TY - JOUR A1 - Abrahamczyk, Stefan A1 - Lozada Gobilard, Sissi Donna A1 - Ackermann, Markus A1 - Fischer, Eberhard A1 - Krieger, Vera A1 - Redling, Almut A1 - Weigend, Maximilian T1 - A question of data quality-Testing pollination syndromes in Balsaminaceae JF - PLoS one N2 - Pollination syndromes and their predictive power regarding actual plant-animal interactions have been controversially discussed in the past. We investigate pollination syndromes in Balsaminaceae, utilizing quantitative respectively categorical data sets of flower morphometry, signal and reward traits for 86 species to test for the effect of different types of data on the test patterns retrieved. Cluster Analyses of the floral traits are used in combination with independent pollinator observations. Based on quantitative data we retrieve seven clusters, six of them corresponding to plausible pollination syndromes and one additional, well-supported cluster comprising highly divergent floral architectures. This latter cluster represents a non-syndrome of flowers not segregated by the specific data set here used. Conversely, using categorical data we obtained only a rudimentary resolution of pollination syndromes, in line with several earlier studies. The results underscore that the use of functional, exactly quanitified trait data has the power to retrieve pollination syndromes circumscribed by the specific data used. Data quality can, however, not be replaced by sheer data volume. With this caveat, it is possible to identify pollination syndromes from large datasets and to reliably extrapolate them for taxa for which direct observations are unavailable. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186125 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 12 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ahmed, Muhammad N. A1 - Reyna-Gonzalez, Emmanuel A1 - Schmid, Bianca A1 - Wiebach, Vincent A1 - Suessmuth, Roderich D. A1 - Dittmann, Elke A1 - Fewer, David P. T1 - Phylogenomic Analysis of the Microviridin Biosynthetic Pathway Coupled with Targeted Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis Yields Potent Protease Inhibitors JF - ACS chemical biology N2 - Natural products and their semisynthetic derivatives are an important source of drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. Bacteria are prolific producers of natural products and encode a vast diversity of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters. However, much of this diversity is inaccessible to natural product discovery. Here, we use a combination of phylogenomic analysis of the microviridin biosynthetic pathway and chemo-enzymatic synthesis of bioinformatically predicted microviridins to yield new protease inhibitors. Phylogenomic analysis demonstrated that microviridin biosynthetic gene clusters occur across the bacterial domain and encode three distinct subtypes of precursor peptides. Our analysis shed light on the evolution of microviridin biosynthesis and enabled prioritization of their chemo-enzymatic production. Targeted one-pot synthesis of four microviridins encoded by the cyanobacterium Cyanothece sp. PCC 7822 identified a set of novel and potent serine protease inhibitors, the most active of which had an IC50 value of 21.5 nM. This study advances the genome mining techniques available for natural product discovery and obviates the need to culture bacteria. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.7b00124 SN - 1554-8929 SN - 1554-8937 VL - 12 SP - 1538 EP - 1546 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Allu, Annapurna Devi A1 - Simancas, Barbara A1 - Balazadeh, Salma A1 - Munne-Bosch, Sergi T1 - Defense-Related Transcriptional Reprogramming in Vitamin E-Deficient Arabidopsis Mutants Exposed to Contrasting Phosphate Availability JF - Frontiers in plant science N2 - Vitamin E inhibits the propagation of lipid peroxidation and helps protecting photosystem II from photoinhibition, but little is known about its possible role in plant response to Pi availability. Here, we aimed at examining the effect of vitamin E deficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana vte mutants on phytohormone contents and the expression of transcription factors in plants exposed to contrasting Pi availability. Plants were subjected to two doses of Pi, either unprimed (controls) or previously exposed to low Pi (primed). In the wild type, alpha-tocopherol contents increased significantly in response to repeated periods of low Pi, which was paralleled by increased growth, indicative of a priming effect. This growth-stimulating effect was, however, abolished in vte mutants. Hormonal profiling revealed significant effects of Pi availability, priming and genotype on the contents of jasmonates and salicylates; remarkably, vte mutants showed enhanced accumulation of both hormones under low Pi. Furthermore, expression profiling of 1,880 transcription factors by qRT-PCR revealed a pronounced effect of priming on the transcript levels of 45 transcription factors mainly associated with growth and stress in wild-type plants in response to low Pi availability; while distinct differences in the transcriptional response were detected in vte mutants. We conclude that alpha-tocopherol plays a major role in the response of plants to Pi availability not only by protecting plants from photo-oxidative stress, but also by exerting a control over growth-and defense-related transcriptional reprogramming and hormonal modulation. KW - antioxidants KW - photosystem II KW - plastochromanol-8 KW - priming KW - retrograde signaling KW - tocochromanols KW - vitamin E Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.01396 SN - 1664-462X VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Amalfitano, Stefano A1 - Corno, Gianluca A1 - Eckert, Ester A1 - Fazi, Stefano A1 - Ninio, Shira A1 - Callieri, Cristiana A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Eckert, Werner T1 - Tracing particulate matter and associated microorganisms in freshwaters JF - Hydrobiologia : acta hydrobiologica, hydrographica, limnologica et protistologica N2 - Sediment resuspension represents a key process in all natural aquatic systems, owing to its role in nutrient cycling and transport of potential contaminants. Although suspended solids are generally accepted as an important quality parameter, current monitoring programs cover quantitative aspects only. Established methodologies do not provide information on origin, fate, and risks associated with uncontrolled inputs of solids in waters. Here we discuss the analytical approaches to assess the occurrence and ecological relevance of resuspended particulate matter in freshwaters, with a focus on the dynamics of associated contaminants and microorganisms. Triggered by the identification of specific physical-chemical traits and community structure of particle-associated microorganisms, recent findings suggest that a quantitative determination of microorganisms can be reasonably used to trace the origin of particulate matter by means of nucleic acid-based assays in different aquatic systems. KW - Total suspended solids KW - Resuspended particulate KW - Turbidity KW - Sediment traps KW - Particle-associated microorganisms KW - Pathogens Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3260-x SN - 0018-8158 SN - 1573-5117 VL - 800 SP - 145 EP - 154 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Apelt, Federico A1 - Breuer, David A1 - Olas, Justyna Jadwiga A1 - Annunziata, Maria Grazia A1 - Flis, Anna A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Kragler, Friedrich A1 - Stitt, Mark T1 - Circadian, Carbon, and Light Control of Expansion Growth and Leaf Movement JF - Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.17.00503 SN - 0032-0889 SN - 1532-2548 VL - 174 SP - 1949 EP - 1968 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Attermeyer, Katrin A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Flury, Sabine A1 - Premke, Katrin T1 - Bacterial processes and biogeochemical changes in the water body of kettle holes - mainly driven by autochthonous organic matter? JF - Aquatic sciences : research across boundaries N2 - Kettle holes are small inland waters formed from glacially-created depressions often situated in agricultural landscapes. Due to their high perimeter-to-area ratio facilitating a high aquatic-terrestrial coupling, kettle holes can accumulate high concentrations of organic carbon and nutrients, fueling microbial activities and turnover rates. Thus, they represent hotspots of carbon turnover in the landscape, but their bacterial activities and controlling factors have not been well investigated. Therefore, we aimed to assess the relative importance of various environmental factors on bacterial and biogeochemical processes in the water column of kettle holes and to disentangle their variations. In the water body of ten kettle holes in north-eastern Germany, we measured several physico-chemical and biological parameters such as carbon quantity and quality, as well as bacterial protein production (BP) and community respiration (CR) in spring, early summer and autumn 2014. Particulate organic matter served as an indicator of autochthonous production and represented an important parameter to explain variations in BP and CR. This notion is supported by qualitative absorbance indices of dissolved molecules in water samples and C: N ratios of the sediments, which demonstrate high fractions of autochthonous organic matter (OM) in the studied kettle holes. In contrast, dissolved chemical parameters were less important for bacterial activities although they revealed strong differences throughout the growing season. Pelagic bacterial activities and dynamics might thus be regulated by autochthonous OM in kettle holes implying a control of important biogeochemical processes by internal primary production rather than facilitated exchange with the terrestrial surrounding due to a high perimeter-to-area ratio. KW - Bacterial production KW - Carbon turnover KW - Growth efficiency KW - Ponds KW - Respiration KW - DOC quality KW - LC-OCD Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-017-0528-1 SN - 1015-1621 SN - 1420-9055 VL - 79 SP - 675 EP - 687 PB - Springer CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bareither, Nils A1 - Scheffel, Andre A1 - Metz, Johannes T1 - Distribution of polyploid plants in the common annual Brachypodium distachyon (s.l.) in Israel is not linearly correlated with aridity JF - Israel Journal of Plant Sciences N2 - The ecological benefits of polyploidy are intensely debated. Some authors argue that plants with duplicated chromosome sets (polyploids) are more stress- resistant and superior colonizers and may thus outnumber their low ploidy conspecifics in more extreme habitats. Brachypodium distachyon (sensu lato), for example, a common annual grass in Israel and the entire Mediterranean basin, comprises three cytotypes of differing chromosome numbers that were recently proposed as distinct species. It was suggested that increased aridity increases the occurrence of its polyploid cytotype. Here, we tested at two spatial scales whether polyploid plants of B. distachyon s. l. are more frequently found in drier habitats in Israel. We collected a total of 430 specimens (i) along a largescale climatic gradient with 15 thoroughly selected sites (spanning 114- 954 mm annual rainfall), and (ii) from corresponding Northern (more mesic) and Southern (more arid) hill slopes to assess the micro- climatic difference between contrasting exposures. Cytotypes were then determined via flow cytometry. Polyploid plants comprised 90% of all specimens and their proportion ranged between 0% and 100% per site. However, this proportion was not correlated with aridity along the large- scale gradient, nor were polyploids more frequently found on Southern exposures. Our results show for both spatial scales that increasing aridity is not the principal driver for the distribution of polyploids in B. distachyon s. l. in Israel. Notably, though, diploid plants were restricted essentially to four intermediate sites, while polyploids dominated the most arid and the most mesic sites. This, to some degree, clustered pattern suggests that the distribution of cytotypes is not entirely random and calls for future studies to assess further potential drivers. KW - Aridity KW - Brachypodium distachyon KW - Brachypodium hybridum KW - Brachypodium stacei KW - cytotype KW - exposition KW - Israel KW - Mediterranean grass species KW - polyploidization KW - rainfall gradient KW - slope aspect Y1 - 2017 SN - 0792-9978 SN - 2223-8980 VL - 64 SP - 83 EP - 92 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bauer, Daniel A1 - Werth, Felix A1 - Ha An Nguyen, A1 - Kiecker, Felix A1 - Eberle, Jürgen T1 - Critical role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for synergistic enhancement of apoptosis by vemurafenib and the potassium channel inhibitor TRAM-34 in melanoma cells JF - Cell death & disease N2 - Inhibition of MAP kinase pathways by selective BRAF inhibitors, such as vemurafenib and dabrafenib, have evolved as key therapies of BRAF-mutated melanoma. However, tumor relapse and therapy resistance have remained as major problems, which may be addressed by combination with other pathway inhibitors. Here we identified the potassium channel inhibitor TRAM-34 as highly effective in combination with vemurafenib. Thus apoptosis was significantly enhanced and cell viability was decreased. The combination vemurafenib/TRAM-34 was also effective in vemurafenib-resistant cells, suggesting that acquired resistance may be overcome. Vemurafenib decreased ERK phosphorylation, suppressed antiapoptotic Mcl-1 and enhanced proapoptotic Puma and Bim. The combination resulted in enhancement of proapoptotic pathways as caspase-3 and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Indicating a special mechanism of vemurafenib-induced apoptosis, we found strong enhancement of intracellular ROS levels already at 1 h of treatment. The critical role of ROS was demonstrated by the antioxidant vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), which decreased intracellular ROS as well as apoptosis. Also caspase activation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential were suppressed, proving ROS as an upstream effect. Thus ROS represents an initial and independent apoptosis pathway in melanoma cells that is of particular importance for vemurafenib and its combination with TRAM-34. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2017.6 SN - 2041-4889 VL - 8 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beck, Samantha V. A1 - Carvalho, Gary R. A1 - Barlow, Axel A1 - Ruber, Lukas A1 - Tan, Heok Hui A1 - Nugroho, Estu A1 - Wowor, Daisy A1 - Nor, Siti Azizah Mohd A1 - Herder, Fabian A1 - Muchlisin, Zainal A. A1 - de Bruyn, Mark T1 - Plio-Pleistocene phylogeography of the Southeast Asian Blue Panchax killifish, Aplocheilus panchax JF - PLoS one Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179557 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 12 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bemer, Marian A1 - van Mourik, Hilda A1 - Muino, Jose M. A1 - Ferrandiz, Cristina A1 - Kaufmann, Kerstin A1 - Angenent, Gerco C. T1 - FRUITFULL controls SAUR10 expression and regulates Arabidopsis growth and architecture JF - Journal of experimental botany N2 - MADS-domain transcription factors are well known for their roles in plant development and regulate sets of downstream genes that have been uncovered by high-throughput analyses. A considerable number of these targets are predicted to function in hormone responses or responses to environmental stimuli, suggesting that there is a close link between developmental and environmental regulators of plant growth and development. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis MADS-domain factor FRUITFULL (FUL) executes several functions in addition to its noted role in fruit development. Among the direct targets of FUL, we identified SMALL AUXIN UPREGULATED RNA 10 (SAUR10), a growth regulator that is highly induced by a combination of auxin and brassinosteroids and in response to reduced R:FR light. Interestingly, we discovered that SAUR10 is repressed by FUL in stems and inflorescence branches. SAUR10 is specifically expressed at the abaxial side of these branches and this localized activity is influenced by hormones, light conditions and by FUL, which has an effect on branch angle. Furthermore, we identified a number of other genes involved in hormone pathways and light signalling as direct targets of FUL in the stem, demonstrating a connection between developmentally and environmentally regulated growth programs. KW - Architecture KW - auxin KW - branching KW - FRUITFULL KW - growth KW - hormones KW - light response KW - MADS-box transcription factor KW - SAUR Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erx184 SN - 0022-0957 SN - 1460-2431 VL - 68 SP - 3391 EP - 3403 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bendjeddou, Mohammed Lamine A1 - Loumassine, Hibat Allah A1 - Scheffler, Ingo A1 - Bouslama, Zihad A1 - Amr, Zuhair T1 - Bat ectoparasites (Nycteribiidae, Streblidae, Siphonaptera, Heteroptera, Mesostigmata, Argasidae, and Ixodidae) from Algeria JF - Journal of Vector Ecology N2 - Twenty two species of ectoparasites (Family Nycteribiidae: Nycteribia (Listropoda) schmidlii schmidlii, Nycteribia (Nycteribia) latreillii, Nycteribia (Nycteribia) pedicularia, Penicillidia (Penicillidia) dufourii, and Phthiridium biarticulatum; Family Streblidae: Brachytarsina (Brachytarsina) flavipennis and Raymondia huberi; Order Siphonaptera: Rhinolophopsylla unipectinata arabs, Nycteridopsylla longiceps, Araeopsylla gestroi, Ischnopsyllus intermedius, and Ischnopsyllus octactenus; Order Heteroptera: Cimex pipistrelli, Cimex lectularius, and Cacodmus vicinus; Class Arachnida: Order Mesostigmata: Spinturnix myoti and Eyndhovenia euryalis; Order Ixodida: Family Argasidae: Argas transgariepinus and Argas vespertilionis; Family Ixodidae: Hyalomma dromedarii, Ixodes ricinus, and Ixodes vespertilionis) were recovered from 19 bat species in Algeria. New host records for bats are recorded for the first time: N. schmidlii from Rh. clivosus and R. cystops; N. latreillii from Rh. blasii and P. gaisleri; R. huberi from Rh. clivosus; C. pipistrelli from E. isabellinus and H. savii; C. vicinus from E. isabellinus; S. myoti from P. gaisleri; E. euryalis from P. gaisleri and Rh. blasii; A. vespertilionis from P. gaisleri; I. ricinus from T. teniotis and Rh. hipposideros and H. dromedarii from P. kuhlii. Raymondia huberi is recorded for the first time from Algeria. KW - Bats KW - Nycteribiidae KW - Streblidae KW - Siphonaptera KW - Heteroptera KW - Mesostigmata KW - Argasidae KW - Ixodidae KW - Algeria Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jvec.12235 SN - 1948-7134 VL - 42 SP - 13 EP - 23 PB - Wiley Interscience CY - Hoboken, NJ ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bengfort, Michael A1 - van Velzen, Ellen A1 - Gaedke, Ursula T1 - Slight phenotypic variation in predators and prey causes complex predator-prey oscillations JF - Ecological Complexity N2 - Predator-prey oscillations are expected to show a 1/4-phase lag between predator and prey. However, observed dynamics of natural or experimental predator-prey systems are often more complex. A striking but hardly studied example are sudden interruptions of classic 1/4-lag cycles with periods of antiphase oscillations, or periods without any regular predator-prey oscillations. These interruptions occur for a limited time before the system reverts to regular 1/4-lag oscillations, thus yielding intermittent cycles. Reasons for this behaviour are often difficult to reveal in experimental systems. Here we test the hypothesis that such complex dynamical behaviour may result from minor trait variation and trait adaptation in both the prey and predator, causing recurrent small changes in attack rates that may be hard to capture by empirical measurements. Using a model structure where the degree of trait variation in the predator can be explicitly controlled, we show that a very limited amount of adaptation resulting in 10-15% temporal variation in attack rates is already sufficient to generate these intermittent dynamics. Such minor variation may be present in experimental predator-prey systems, and may explain disruptions in regular 1/4-lag oscillations. KW - Predator-prey cycles KW - Phase relationships KW - Intermittent cycles KW - Adaptive traits KW - Eco-evolutionary dynamics KW - Complex dynamics Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecocom.2017.06.003 SN - 1476-945X SN - 1476-9840 VL - 31 SP - 115 EP - 124 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bents, Dominik A1 - Rybak, Alexander A1 - Groth, Detlef T1 - Spatial conscript body height correlation of Norwegian districts in the 19th century JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - 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. KW - body height KW - correlation KW - Norway KW - conscripts KW - community effect on height Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2017/0700 SN - 0003-5548 SN - 2363-7099 VL - 74 IS - 1 SP - 65 EP - 69 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bergholz, Kolja A1 - May, Felix A1 - Giladi, Itamar A1 - Ristow, Michael A1 - Ziv, Yaron A1 - Jeltsch, Florian T1 - Environmental heterogeneity drives fine-scale species assembly and functional diversity of annual plants in a semi-arid environment JF - Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics N2 - Spatial environmental heterogeneity is considered a fundamental factor for the maintenance of plant species richness. However, it still remains unclear whether heterogeneity may also facilitate coexistence at fine grain sizes or whether other processes, like mass effects and source sink dynamics due to dispersal, control species composition and diversity at these scales. In this study, we used two complimentary analyses to identify the role of heterogeneity within 15 m x 15 m plots for the coexistence of species-rich annual communities in a semi-arid environment along a steep precipitation gradient. Specifically, we: (a) analyzed the effect of environmental heterogeneity on species, functional and phylogenetic diversity within microsites (alpha diversity, 0.06 m(2) and 1 m(2)), across microsites (beta diversity), and diversity at the entire plot (gamma diversity); (b) further we used two null models to detect non-random trait and phylogenetic patterns in order to infer assembly processes, i.e. whether co-occurring species tend to share similar traits (trait convergence) or dissimilar traits (trait divergence). In general, our results showed that heterogeneity had a positive effect on community diversity. Specifically, for alpha diversity, the effect was significant for functional diversity, and not significant for either species or phylogenetic diversities. For beta diversity, all three measures of community diversity (species, functional, and phylogenetic) increased significantly, as they also did for gamma diversity, where functional measures were again stronger than for species or phylogenetic measures. In addition, the null model approach consistently detected trait convergence, indicating that species with similar traits tended to co-occur and had high abundances in a given microsite. While null model analysis across the phylogeny partly supported these trait findings, showing phylogenetic underdispersion at the 1m(2) grain size, surprisingly when species abundances in microsites were analyzed they were more evenly distributed across the phylogenetic tress than expected (phylogenetic overdispersion). In conclusion, our results provide compelling support that environmental heterogeneity at a relatively fine scale is an important factor for species co-existence as it positively affects diversity as well as influences species assembly. Our study underlines the need for trait-based approaches conducted at fine grain sizes in order to better understand species coexistence and community assembly. (C) 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. KW - Community assembly KW - Plant functional trait KW - Habitat heterogeneity KW - Limiting similarity KW - Environmental filtering KW - Heterogeneity species diversity relationship Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2017.01.001 SN - 1433-8319 VL - 24 SP - 138 EP - 146 PB - Elsevier CY - Jena ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bergholz, Kolja A1 - May, Felix A1 - Ristow, Michael A1 - Giladi, Itamar A1 - Ziv, Yaron A1 - Jeltsch, Florian T1 - Two Mediterranean annuals feature high within-population trait variability and respond differently to a precipitation gradient JF - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie N2 - Intraspecific trait variability plays an important role in species adaptation to climate change. However, it still remains unclear how plants in semi-arid environments respond to increasing aridity. We investigated the intraspecific trait variability of two common Mediterranean annuals (Geropogon hybridus and Crupina crupinastrum) with similar habitat preferences. They were studied along a steep precipitation gradient in Israel similar to the maximum predicted precipitation changes in the eastern Mediterranean basin (i.e. -30% until 2100). We expected a shift from competitive ability to stress tolerance with decreasing precipitation and tested this expectation by measuring key functional traits (canopy and seed release height, specific leaf area, N-and P-leaf content, seed mass). Further, we evaluated generative bet-hedging strategies by different seed traits. Both species showed different responses along the precipitation gradient. C. crupinastrum exhibited only decreased plant height toward saridity, while G. hybridus showed strong trends of generative adaptation to aridity. Different seed trait indices suggest increased bet-hedging of G. hybridus in arid environments. However, no clear trends along the precipitation gradient were observed in leaf traits (specific leaf area and leaf N-/P-content) in both species. Moreover, variance decomposition revealed that most of the observed trait variation (>> 50%) is found within populations. The findings of our study suggest that responses to increased aridity are highly species-specific and local environmental factors may have a stronger effect on intraspecific trait variation than shifts in annual precipitation. We therefore argue that trait-based analyses should focus on precipitation gradients that are comparable to predicted precipitation changes and compare precipitation effects to effects of local environmental factors. (C) 2017 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. KW - Climate change KW - Functional ecology KW - Plant height KW - Drought stress KW - Rainfall gradient KW - Trait-environment relationship KW - Local adaptation KW - Phenotypic plasticity Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2017.11.001 SN - 1439-1791 SN - 1618-0089 VL - 25 SP - 48 EP - 58 PB - Elsevier CY - Jena ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Berry, Scott A1 - Rosa, Stefanie A1 - Howard, Martin A1 - Buhler, Marc A1 - Dean, Caroline T1 - Disruption of an RNA-binding hinge region abolishes LHP1-mediated epigenetic repression JF - Genes & Development N2 - Epigenetic maintenance of gene repression is essential for development. Polycomb complexes are central to this memory, but many aspects of the underlying mechanism remain unclear. LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 (LHP1) binds Polycomb-deposited H3K27me3 and is required for repression of many Polycomb target genes in Arabidopsis. Here we show that LHP1 binds RNA in vitro through the intrinsically disordered hinge region. By independently perturbing the RNA-binding hinge region and H3K27me3 (trimethylation of histone H3 at Lys27) recognition, we found that both facilitate LHP1 localization and H3K27me3 maintenance. Disruption of the RNAbinding hinge region also prevented formation of subnuclear foci, structures potentially important for epigenetic repression. KW - chromatin KW - epigenetics KW - plant biology KW - Polycomb KW - RNA Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.305227.117 SN - 0890-9369 SN - 1549-5477 VL - 31 SP - 2115 EP - 2120 PB - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press CY - Cold Spring Harbor, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bhat, Javaid Y. A1 - Milicic, Goran A1 - Thieulin-Pardo, Gabriel A1 - Bracher, Andreas A1 - Maxwell, Andrew A1 - Ciniawsky, Susanne A1 - Müller-Cajar, Oliver A1 - Engen, John R. A1 - Hartl, F. Ulrich A1 - Wendler, Petra A1 - Hayer-Hartl, Manajit T1 - Mechanism of Enzyme Repair by the AAA(+) Chaperone Rubisco Activase JF - Molecular cell N2 - How AAA(+) chaperones conformationally remodel specific target proteins in an ATP-dependent manner is not well understood. Here, we investigated the mechanism of the AAA(+) protein Rubisco activase (Rca) in metabolic repair of the photosynthetic enzyme Rubisco, a complex of eight large (RbcL) and eight small (RbcS) subunits containing eight catalytic sites. Rubisco is prone to inhibition by tight-binding sugar phosphates, whose removal is catalyzed by Rca. We engineered a stable Rca hexamer ring and analyzed its functional interaction with Rubisco. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange and chemical crosslinking showed that Rca structurally destabilizes elements of the Rubisco active site with remarkable selectivity. Cryo-electron microscopy revealed that Rca docks onto Rubisco over one active site at a time, positioning the C-terminal strand of RbcL, which stabilizes the catalytic center, for access to the Rca hexamer pore. The pulling force of Rca is fine-tuned to avoid global destabilization and allow for precise enzyme repair. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2017.07.004 SN - 1097-2765 SN - 1097-4164 VL - 67 SP - 744 EP - 756 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bhuvanesh, Thanga A1 - Saretia, Shivam A1 - Roch, Toralf A1 - Schöne, Anne-Christin A1 - Rottke, Falko O. A1 - Kratz, Karl A1 - Wang, Weiwei A1 - Ma, Nan A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Langmuir-Schaefer films of fibronectin as designed biointerfaces for culturing stem cells JF - Polymers for advanced technologies N2 - Glycoproteins adsorbing on an implant upon contact with body fluids can affect the biological response in vitro and in vivo, depending on the type and conformation of the adsorbed biomacromolecules. However, this process is poorly characterized and so far not controllable. Here, protein monolayers of high molecular cohesion with defined density are transferred onto polymeric substrates by the Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) technique and were compared with solution deposition (SO) method. It is hypothesized that on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a substrate with poor cell adhesion capacity, the fibronectin (FN) layers generated by the LS and SO methods will differ in their organization, subsequently facilitating differential stem cell adhesion behavior. Indeed, atomic force microscopy visualization and immunofluorescence images indicated that organization of the FN layer immobilized on PDMS was uniform and homogeneous. In contrast, FN deposited by SO method was rather heterogeneous with appearance of structures resembling protein aggregates. Human mesenchymal stem cells showed reduced absolute numbers of adherent cells, and the vinculin expression seemed to be higher and more homogenously distributed after seeding on PDMS equipped with FN by LS in comparison with PDMS equipped with FN by SO. These divergent responses could be attributed to differences in the availability of adhesion molecule ligands such as the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide sequence presented at the interface. The LS method allows to control the protein layer characteristics, including the thickness and the protein orientation or conformation, which can be harnessed to direct stem cell responses to defined outcomes, including migration and differentiation. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KW - Langmuir-Schaefer method KW - protein adsorption KW - stem cell adhesion KW - cell culture KW - fibronectin Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pat.3910 SN - 1042-7147 SN - 1099-1581 VL - 28 SP - 1305 EP - 1311 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bjorneras, C. A1 - Weyhenmeyer, G. A. A1 - Evans, C. D. A1 - Gessner, M. O. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Kangur, K. A1 - Kokorite, I. A1 - Kortelainen, P. A1 - Laudon, H. A1 - Lehtoranta, J. A1 - Lottig, N. A1 - Monteith, D. T. A1 - Noges, P. A1 - Noges, T. A1 - Oulehle, F. A1 - Riise, G. A1 - Rusak, J. A. A1 - Raike, A. A1 - Sire, J. A1 - Sterling, S. A1 - Kritzberg, E. S. T1 - Widespread Increases in Iron Concentration in European and North American Freshwaters JF - Global biogeochemical cycles N2 - Recent reports of increasing iron (Fe) concentrations in freshwaters are of concern, given the fundamental role of Fe in biogeochemical processes. Still, little is known about the frequency and geographical distribution of Fe trends or about the underlying drivers. We analyzed temporal trends of Fe concentrations across 340 water bodies distributed over 10 countries in northern Europe and North America in order to gain a clearer understanding of where, to what extent, and why Fe concentrations are on the rise. We found that Fe concentrations have significantly increased in 28% of sites, and decreased in 4%, with most positive trends located in northern Europe. Regions with rising Fe concentrations tend to coincide with those with organic carbon (OC) increases. Fe and OC increases may not be directly mechanistically linked, but may nevertheless be responding to common regional-scale drivers such as declining sulfur deposition or hydrological changes. A role of hydrological factors was supported by covarying trends in Fe and dissolved silica, as these elements tend to stem from similar soil depths. A positive relationship between Fe increases and conifer cover suggests that changing land use and expanded forestry could have contributed to enhanced Fe export, although increases were also observed in nonforested areas. We conclude that the phenomenon of increasing Fe concentrations is widespread, especially in northern Europe, with potentially significant implications for wider ecosystem biogeochemistry, and for the current browning of freshwaters. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005749 SN - 0886-6236 SN - 1944-9224 VL - 31 SP - 1488 EP - 1500 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Blocki, Anna A1 - Löwenberg, Candy A1 - Jiang, Yi A1 - Kratz, Karl A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Jung, Friedrich A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Response of encapsulated cells to a gelatin matrix with varied bulk and microenvironmental elastic properties JF - Polymers for advanced technologies N2 - Gelatin-based hydrogels offer various biochemical cues that support encapsulated cells and are therefore suitable as cell delivery vehicles in regenerative medicine. However, besides the biochemical signals, biomechanical cues are crucial to ensure an optimal support of encapsulated cells. Hence, we aimed to correlate the cellular response of encapsulated cells to macroscopic and microscopic elastic properties of glycidylmethacrylate (GMA)-functionalized gelatin-based hydrogels. To ensure that different observations in cellular behavior could be attributed to differences in elastic properties, an identical concentration as well as degree of functionalization of biopolymers was utilized to form covalently crosslinked hydrogels. Elastic properties were merely altered by varying the average gelatin-chain length. Hydrogels exhibited an increased degree of swelling and a decreased bulk elastic modulus G with prolonged autoclaving of the starting solution. This was accompanied by an increase of hydrogel mesh size and thus by a reduction of crosslinking density. Tougher hydrogels retained the largest amount of cells; however, they also interfered with cell viability. Softer gels contained a lower cell density, but supported cell elongation and viability. Observed differences could be partially attributed to differences in bulk properties, as high crosslinking densities interfere with diffusion and cell spreading and thus can impede cell viability. Interestingly, a microscopic elastic modulus in the range of native soft tissue supported cell viability and elongation best while ensuring a good cell entrapment. In conclusion, gelatin-based hydrogels providing a soft tissue-like microenvironment represent adequate cell delivery vehicles for tissue engineering approaches. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KW - mechanotransduction KW - hydrogel KW - gelatin KW - cell encapsulation KW - matrix elasticity Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pat.3947 SN - 1042-7147 SN - 1099-1581 VL - 28 SP - 1245 EP - 1251 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER -