - Heilmann, Katja T1 - Cooperation of dendritic cells with naive lymphocyte populations to induce the generation of antigen-specific antibodies in vitro JF - Journal of biotechnology N2 - The production of monoclonal antibodies by hybridoma technology is dependent on lymphocytes taken from vertebrates which have to be immunized against the corresponding antigen. We present here our first experiments which should allow the replacement of this in vivo immunization step by an in vitro immunization procedure. This work provides new possibilities for the specific activation of immune cells in order to use them for the generation of antibodies which are not of murine origin. Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells were loaded with antigen and co-cultured with naive T and B lymphocytes of non-immunized mice. The interaction and activation of the different cell types were investigated by measuring the expression of specific cell surface markers, the release of activation-dependent interleukins and the secretion of antigen-specific antibodies. We could demonstrate that dendritic cells process and present antigen fragments and activate T cells, that T cells proliferate and release activation-induced interleukins, and that B cells maturate under the influence of activated T cells and secrete antigen-specific antibodies. KW - In vitro immunization KW - Activation of dendritic cells KW - Interaction of T and B cells with antigen-presenting cells KW - Induction of antibody responses Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2011.09.002 SN - 0168-1656 VL - 156 IS - 3 SP - 173 EP - 181 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - INPR A1 - Walz, Norbert A1 - Adrian, Rita A1 - Gilbert, John J. A1 - Monaghan, Michael T. A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Zimmermann-Timm, Heike T1 - Preface T2 - Hydrobiologia : acta hydrobiologica, hydrographica, limnologica et protistologica Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0514-2 SN - 0018-8158 VL - 662 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wagner, Viktoria A1 - Antunes, Pedro M. A1 - Ristow, Michael A1 - Lechner, Ute A1 - Hensen, Isabell T1 - Prevailing negative soil biota effect and no evidence for local adaptation in a widespread eurasian grass JF - PLoS one N2 - Background: Soil biota effects are increasingly accepted as an important driver of the abundance and distribution of plants. While biogeographical studies on alien invasive plant species have indicated coevolution with soil biota in their native distribution range, it is unknown whether adaptation to soil biota varies among populations within the native distribution range. The question of local adaptation between plants and their soil biota has important implications for conservation of biodiversity and may justify the use of seed material from local provenances in restoration campaigns. Methodology/Principal Findings: We studied soil biota effects in ten populations of the steppe grass Stipa capillata from two distinct regions, Europe and Asia. We tested for local adaptation at two different scales, both within (ca. 10-80 km) and between (ca. 3300 km) regions, using a reciprocal inoculation experiment in the greenhouse for nine months. Generally, negative soil biota effects were consistent. However, we did not find evidence for local adaptation: both within and between regions, growth of plants in their 'home soil' was not significantly larger relative to that in soil from other, more distant, populations. Conclusions/Significance: Our study suggests that negative soil biota effects can prevail in different parts of a plant species' range. Absence of local adaptation points to the possibility of similar rhizosphere biota composition across populations and regions, sufficient gene flow to prevent coevolution, selection in favor of plasticity, or functional redundancy among different soil biota. From the point of view of plant - soil biota interactions, our findings indicate that the current practice of using seeds exclusively from local provenances in ecosystem restoration campaigns may not be justified. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017580 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 6 IS - 3 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Voss, Martin A1 - Nimtz, Manfred A1 - Leimkühler, Silke T1 - Elucidation of the dual role of Mycobacterial MoeZR in Molybdenum Cofactor Biosynthesis and Cysteine Biosynthesis JF - PLoS one N2 - The pathway of molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis has been studied in detail by using proteins from Mycobacterium species, which contain several homologs associated with the first steps of Moco biosynthesis. While all Mycobacteria species contain a MoeZR, only some strains have acquired an additional homolog, MoeBR, by horizontal gene transfer. The role of MoeBR and MoeZR was studied in detail for the interaction with the two MoaD-homologs involved in Moco biosynthesis, MoaD1 and MoaD2, in addition to the CysO protein involved in cysteine biosynthesis. We show that both proteins have a role in Moco biosynthesis, while only MoeZR, but not MoeBR, has an additional role in cysteine biosynthesis. MoeZR and MoeBR were able to complement an E. coli moeB mutant strain, but only in conjunction with the Mycobacterial MoaD1 or MoaD2 proteins. Both proteins were able to sulfurate MoaD1 and MoaD2 in vivo, while only MoeZR additionally transferred the sulfur to CysO. Our in vivo studies show that Mycobacteria have acquired several homologs to maintain Moco biosynthesis. MoeZR has a dual role in Moco- and cysteine biosynthesis and is involved in the sulfuration of MoaD and CysO, whereas MoeBR only has a role in Moco biosynthesis, which is not an essential function for Mycobacteria. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028170 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 6 IS - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER -