TY - JOUR A1 - Garcia, Sarahi L. A1 - McMahon, Katherine D. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Warnecke, Falk T1 - Successful enrichment of the ubiquitous freshwater acI Actinobacteria JF - Environmental microbiology reports N2 - Actinobacteria of the acI lineage are often the numerically dominant bacterial phylum in surface freshwaters, where they can account for >50% of total bacteria. Despite their abundance, there are no described isolates. In an effort to obtain enrichment of these ubiquitous freshwater Actinobacteria, diluted freshwater samples from Lake Grosse Fuchskuhle, Germany, were incubated in 96-well culture plates. With this method, a successful enrichment containing high abundances of a member of the lineage acI was established. Phylogenetic classification showed that the acIActinobacteria of the enrichment belonged to the acI-B2 tribe, which seems to prefer acidic lakes. This enrichment grows to low cell densities and thus the oligotrophic nature of acI-B2 was confirmed. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12104 SN - 1758-2229 VL - 6 IS - 1 SP - 21 EP - 27 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Malinova, Irina A1 - Mahlow, Sebastian A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Orawetz, Tom A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Baumann, Otto A1 - Steup, Martin A1 - Fettke, Jörg T1 - Double knockout mutants of arabidopsis grown under normal conditions reveal that the plastidial phosphorylase isozyme participates in transitory starch metabolism JF - Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants N2 - In leaves of two starch-related single-knockout lines lacking either the cytosolic transglucosidase (also designated as disproportionating enzyme 2, DPE2) or the maltose transporter (MEX1), the activity of the plastidial phosphorylase isozyme (PHS1) is increased. In both mutants, metabolism of starch-derived maltose is impaired but inhibition is effective at different subcellular sites. Two constitutive double knockout mutants were generated (designated as dpe2-1 x phs1a and mex1 x phs1b) both lacking functional PHS1. They reveal that in normally grown plants, the plastidial phosphorylase isozyme participates in transitory starch degradation and that the central carbon metabolism is closely integrated into the entire cell biology. All plants were grown either under continuous illumination or in a light-dark regime. Both double mutants were compromised in growth and, compared with the single knockout plants, possess less average leaf starch when grown in a light-dark regime. Starch and chlorophyll contents decline with leaf age. As revealed by transmission electron microscopy, mesophyll cells degrade chloroplasts, but degradation is not observed in plants grown under continuous illumination. The two double mutants possess similar but not identical phenotypes. When grown in a light-dark regime, mesophyll chloroplasts of dpe2-1 x phs1a contain a single starch granule but under continuous illumination more granules per chloroplast are formed. The other double mutant synthesizes more granules under either growth condition. In continuous light, growth of both double mutants is similar to that of the parental single knockout lines. Metabolite profiles and oligoglucan patterns differ largely in the two double mutants. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.113.227843 SN - 0032-0889 SN - 1532-2548 VL - 164 IS - 2 SP - 907 EP - 921 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Romy A1 - Schippers, Jos H. M. A1 - Mieulet, Delphine A1 - Watanabe, Mutsumi A1 - Hoefgen, Rainer A1 - Guiderdoni, Emmanuel A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd T1 - Salt-Rresponsive ERF1 is a negative regulator of grain filling and gibberellin-mediated seedling establishment in rice JF - Molecular plant N2 - Grain quality is an important agricultural trait that is mainly determined by grain size and composition. Here, we characterize the role of the rice transcription factor (TF) SALT-RESPONSIVE ERF1 (SERF1) during grain development. Through genome-wide expression profiling and chromatin immunoprecipitation, we found that SERF1 directly regulates RICE PROLAMIN-BOX BINDING FACTOR (RPBF), a TF that functions as a positive regulator of grain filling. Loss of SERF1 enhances RPBF expression resulting in larger grains with increased starch content, while SERF1 overexpression represses RPBF resulting in smaller grains. Consistently, during grain filling, starch biosynthesis genes such as GRANULE-BOUND STARCH SYNTHASEI (GBSSI), STARCH SYNTHASEI (SSI), SSIIIa, and ADP-GLUCOSE PYROPHOSPHORYLASE LARGE SUBUNIT2 (AGPL2) are up-regulated in SERF1 knockout grains. Moreover, SERF1 is a direct upstream regulator of GBSSI. In addition, SERF1 negatively regulates germination by controlling RPBF expression, which mediates the gibberellic acid (GA)-induced expression of RICE AMYLASE1A (RAmy1A). Loss of SERF1 results in more rapid seedling establishment, while SERF1 overexpression has the opposite effect. Our study reveals that SERF1 represents a negative regulator of grain filling and seedling establishment by timing the expression of RPBF. KW - RPBF KW - rice KW - grain filling KW - germination KW - SERF1 KW - gibberellic acid Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mp/sst131 SN - 1674-2052 SN - 1752-9867 VL - 7 IS - 2 SP - 404 EP - 421 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Salka, Ivette A1 - Wurzbacher, Christian A1 - Garcia, Sarahi L. A1 - Labrenz, Matthias A1 - Juergens, Klaus A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Distribution of acI-Actinorhodopsin genes in Baltic Sea salinity gradients indicates adaptation of facultative freshwater photoheterotrophs to brackish waters JF - Environmental microbiology Y1 - 2014 SN - 1462-2912 SN - 1462-2920 VL - 16 IS - 2 SP - 586 EP - 597 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heydari, Esmaeil A1 - Buller, Jens A1 - Wischerhoff, Erik A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Döring, Sebastian A1 - Stumpe, Joachim T1 - Label-Free biosensor based on an all-polymer DFB laser JF - Advanced optical materials KW - label-free biosensors KW - DFB lasers KW - active optical resonators KW - hydrogels KW - semiconducting polymers Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.201300454 SN - 2195-1071 VL - 2 IS - 2 SP - 137 EP - 141 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Baeten, Lander A1 - Warton, David I. A1 - Van Calster, Hans A1 - De Frenne, Pieter A1 - Verstraeten, Gorik A1 - Bonte, Dries A1 - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus A1 - Cornelis, Johnny A1 - Decocq, Guillaume A1 - Eriksson, Ove A1 - Hedl, Radim A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Hermy, Martin A1 - Hommel, Patrick A1 - Kirby, Keith J. A1 - Naaf, Tobias A1 - Petrik, Petr A1 - Walther, Gian-Reto A1 - Wulf, Monica A1 - Verheyen, Kris T1 - A model-based approach to studying changes in compositional heterogeneity JF - Methods in ecology and evolution : an official journal of the British Ecological Society Y1 - 2014 SN - 2041-210X SN - 2041-2096 VL - 5 IS - 2 SP - 156 EP - 164 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - French, Alice S. A1 - Simcock, Kerry L. A1 - Rolke, Daniel A1 - Gartside, Sarah E. A1 - Blenau, Wolfgang A1 - Wright, Geraldine A. T1 - The role of serotonin in feeding and gut contractions in the honeybee JF - Journal of insect physiology KW - Honeybee KW - Apis mellifera KW - Serotonin KW - 5-HT KW - 5-HT receptor KW - Gut contractions Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2013.12.005 SN - 0022-1910 SN - 1879-1611 VL - 61 SP - 8 EP - 15 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koessl, M. A1 - Hechavarria, J. C. A1 - Voss, C. A1 - Macias, S. A1 - Mora, E. C. A1 - Vater, Marianne T1 - Neural maps for target range in the auditory cortex of echolocating bats JF - Current opinion in neurobiology : reviews of all advances ; evaluation of key references ; comprehensive listing of papers N2 - Computational brain maps as opposed to maps of receptor surfaces strongly reflect functional neuronal design principles. In echolocating bats, computational maps are established that topographically represent the distance of objects. These target range maps are derived from the temporal delay between emitted call and returning echo and constitute a regular representation of time (chronotopy). Basic features of these maps are innate, and in different bat species the map size and precision varies. An inherent advantage of target range maps is the implementation of mechanisms for lateral inhibition and excitatory feedback. Both can help to focus target ranging depending on the actual echolocation situation. However, these maps are not absolutely necessary for bat echolocation since there are bat species without cortical target-distance maps, which use alternative ensemble computation mechanisms. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2013.08.016 SN - 0959-4388 SN - 1873-6882 VL - 24 SP - 68 EP - 75 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dolgener, N. A1 - Freudenberger, L. A1 - Schluck, M. A1 - Schneeweiss, N. A1 - Ibisch, P. L. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Environmental niche factor analysis (ENFA) relates environmental parameters to abundance and genetic diversity in an endangered amphibian, the fire-bellied-toad (Bombina bombina) JF - Conservation genetics N2 - Increasing attempts are made to understand the factors responsible for both the demographic and genetic depletion in amphibian populations. Landscape genetics aims at a spatially explicit correlation of genetic population parameters to landscape features. Using data from the endangered fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina in Brandenburg (Northeastern Germany), we performed an environmental niche factor analysis (ENFA), relating demographic (abundance) and genetic (diversity at 17 microsatellite loci and partial sequences of the mitochondrial control region in 434 individuals from 16 populations) parameters to ecological and anthropogenic variables such as temperature, precipitation, soil wetness, water runoff, vegetation density, and road/traffic impact. We found significant correlations between road disturbance and observed heterozygosity and between soil wetness and mitochondrial diversity. As the influences of the environmental variables can differ between different indicators for genetic diversity, population size and abundance data, our ENFA-based landscape genetics approach allows us to put various aspects of long- versus short term effective population size and genetic connectivity into an ecological and spatially explicit context, enabling potentially even forecast assessment under future environmental scenarios. KW - Distribution modelling KW - ENFA KW - Genetic diversity KW - Fire-bellied toad KW - Landscape genetics KW - Road disturbance Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-013-0517-4 SN - 1566-0621 SN - 1572-9737 VL - 15 IS - 1 SP - 11 EP - 21 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gatte-Picchi, Douglas A1 - Weiz, Annika A1 - Ishida, Keishi A1 - Hertweck, Christian A1 - Dittmann-Thünemann, Elke T1 - Functional analysis of environmental DNA-derived microviridins provides new insights into the diversity of the tricyclic peptide family JF - Applied and environmental microbiology N2 - Microviridins represent a unique family of ribosomally synthesized cage-like depsipeptides from cyanobacteria with potent protease-inhibitory activities. The natural diversity of these peptides is largely unexplored. Here, we describe two methodologies that were developed to functionally characterize cryptic microviridin gene clusters from metagenomic DNA. Environmental samples were collected and enriched from cyanobacterial freshwater blooms of different geographical origins containing predominantly Microcystis sp. Microviridins were produced either directly from fosmid clones or after insertion of environmental DNA-derived gene cassettes into a minimal expression platform in Escherichia coli. Three novel microviridin variants were isolated and tested against different serine-type proteases. The comparison of the bioactivity profiles of the new congeners allows deduction of further structure-function relationships for microviridins. Moreover, this study provides new insights into microviridin processing and gene cluster organization. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.03502-13 SN - 0099-2240 SN - 1098-5336 VL - 80 IS - 4 SP - 1380 EP - 1387 PB - American Society for Microbiology CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Otrelo-Cardoso, Ana Rita A1 - da Silva Correia, Marcia Alexandra A1 - Schwuchow, Viola A1 - Svergun, Dmitri I. A1 - Romao, Maria Joao A1 - Leimkühler, Silke A1 - Santos-Silva, Teresa T1 - Structural Data on the Periplasmic Aldehyde Oxidoreductase PaoABC from Escherichia coli: SAXS and Preliminary X-ray Crystallography Analysis JF - International journal of molecular sciences N2 - The periplasmic aldehyde oxidoreductase PaoABC from Escherichia coli is a molybdenum enzyme involved in detoxification of aldehydes in the cell. It is an example of an heterotrimeric enzyme of the xanthine oxidase family of enzymes which does not dimerize via its molybdenum cofactor binding domain. In order to structurally characterize PaoABC, X-ray crystallography and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) have been carried out. The protein crystallizes in the presence of 20% (w/v) polyethylene glycol 3350 using the hanging-drop vapour diffusion method. Although crystals were initially twinned, several experiments were done to overcome twinning and lowering the crystallization temperature (293 K to 277 K) was the solution to the problem. The non-twinned crystals used to solve the structure diffract X-rays to beyond 1.80 angstrom and belong to the C2 space group, with cell parameters a = 109.42 angstrom, b = 78.08 angstrom, c = 151.77 angstrom, = 99.77 degrees, and one molecule in the asymmetric unit. A molecular replacement solution was found for each subunit separately, using several proteins as search models. SAXS data of PaoABC were also collected showing that, in solution, the protein is also an heterotrimer. KW - periplasmic aldehyde oxidoreductase KW - X-ray crystallography KW - small angle X-ray scattering KW - crystal twinning Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms15022223 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 15 IS - 2 SP - 2223 EP - 2236 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boehmer, Nadine A1 - Hartmann, Tobias A1 - Leimkühler, Silke T1 - The chaperone FdsC for Rhodobacter capsulatus formate dehydrogenase binds the bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide cofactor JF - FEBS letters : the journal for rapid publication of short reports in molecular biosciences N2 - Molybdoenzymes are complex enzymes in which the molybdenum cofactor (Moco) is deeply buried in the enzyme. Most molybdoenzymes contain a specific chaperone for the insertion of Moco. For the formate dehydrogenase FdsGBA from Rhodobacter capsulatus the two chaperones FdsC and FdsD were identified to be essential for enzyme activity, but are not a subunit of the mature enzyme. Here, we purified and characterized the FdsC protein after heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. We were able to copurify FdsC with the bound Moco derivate bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide. This cofactor successfully was used as a source to reconstitute the activity of molybdoenzymes. Structured summary of protein interactions: FdsC and FdsC bind by molecular sieving (View interaction) FdsD binds to RcMobA by surface plasmon resonance (View interaction) FdsC binds to RcMobA by surface plasmon resonance (View interaction) FdsC binds to FdsA by surface plasmon resonance (View interaction) KW - Molybdenum cofactor KW - L-cysteine desulfurase KW - Formate dehydrogenase KW - Chaperone KW - bis-MGD Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2013.12.033 SN - 0014-5793 SN - 1873-3468 VL - 588 IS - 4 SP - 531 EP - 537 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kocyan, Alexander A1 - Schuiteman, Andre T1 - New combinations in Aeridinae (Orchidaceae) JF - Phytotaxa : a rapid international journal for accelerating the publication of botanical taxonomy N2 - New combinations are made in the genera Arachnis, Brachypeza, Dimorphorchis, Grosourdya, Phalaenopsis, Renanthera, Robiquetia, Taeniophyllum, Thrixspermum, Trachoma and Trichoglottis. Two new subgenera are established in Phalaenopsis (subgen. Ornithochilus and Hygrochilus). These changes are proposed to begin aligning the genera recognized in subtribe Aeridinae with results of recent DNA analyses ( published elsewhere). Y1 - 2014 SN - 1179-3155 SN - 1179-3163 VL - 161 IS - 1 SP - 61 EP - 85 PB - Magnolia Press CY - Auckland ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nietzsche, Madlen A1 - Schiessl, Ingrid A1 - Börnke, Frederik T1 - The complex becomes more complex: protein-protein interactions of SnRK1 with DUF581 family proteins provide a framework for cell and stimulus type-specific SnRK1 signaling in plants JF - Frontiers in plant science N2 - In plants, SNF1-related kinase (SnRK1) responds to the availability of carbohydrates as well as to environmental stresses by down-regulating ATP consuming biosynthetic processes, while stimulating energy-generating catabolic reactions through gene expression and post-transcriptional regulation. The functional SnRK1 complex is a heterotrimer where the catalytic alpha subunit associates with a regulatory beta subunit and an activating gamma subunit. Several different metabolites as well as the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) have been shown to modulate SnRK1 activity in a cell- and stimulus-type specific manner. It has been proposed that tissue- or stimulus-specific expression of adapter proteins mediating SnRK1 regulation can at least partly explain the differences observed in SnRK1 signaling. By using yeast two-hybrid and in planta bi-molecular fluorescence complementation assays we were able to demonstrate that proteins containing the domain of unknown function (DUF) 581 could interact with both isoforms of the SnRK1 alpha subunit (AKIN10/11) of Arabidopsis. A structure/function analysis suggests that the DUF581 is a generic SnRK1 interaction module and co-expression with DUF581 proteins in plant cells leads to reallocation of the kinase to specific regions within the nucleus. Yeast two-hybrid analyses suggest that SnRK1 and DUF581 proteins share common interaction partners inside the nucleus. The analysis of available microarray data implies that expression of the 19 members of the DUF581 encoding gene family in Arabidopsis is differentially regulated by hormones and environmental cues, indicating specialized functions of individual family members. We hypothesize that DUF581 proteins could act as mediators conferring tissue- and stimulus-type specific differences in SnRK1 regulation. KW - Arabidopsis KW - SnRK1 KW - DUF581 KW - protein-protein interaction KW - stress signaling KW - ABA Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00054 SN - 1664-462X VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boit, Alice A1 - Gaedke, Ursula T1 - Benchmarking successional progress in a quantitative food web JF - PLoS one N2 - Central to ecology and ecosystem management, succession theory aims to mechanistically explain and predict the assembly and development of ecological communities. Yet processes at lower hierarchical levels, e. g. at the species and functional group level, are rarely mechanistically linked to the under-investigated system-level processes which drive changes in ecosystem properties and functioning and are comparable across ecosystems. As a model system for secondary succession, seasonal plankton succession during the growing season is readily observable and largely driven autogenically. We used a long-term dataset from large, deep Lake Constance comprising biomasses, auto-and heterotrophic production, food quality, functional diversity, and mass-balanced food webs of the energy and nutrient flows between functional guilds of plankton and partly fish. Extracting population-and system-level indices from this dataset, we tested current hypotheses about the directionality of successional progress which are rooted in ecosystem theory, the metabolic theory of ecology, quantitative food web theory, thermodynamics, and information theory. Our results indicate that successional progress in Lake Constance is quantifiable, passing through predictable stages. Mean body mass, functional diversity, predator-prey weight ratios, trophic positions, system residence times of carbon and nutrients, and the complexity of the energy flow patterns increased during succession. In contrast, both the mass-specific metabolic activity and the system export decreased, while the succession rate exhibited a bimodal pattern. The weighted connectance introduced here represents a suitable index for assessing the evenness and interconnectedness of energy flows during succession. Diverging from earlier predictions, ascendency and eco-exergy did not increase during succession. Linking aspects of functional diversity to metabolic theory and food web complexity, we reconcile previously disjoint bodies of ecological theory to form a complete picture of successional progress within a pelagic food web. This comprehensive synthesis may be used as a benchmark for quantifying successional progress in other ecosystems. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090404 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 2 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sutton, Christopher A1 - Körzdörfer, Thomas A1 - Coropceanu, Veaceslav A1 - Bredas, Jean-Luc T1 - Toward a robust quantum-chemical description of organic mixed-valence systems JF - The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces N2 - The electronic coupling between redox sites in mixed-valence systems has attracted the interest of the chemistry community for a long time. Many computational studies have focused on trying to determine its magnitude as a function of the nature of the redox sites and of the bridge(s) between them. However, in most instances, the quantum-chemical methodologies that have been employed suffer from intrinsic errors that lead to either an overlocalized or an overdelocalized character of the electronic structure. These deficiencies prevent an accurate depiction of the degree of charge (de)localization in the system and, as a result, of the extent of electronic coupling. Here we use nonempirically tuned long-range corrected density functional theory and show that it provides a robust, efficient approach to characterize organic mixed-valence systems. We first demonstrate the performance of this approach via a study of representative Robin-Day class-II (localized) and class-III (delocalized) complexes. We then examine a borderline class-II/class-III complex, which had proven difficult to describe accurately with standard density functional theory and Hartree-Fock methods. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/jp410461v SN - 1932-7447 VL - 118 IS - 8 SP - 3925 EP - 3934 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klemme, I. A1 - Baeumer, J. A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Ylonen, H. T1 - Polyandrous females produce sons that are successful at post-copulatory competition JF - Journal of evolutionary biology Y1 - 2014 SN - 1010-061X SN - 1420-9101 VL - 27 IS - 3 SP - 457 EP - 465 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lumaga, Maria Rosaria Barone A1 - Cozzolino, Salvatore A1 - Kocyan, Alexander A1 - Menale, Bruno A1 - Rudall, Paula J. T1 - Exine micromorphology and ultrastructure in Neottieae (Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae) JF - Plant systematics and evolution N2 - The diverse epidendroid orchid tribe Neottieae is characterized by multiple transitions between autotrophy and mycoheterotrophy, allogamous and autogamous mating systems, pollen released as tetrads or monads, and pollen exine tectate or semitectate. We use transmission and scanning electron microscopy on pollen of ten species of Neottieae to investigate whether the differences in pollen aggregation and exine micromorphology and ultrastructure reflect phylogenetic relationships, or whether this variation is subject to ecological constraints. Our results showed that differences in exine micromorphology are mostly concordant with phylogenetic relationships in Neottieae, i.e. an ascending tendency of pollen ornamentation from tectate (Cephalanthera) to semitectate (e.g. Neottia). In contrast, pollen aggregation, when plotted on the most recent phylogeny, shows repeated transitions between monads and tetrads that could be related to ecological constraints. Tetrads are present in species that are nectar rewarding, whereas monads are common in deceptive species. Cephalanthera is characterized by recalcitrant pollen, including the frequent occurrence of collapsed pollen. In this genus, the observed shifts from allogamous to autogamous or cleistogamous mating systems could help to reduce pollen damage caused by exposure to dry habitats. KW - Mating system KW - Monads KW - Neottieae KW - Pollenkitt KW - Tetrads KW - Ulcerate pollen Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0899-2 SN - 0378-2697 SN - 1615-6110 VL - 300 IS - 3 SP - 505 EP - 515 PB - Springer CY - Wien ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Balazadeh, Salma T1 - Auxin and its role in plant senescence JF - Journal of plant growth regulation N2 - Leaf senescence represents a key developmental process through which resources trapped in the photosynthetic organ are degraded in an organized manner and transported away to sustain the growth of other organs including newly forming leaves, roots, seeds, and fruits. The optimal timing of the initiation and progression of senescence are thus prerequisites for controlled plant growth, biomass accumulation, and evolutionary success through seed dispersal. Recent research has uncovered a multitude of regulatory factors including transcription factors, micro-RNAs, protein kinases, and others that constitute the molecular networks that regulate senescence in plants. The timing of senescence is affected by environmental conditions and abiotic or biotic stresses typically trigger a faster senescence. Various phytohormones, including for example ethylene, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid, promote senescence, whereas cytokinins delay it. Recently, several reports have indicated an involvement of auxin in the control of senescence, however, its mode of action and point of interference with senescence control mechanisms remain vaguely defined at present and contrasting observations regarding the effect of auxin on senescence have so far hindered the establishment of a coherent model. Here, we summarize recent studies on auxin-related genes that affect senescence in plants and highlight how these findings might be integrated into current molecular-regulatory models of senescence. KW - ARF KW - Auxin KW - Chloroplast KW - Development KW - Leaf KW - SAUR KW - Senescence KW - Signaling KW - Transcription factor KW - YUCCA Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-013-9398-5 SN - 0721-7595 SN - 1435-8107 VL - 33 IS - 1 SP - 21 EP - 33 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Trost, Gerda A1 - Vi, Son Lang A1 - Czesnick, Hjördis A1 - Lange, Peggy A1 - Holton, Nick A1 - Giavalisco, Patrick A1 - Zipfel, Cyril A1 - Kappel, Christian A1 - Lenhard, Michael T1 - Arabidopsis poly(A) polymerase PAPS1 limits founder-cell recruitment to organ primordia and suppresses the salicylic acid-independent immune response downstream of EDS1/PAD4 JF - The plant journal N2 - Polyadenylation of pre-mRNAs by poly(A) polymerase (PAPS) is a critical process in eukaryotic gene expression. As found in vertebrates, plant genomes encode several isoforms of canonical nuclear PAPS enzymes. In Arabidopsis thaliana these isoforms are functionally specialized, with PAPS1 affecting both organ growth and immune response, at least in part by the preferential polyadenylation of subsets of pre-mRNAs. Here, we demonstrate that the opposite effects of PAPS1 on leaf and flower growth reflect the different identities of these organs, and identify a role for PAPS1 in the elusive connection between organ identity and growth patterns. The overgrowth of paps1 mutant petals is due to increased recruitment of founder cells into early organ primordia, and suggests that PAPS1 activity plays unique roles in influencing organ growth. By contrast, the leaf phenotype of paps1 mutants is dominated by a constitutive immune response that leads to increased resistance to the biotrophic oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis and reflects activation of the salicylic acid-independent signalling pathway downstream of ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1 (EDS1)/PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4 (PAD4). These findings provide an insight into the developmental and physiological basis of the functional specialization amongst plant PAPS isoforms. KW - poly(A) polymerase KW - founder-cell recruitment KW - organ growth KW - polyadenylation Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.12421 SN - 0960-7412 SN - 1365-313X VL - 77 IS - 5 SP - 688 EP - 699 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bauer, Barbara A1 - Vos, Matthijs A1 - Klauschies, Toni A1 - Gaedke, Ursula T1 - Diversity, functional similarity, and top-down control drive synchronization and the reliability of ecosystem function JF - The American naturalist : a bi-monthly journal devoted to the advancement and correlation of the biological sciences N2 - The concept that diversity promotes reliability of ecosystem function depends on the pattern that community-level biomass shows lower temporal variability than species-level biomasses. However, this pattern is not universal, as it relies on compensatory or independent species dynamics. When in contrast within--trophic level synchronization occurs, variability of community biomass will approach population-level variability. Current knowledge fails to integrate how species richness, functional distance between species, and the relative importance of predation and competition combine to drive synchronization at different trophic levels. Here we clarify these mechanisms. Intense competition promotes compensatory dynamics in prey, but predators may at the same time increasingly synchronize, under increasing species richness and functional similarity. In contrast, predators and prey both show perfect synchronization under strong top-down control, which is promoted by a combination of low functional distance and high net growth potential of predators. Under such conditions, community-level biomass variability peaks, with major negative consequences for reliability of ecosystem function. KW - biodiversity KW - ecosystem services KW - population dynamics KW - predator-prey system KW - species richness KW - synchrony Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1086/674906 SN - 0003-0147 SN - 1537-5323 VL - 183 IS - 3 SP - 394 EP - 409 PB - Univ. of Chicago Press CY - Chicago ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lehto, Taavi A1 - Alvarez, Alejandra Castillo A1 - Gauck, Sarah A1 - Gait, Michael J. A1 - Coursindel, Thibault A1 - Wood, Matthew J. A. A1 - Lebleu, Bernard A1 - Boisguerin, Prisca T1 - Cellular trafficking determines the exon skipping activity of Pip6a-PMO in mdx skeletal and cardiac muscle cells JF - Nucleic acids research N2 - Cell-penetrating peptide-mediated delivery of phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs) has shown great promise for exon-skipping therapy of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Pip6a-PMO, a recently developed conjugate, is particularly efficient in a murine DMD model, although mechanisms responsible for its increased biological activity have not been studied. Here, we evaluate the cellular trafficking and the biological activity of Pip6a-PMO in skeletal muscle cells and primary cardiomyocytes. Our results indicate that Pip6a-PMO is taken up in the skeletal muscle cells by an energy-and caveolae-mediated endocytosis. Interestingly, its cellular distribution is different in undifferentiated and differentiated skeletal muscle cells (vesicular versus nuclear). Likewise, Pip6a-PMO mainly accumulates in cytoplasmic vesicles in primary cardiomyocytes, in which clathrin-mediated endocytosis seems to be the predominant uptake pathway. These differences in cellular trafficking correspond well with the exon-skipping data, with higher activity in myotubes than in myoblasts or cardiomyocytes. These differences in cellular trafficking thus provide a possible mechanistic explanation for the variations in exon-skipping activity and restoration of dystrophin protein in heart muscle compared with skeletal muscle tissues in DMD models. Overall, Pip6a-PMO appears as the most efficient conjugate to date (low nanomolar EC50), even if limitations remain from endosomal escape. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkt1220 SN - 0305-1048 SN - 1362-4962 VL - 42 IS - 5 SP - 3207 EP - 3217 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wehe, Christoph A. A1 - Pieper, Imke A1 - Holtkamp, Michael A1 - Thyssen, Georgina M. A1 - Sperling, Michael A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Karst, Uwe T1 - On-line species-unspecific isotope dilution analysis in the picomolar range reveals the time- and species-depending mercury uptake in human astrocytes JF - Analytical & bioanalytical chemistry N2 - In order to reveal the time-depending mercury species uptake by human astrocytes, a novel approach for total mercury analysis is presented, which uses an accelerated sample introduction system combined on-line with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer equipped with a collision/reaction cell. Human astrocyte samples were incubated with inorganic mercury (HgCl2), methylmercury chloride (MeHgCl), and thimerosal. After 1-h incubation with Hg2+, cellular concentrations of 3 mu M were obtained, whereas for organic species, concentrations of 14-18 mu M could be found. After 24 h, a cellular accumulation factor of 0.3 was observed for the cells incubated with Hg2+, whereas the organic species both showed values of about 5. Due to the obtained steady-state signals, reliable results with relative standard deviations of well below 5 % and limits of detection in the concentration range of 1 ng L-1 were obtained using external calibration and species-unspecific isotope dilution analysis approaches. The results were further validated using atomic fluorescence spectrometry. KW - Mercury KW - Thimerosal KW - Astrocytes KW - ICP-MS KW - Isotope dilution analysis KW - Automation Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-013-7608-4 SN - 1618-2642 SN - 1618-2650 VL - 406 IS - 7 SP - 1909 EP - 1916 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Gniosdorz, Birgit A1 - Staub, Kaspar A1 - Ruehli, Frank T1 - Skeletal Robustness and Bone Strength as Measured by Anthropometry and Ultrasonography as a Function of Physical Activity in Young Adults JF - American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council N2 - Background: During the last 10 years, skeletal robustness in children has generally decreased. The reasons for this phenomenon, as well as its outcomes, are undetermined so far. Aim: The present study explores the association between anthropometric skeletal measurements, bone quality measurements, and physical activity in young adults. Subjects and Methods: 118 German young men (N=568; 19-25 years old) and women (N=550; 19-24 years old) were investigated by anthropometric methods (i. e., height, weight, shoulder, elbow breadth, and pelvic breadth) and quantitative ultrasound measurement (QUS). Strength and stability of Os calcis have been determined by speed of sound (in m/s) and broadband ultrasound attenuation (in dB/Mhz); individual physical activity was analyzed by a pedometer and by questionnaire. Results: The results show a correlation between sports hours per week and bone quality index in males. But no correlation exists between anthropometric data and QUSs for either sexes, as well as no correlation between total steps per day and internal bone quality or external bone dimensions. Conclusion: These results are discussed in the context of generally decreasing physical activity, the outcomes of prevention programs as well as evolutionary adaptation of human phenotypic plasticity in a changing environment. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22504 SN - 1042-0533 SN - 1520-6300 VL - 26 IS - 2 SP - 215 EP - 220 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pieper, Christian A1 - Marek, Jasmin Jacqueline A1 - Unterberg, Marlies A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Galla, Hans-Joachim T1 - Brain capillary pericytes contribute to the immune defense in response to cytokines or LPS in vitro JF - Brain research : an international multidisciplinary journal devoted to fundamental research in the brain sciences N2 - The prevention of an inflammation in the brain is one of the most important goals the body has to achieve. As pericytes are located on the abluminal side of the capillaries in the brain, their role in fighting against invading pathogens has been investigated in some points, mostly in their ability to behave like macrophages. Here we studied the potential of pericytes to react as immune cells under inflammatory conditions, especially regarding the expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), major histocompatibility complex II (MHC II) molecules, CD68, as well as the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), and their ability in phagocytosis. Quantitative real time PCR and western blot analysis showed that pericytes are able to increase the expression of typical inflammatory marker proteins after the stimulation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1 beta), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), or lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Depending on the different specific pro-inflammatory factors pericytes changed the expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha SMA), the most predominant pericyte marker. We conclude that the role of the pericytes within the immune system is regulated and fine-tuned by different cytokines strongly depending on the time when the cytokines are released and their concentration. The present results will help to understand the pericyte mediated defense mechanisms in the brain. KW - Pericytes KW - Cytokines KW - Inflammation KW - LPS KW - Macrophage-like phenotype Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2014.01.004 SN - 0006-8993 SN - 1872-6240 VL - 1550 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kersting, Sebastian A1 - Rausch, Valentina A1 - Bier, Frank Fabian A1 - von Nickisch-Rosenegk, Markus T1 - Rapid detection of Plasmodium falciparum with isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification and lateral flow analysis JF - Malaria journal N2 - Background: Nucleic acid amplification is the most sensitive and specific method to detect Plasmodium falciparum. However the polymerase chain reaction remains laboratory-based and has to be conducted by trained personnel. Furthermore, the power dependency for the thermocycling process and the costly equipment necessary for the read-out are difficult to cover in resource-limited settings. This study aims to develop and evaluate a combination of isothermal nucleic acid amplification and simple lateral flow dipstick detection of the malaria parasite for point-of-care testing. Methods: A specific fragment of the 18S rRNA gene of P. falciparum was amplified in 10 min at a constant 38 C using the isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) method. With a unique probe system added to the reaction solution, the amplification product can be visualized on a simple lateral flow strip without further labelling. The combination of these methods was tested for sensitivity and specificity with various Plasmodium and other protozoa/bacterial strains, as well as with human DNA. Additional investigations were conducted to analyse the temperature optimum, reaction speed and robustness of this assay. Results: The lateral flow RPA (LF-RPA) assay exhibited a high sensitivity and specificity. Experiments confirmed a detection limit as low as 100 fg of genomic P. falciparum DNA, corresponding to a sensitivity of approximately four parasites per reaction. All investigated P. falciparum strains (n = 77) were positively tested while all of the total 11 non-Plasmodium samples, showed a negative test result. The enzymatic reaction can be conducted under a broad range of conditions from 30-45 degrees C with high inhibitory concentration of known PCR inhibitors. A time to result of 15 min from start of the reaction to read-out was determined. Conclusions: Combining the isothermal RPA and the lateral flow detection is an approach to improve molecular diagnostic for P. falciparum in resource-limited settings. The system requires none or only little instrumentation for the nucleic acid amplification reaction and the read-out is possible with the naked eye. Showing the same sensitivity and specificity as comparable diagnostic methods but simultaneously increasing reaction speed and dramatically reducing assay requirements, the method has potential to become a true point-of-care test for the malaria parasite. KW - Plasmodium falciparum KW - Recombinase polymerase amplification KW - RPA KW - PCR KW - Lateral flow KW - Point-of-care testing KW - Rapid test KW - Isothermal nucleic acid amplification Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-13-99 SN - 1475-2875 VL - 13 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Glaeser, Stefanie P. A1 - Berghoff, Bork A. A1 - Stratmann, Verena A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Glaeser, Jens T1 - Contrasting effects of singlet oxygen and hydrogen peroxide on bacterial community composition in a humic lake JF - PLoS one N2 - Light excitation of humic matter generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) in surface waters of aquatic ecosystems. Abundant ROS generated in humic matter rich lakes include singlet oxygen (O-1(2)) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Because these ROS differ in half-life time and toxicity, we compared their effects on microbial activity (C-14-Leucine incorporation) and bacterial community composition (BCC) in surface waters of humic Lake Grosse Fuchskuhle (North-eastern Germany). For this purpose, experiments with water samples collected from the lake were conducted in July 2006, September 2008 and August 2009. Artificially increased O-1(2) and H2O2 concentrations inhibited microbial activity in water samples to a similar extent, but the effect of the respective ROS on BCC varied strongly. BCC analysis by 16S rRNA gene clone libraries and RT-PCR DGGE revealed ROS specific changes in relative abundance and activity of major bacterial groups and composition of dominating phylotypes. These changes were consistent in the three experiments performed in different years. The relative abundance of Polynucleobacter necessarius, Limnohabitans-related phylotypes (Betaproteobacteria), and Novosphingobium acidiphilum (Alphaproteobacteria) increased or was not affected by photo-sensitized O-1(2) exposure, but decreased after H2O2 exposure. The opposite pattern was found for Actinobacteria of the freshwater AcI-B cluster which were highly sensitive to O-1(2) but not to H2O2 exposure. Furthermore, group-specific RT-PCR DGGE analysis revealed that particle-attached P. necessarius and Limnohabitans-related phylotypes exhibit higher resistance to O-1(2) exposure compared to free-living populations. These results imply that O-1(2) acts as a factor in niche separation of closely affiliated Polynucleobacter and Limnohabitans-related phylotypes. Consequently, oxidative stress caused by photochemical ROS generation should be regarded as an environmental variable determining abundance, activity, and phylotype composition of environmentally relevant bacterial groups, in particular in illuminated and humic matter rich waters. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092518 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 3 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheiner, Ricarda A1 - Toteva, Anna A1 - Reim, Tina A1 - Sovik, Eirik A1 - Barron, Andrew B. T1 - Differences in the phototaxis of pollen and nectar foraging honey bees are related to their octopamine brain titers JF - Frontiers in physiology N2 - The biogenic amine octopamine is an important neuromodulator, neurohormone and neurotransmitter in insects. We here investigate the role of octopamine signaling in honey bee phototaxis. Our results show that groups of bees differ naturally in their phototaxis. Pollen forgers display a lower light responsiveness than nectar foragers. The lower phototaxis of pollen foragers coincides with higher octopamine titers in the optic lobes but is independent of octopamine receptor gene expression. Increasing octopamine brain titers reduces responsiveness to light, while tyramine application enhances phototaxis. These findings suggest an involvement of octopamine signaling in honey bee phototaxis and possibly division of labor, which is hypothesized to be based on individual differences in sensory responsiveness. KW - biogenic amines KW - tyramine KW - division of labor KW - honey bee KW - light responsiveness KW - insect KW - behavior Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00116 SN - 1664-042X VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becher, Matthias A. A1 - Grimm, Volker A1 - Thorbek, Pernille A1 - Horn, Juliane A1 - Kennedy, Peter J. A1 - Osborne, Juliet L. T1 - BEEHAVE: a systems model of honeybee colony dynamics and foraging to explore multifactorial causes of colony failure JF - Journal of applied ecology : an official journal of the British Ecological Society N2 - BEEHAVE offers a valuable tool for researchers to design and focus field experiments, for regulators to explore the relative importance of stressors to devise management and policy advice and for beekeepers to understand and predict varroa dynamics and effects of management interventions. We expect that scientists and stakeholders will find a variety of applications for BEEHAVE, stimulating further model development and the possible inclusion of other stressors of potential importance to honeybee colony dynamics. KW - Apis mellifera KW - colony decline KW - cross-level interactions KW - feedbacks KW - foraging KW - modelling KW - multiple stressors KW - multi-agent simulation KW - predictive systems ecology KW - Varroa destructor Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12222 SN - 0021-8901 SN - 1365-2664 VL - 51 IS - 2 SP - 470 EP - 482 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leuschner, Christoph A1 - Wulf, Monika A1 - Baeuchler, Patricia A1 - Hertel, Dietrich T1 - Forest continuity as a key determinant of soil carbon and nutrient storage in beech forests on sandy soils in Northern Germany JF - Ecosystems N2 - Forest (or tree) age has been identified as an important determinant of the carbon (C) storage potential of forest soils. A large part of Central Europe's current forested area was affected by land use change with long periods of cultivation in past centuries suggesting that the organic C stocks in the soil (SOC) under recent forest may partly be legacies of the past and that stand age effects have to be distinguished from forest continuity effects (that is, the time since re-afforestation). We examined the influence of mean tree age and forest continuity on the SOC pool and the stores of total N and available P, Ca, Mg, and K in the soil (mineral soil and organic layer) across a sample of 14 beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests on sandy soil with variable tree age (23-189 years) and forest continuity (50-year-old afforestation to ancient ('permanent') forest, that is, > 230 years of proven continuity). Ancient beech forests (> 230 years of continuity) stored on average 47 and 44% more organic C and total N in the soil than recent beech afforestation (50-128 years of continuity). Contrary to expectation, we found large and significant C and N pool differences between the forest categories in the mineral soil but not in the organic layer indicating that decade- or century-long cultivation has reduced the subsoil C and nutrient stores while the organic layer element pools have approached a new equilibrium after only 50-128 years. PCA and correlation analyses suggest that forest continuity cannot be ignored when trying to understand the variation in soil C stocks between different stands. Forest clearing, subsequent cultivation, and eventual re-afforestation with beech resulted in similar relative stock reductions of C and N and, thus, no change in soil C/N ratio. We conclude that the continuity of forest cover, which may or may not be related to tree age, is a key determinant of the soil C and nutrient stores of beech forests in the old cultural landscape of Central Europe. KW - afforestation KW - ancient forests KW - available phosphorus KW - calcium KW - Fagus sylvatica KW - forest clear-cut KW - magnesium KW - nitrogen KW - potassium KW - sandy soil Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9738-0 SN - 1432-9840 SN - 1435-0629 VL - 17 IS - 3 SP - 497 EP - 511 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Horn, Susanne A1 - Prost, Stefan A1 - Stiller, Mathias A1 - Makowiecki, Daniel A1 - Kuznetsova, Tatiana A1 - Benecke, Norbert A1 - Pucher, Erich A1 - Hufthammer, Anne K. A1 - Schouwenburg, Charles A1 - Shapiro, Beth A1 - Hofreiter, Michael T1 - Ancient mitochondrial DNA and the genetic history of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in Europe JF - Molecular ecology N2 - After centuries of human hunting, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber had disappeared from most of its original range by the end of the 19th century. The surviving relict populations are characterized by both low genetic diversity and strong phylogeographical structure. However, it remains unclear whether these attributes are the result of a human-induced, late Holocene bottleneck or already existed prior to this reduction in range. To investigate genetic diversity in Eurasian beaver populations during the Holocene, we obtained mitochondrial control region DNA sequences from 48 ancient beaver samples and added 152 modern sequences from GenBank. Phylogeographical analyses of the data indicate a differentiation of European beaver populations into three mitochondrial clades. The two main clades occur in western and eastern Europe, respectively, with an early Holocene contact zone in eastern Europe near a present-day contact zone. A divergent and previously unknown clade of beavers from the Danube Basin survived until at least 6000years ago, but went extinct during the transition to modern times. Finally, we identify a recent decline in effective population size of Eurasian beavers, with a stronger bottleneck signal in the western than in the eastern clade. Our results suggest that the low genetic diversity and the strong phylogeographical structure in recent beavers are artefacts of human hunting-associated population reductions. While beaver populations have been growing rapidly since the late 19th century, genetic diversity within modern beaver populations remains considerably reduced compared to what was present prior to the period of human hunting and habitat reduction. KW - Conservation Biology KW - Phylogeography KW - Conservation Genetics KW - Population Genetics - Empirical Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12691 SN - 0962-1083 SN - 1365-294X VL - 23 IS - 7 SP - 1717 EP - 1729 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fronton, Ludivine A1 - Pilari, Sabine A1 - Huisinga, Wilhelm T1 - Monoclonal antibody disposition: a simplified PBPK model and its implications for the derivation and interpretation of classical compartment models JF - Journal of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics N2 - The structure, interpretation and parameterization of classical compartment models as well as physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for monoclonal antibody (mAb) disposition are very diverse, with no apparent consensus. In addition, there is a remarkable discrepancy between the simplicity of experimental plasma and tissue profiles and the complexity of published PBPK models. We present a simplified PBPK model based on an extravasation rate-limited tissue model with elimination potentially occurring from various tissues and plasma. Based on model reduction (lumping), we derive several classical compartment model structures that are consistent with the simplified PBPK model and experimental data. We show that a common interpretation of classical two-compartment models for mAb disposition-identifying the central compartment with the total plasma volume and the peripheral compartment with the interstitial space (or part of it)-is not consistent with current knowledge. Results are illustrated for the monoclonal antibodies 7E3 and T84.66 in mice. KW - mAb disposition KW - PBPK KW - Extravasation rate-limited tissue model KW - Classical compartment model Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10928-014-9349-1 SN - 1567-567X SN - 1573-8744 VL - 41 IS - 2 SP - 87 EP - 107 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lukas, Marcus A1 - Wacker, Alexander T1 - Daphnia's dilemma: adjustment of carbon budgets in the face of food and cholesterol limitation JF - The journal of experimental biology N2 - We studied the carbon (C) metabolism in Daphnia when the amount of C (food quantity) and/or the content of biochemical nutrients (food quality) was limiting. Growth performances and C budgets of Daphnia magna (assimilation, faeces egestion, excretion and respiration measured by [C-14]-tracing) were analysed when animals were raised on different food quantities and concentrations of cholesterol, an essential biochemical food compound. Cholesterol is of special interest because it not only acts as limiting nutrient but also contributes to the overall C pool of the animals. As the tissue cholesterol concentration in Daphnia is quite low, we hypothesized the selective exclusion of cholesterol from C budgeting and tested this using radiolabelled cholesterol. Somatic growth rates of D. magna were highest at high quantity and quality and were reduced to a moderate value if either the food quantity or the cholesterol concentration was low. Growth was lowest at low food quantity and quality. The measurements of C budgets revealed high regulative response to low food quality at high food quantity only. Here, low dietary cholesterol caused bulk C assimilation efficiency (AE) to decrease and assimilated (excess) C to be increasingly respired. Additionally, Daphnia enhanced efficient adjustment of C budgets when facing cholesterol limitation by (1) increasing the AE of the cholesterol itself and (2) not changing cholesterol respiration, which was still not detectable. In contrast, at low food quantity, Daphnia is unable to adjust for low food quality, emphasizing that food limitation could overrule food quality effects. KW - Biochemical limitation KW - Carbon budgets KW - Zooplankton KW - Carbon pathway KW - Food quality KW - Food quantity Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.094151 SN - 0022-0949 SN - 1477-9145 VL - 217 IS - 7 SP - 1079 EP - 1086 PB - Company of Biologists Limited CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheiner, Ricarda A1 - Kulikovskaja, Leonora A1 - Thamm, Markus T1 - The honey bee tyramine receptor AmTYR1 and division of foraging labour JF - The journal of experimental biology N2 - Honey bees display a fascinating division of labour among foragers. While some bees solely collect pollen, others only collect nectar. It is assumed that individual differences in sensory response thresholds are at the basis of this division of labour. Biogenic amines and their receptors are important candidates for regulating the division of labour, because they can modulate sensory response thresholds. Here, we investigated the role of the honey bee tyramine receptor AmTYR1 in regulating the division of foraging labour. We report differential splicing of the Amtyr1 gene and show differential gene expression of one isoform in the suboesophageal ganglion of pollen and nectar foragers. This ganglion mediates gustatory inputs. These findings imply a role for the honey bee tyramine receptor in regulating the division of foraging labour, possibly through the suboesophageal ganglion. KW - Splicing KW - Tyramine KW - Gene expression KW - Pollen KW - Nectar KW - Biogenic amines Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.098475 SN - 0022-0949 SN - 1477-9145 VL - 217 IS - 8 SP - 1215 EP - 1217 PB - Company of Biologists Limited CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weiz, Annika R. A1 - Ishida, Keishi A1 - Quitterer, Felix A1 - Meyer, Sabine A1 - Kehr, Jan-Christoph A1 - Mueller, Kristian M. A1 - Groll, Michael A1 - Hertweck, Christian A1 - Dittmann-Thünemann, Elke T1 - Harnessing the evolvability of tricyclic microviridins to dissect protease-inhibitor interactions JF - Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition N2 - Understanding and controlling proteolysis is an important goal in therapeutic chemistry. Among the natural products specifically inhibiting proteases microviridins are particularly noteworthy. Microviridins are ribosomally produced and posttranslationally modified peptides that are processed into a unique, cagelike architecture. Here, we report a combined rational and random mutagenesis approach that provides fundamental insights into selectivity-conferring moieties of microviridins. The potent variant microviridin J was co-crystallized with trypsin, and for the first time the three-dimensional structure of microviridins was determined and the mode of inhibition revealed. KW - cyanobacteria KW - peptide engineering KW - protease inhibitors KW - RiPPs KW - structure elucidation Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201309721 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 53 IS - 14 SP - 3735 EP - 3738 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stief, Anna A1 - Altmann, Simone A1 - Hoffmann, Karen A1 - Pant, Bikram Datt A1 - Scheible, Wolf-Rüdiger A1 - Bäurle, Isabel T1 - Arabidopsis miR156 regulates tolerance to recurring environmental stress through SPL transcription factors JF - The plant cell N2 - Plants are sessile organisms that gauge stressful conditions to ensure survival and reproductive success. While plants in nature often encounter chronic or recurring stressful conditions, the strategies to cope with those are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate the involvement of ARGONAUTE1 and the microRNA pathway in the adaptation to recurring heat stress (HS memory) at the physiological and molecular level. We show that miR156 isoforms are highly induced after HS and are functionally important for HS memory. miR156 promotes sustained expression of HS-responsive genes and is critical only after HS, demonstrating that the effects of modulating miR156 on HS memory do not reflect preexisting developmental alterations. miR156 targets SPL transcription factor genes that are master regulators of developmental transitions. SPL genes are posttranscriptionally downregulated by miR156 after HS, and this is critical for HS memory. Altogether, the miR156-SPL module mediates the response to recurring HS in Arabidopsis thaliana and thus may serve to integrate stress responses with development. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.114.123851 SN - 1040-4651 SN - 1532-298X VL - 26 IS - 4 SP - 1792 EP - 1807 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kumar, Pankaj A1 - Gale, Stephan W. A1 - Kocyan, Alexander A1 - Fischer, Gunter A. A1 - Averyanov, Leonid A1 - Borosova, Renata A1 - Bhattacharjee, Avishek A1 - Li, Ji-Hong A1 - Pang, Kuen Shum T1 - Gastrochilus kadooriei (Orchidaceae), a new species from Hong Kong, with notes on allied taxa in section Microphyllae found in the region JF - Phytotaxa : a rapid international journal for accelerating the publication of botanical taxonomy N2 - A new species, Gastrochilus kadooriei, is described from Hong Kong. Notes are presented on its distribution, ecology and conservation status, and its distinguishing features are compared with those of allied taxa. Gastrochilus jeitouensis is reduced to the synonymy of G. distichus, and a lectotype is assigned for G. pseudodistichus. Gastrochilus fuscopunctatus is reinstated as an accepted species. Dichotomous keys to this taxonomically difficult group of morphologically similar species are presented. Y1 - 2014 SN - 1179-3155 SN - 1179-3163 VL - 164 IS - 2 SP - 91 EP - 103 PB - Magnolia Press CY - Auckland ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wurzbacher, Christian A1 - Roesel, Stefan A1 - Rychla, Anna A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Importance of saprotrophic freshwater fungi for pollen degradation JF - PLoS one N2 - Fungi and bacteria are the major organic matter (OM) decomposers in aquatic ecosystems. While bacteria are regarded as primary mineralizers in the pelagic zone of lakes and oceans, fungi dominate OM decomposition in streams and wetlands. Recent findings indicate that fungal communities are also active in lakes, but little is known about their diversity and interactions with bacteria. Therefore, the decomposer niche overlap of saprotrophic fungi and bacteria was studied on pollen (as a seasonally recurring source of fine particulate OM) by performing microcosm experiments with three different lake types. Special emphasis was placed on analysis of fungal community composition and diversity. We hypothesized that (I) pollen select for small saprotrophic fungi and at the same time for typical particle-associated bacteria; (II) fungal communities form specific free-living and attached sub-communities in each lake type; (III) the ratio between fungi or bacteria on pollen is controlled by the lake's chemistry. Bacteria-to-fungi ratios were determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR), and bacterial and fungal diversity were studied by clone libraries and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprints. A protease assay was used to identify functional differences between treatments. For generalization, systematic differences in bacteria-to-fungi ratios were analyzed with a dataset from the nearby Baltic Sea rivers. High abundances of Chytridiomycota as well as occurrences of Cryptomycota and yeast-like fungi confirm the decomposer niche overlap of saprotrophic fungi and bacteria on pollen. As hypothesized, microbial communities consistently differed between the lake types and exhibited functional differences. Bacteria-to-fungi ratios correlated well with parameters such as organic carbon and pH. The importance of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen for bacteria-to-fungi ratios was supported by the Baltic Sea river dataset. Our findings highlight the fact that carbon-to-nitrogen ratios may also control fungal contributions to OM decomposition in aquatic ecosystems. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094643 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 4 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Miettinen, Markus S. A1 - Monticelli, Luca A1 - Nedumpully-Govindan, Praveen A1 - Knecht, Volker A1 - Ignatova, Zoya T1 - Stable polyglutamine dimers can contain beta-hairpins with interdigitated side chains but not a-helices, alpha-nanotubes, beta-pseudohelices, or steric zippers JF - Biophysical journal N2 - A common thread connecting nine fatal neurodegenerative protein aggregation diseases is an abnormally expanded polyglutamine tract found in the respective proteins. Although the structure of this tract in the large mature aggregates is increasingly well described, its structure in the small early aggregates remains largely unknown. As experimental evidence suggests that the most toxic species along the aggregation pathway are the small early ones, developing strategies to alleviate disease pathology calls for understanding the structure of polyglutamine peptides in the early stages of aggregation. Here, we present a criterion, grounded in available experimental data, that allows for using kinetic stability of dimers to assess whether a given polyglutamine conformer can be on the aggregation path. We then demonstrate that this criterion can be assessed using present-day molecular dynamics simulations. We find that although the a-helical conformer of polyglutamine is very stable, dimers of a-helices lack the kinetic stability necessary to support further oligomerization. Dimers of steric zipper, beta-nanotube, and beta-pseudohelix conformers are also too short-lived to initiate aggregation. The beta-hairpin-containing conformers, instead, invariably form very stable dimers when their side chains are interdigitated. Combining these findings with the implications of recent solid-state NMR data on mature fibrils, we propose a possible pathway for the initial stages of polyglutamine aggregation, in which beta-hairpin-containing conformers act as templates for fibril formation. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2014.02.027 SN - 0006-3495 SN - 1542-0086 VL - 106 IS - 8 SP - 1721 EP - 1728 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weiss, Lina A1 - Pfestorf, Hans A1 - May, Felix A1 - Körner, Katrin A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Jeltsch, Florian T1 - Grazing response patterns indicate isolation of semi-natural European grasslands JF - Oikos N2 - Identifying drivers of species diversity is a major challenge in understanding and predicting the dynamics of species-rich semi-natural grasslands. In particular in temperate grasslands changes in land use and its consequences, i.e. increasing fragmentation, the on-going loss of habitat and the declining importance of regional processes such as seed dispersal by livestock, are considered key drivers of the diversity loss witnessed within the last decades. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00957.x SN - 0030-1299 SN - 1600-0706 VL - 123 IS - 5 SP - 599 EP - 612 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weissenborn, Christine A1 - Ignatov, Tanja A1 - Ochel, Hans-Joachim A1 - Costa, Serban Dan A1 - Zenclussen, Ana Claudia A1 - Ignatova, Zoya A1 - Ignatov, Atanas T1 - GPER functions as a tumor suppressor in triple-negative breast cancer cells JF - Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology : official organ of the Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft N2 - We investigated the role of GPER as a potential tumor suppressor in triple-negative breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 using cell cycle analysis and apoptosis assay. The constitutive activity of GPER was investigated. GPER-specific activation with G-1 agonist inhibited breast cancer cell growth in concentration-dependent manner via induction of the cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase, enhanced phosphorylation of histone H3 and caspase-3-mediated apoptosis. Analysis of the methylation status of the GPER promoter in the triple-negative breast cancer cells and in tissues derived from breast cancer patients revealed that GPER amount is regulated by epigenetic mechanisms and GPER expression is inactivated by promoter methylation. Furthermore, GPER expression was induced by stress factors, such as radiation, and GPER amount inversely correlated with the p53 expression level. Overall, our results establish the protective role in breast cancer tumorigenesis, and the cell surface expression of GPER makes it an excellent potential therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancer. KW - GPER KW - GPR30 KW - Breast cancer KW - Tumor suppression KW - TNBC Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-014-1620-8 SN - 0171-5216 SN - 1432-1335 VL - 140 IS - 5 SP - 713 EP - 723 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seul, Anait A1 - Müller, Jürgen J. A1 - Andres, Dorothee A1 - Stettner, Eva A1 - Heinemann, Udo A1 - Seckler, Robert T1 - Bacteriophage P22 tailspike: structure of the complete protein and function of the interdomain linker JF - Acta crystallographica : Section D, Biological crystallography N2 - Attachment of phages to host cells, followed by phage DNA ejection, represents the first stage of viral infection of bacteria. Salmonella phage P22 has been extensively studied, serving as an experimental model for bacterial infection by phages. P22 engages bacteria by binding to the sugar moiety of lipopolysaccharides using the viral tailspike protein for attachment. While the structures of the N-terminal particle-binding domain and the major receptor-binding domain of the tailspike have been analyzed individually, the three-dimensional organization of the intact protein, including the highly conserved linker region between the two domains, remained unknown. A single amino-acid exchange in the linker sequence made it possible to crystallize the full-length protein. Two crystal structures of the linker region are presented: one attached to the N-terminal domain and the other present within the complete tailspike protein. Both retain their biological function, but the mutated full-length tailspike displays a retarded folding pathway. Fitting of the full-length tailspike into a published cryo-electron microscopy map of the P22 virion requires an elastic distortion of the crystal structure. The conservation of the linker suggests a role in signal transmission from the distal tip of the molecule to the phage head, eventually leading to DNA ejection. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1107/S1399004714002685 SN - 1399-0047 VL - 70 SP - 1336 EP - 1345 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neumann, Bettina A1 - Yarman, Aysu A1 - Wollenberger, Ursula A1 - Scheller, Frieder W. T1 - Characterization of the enhanced peroxidatic activity of amyloid beta peptide-hemin complexes towards neurotransmitters JF - Analytical & bioanalytical chemistry N2 - Binding of heme to the amyloid peptides A beta 40/42 is thought to be an initial step in the development of symptoms in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease by enhancing the intrinsic peroxidatic activity of heme. We found considerably higher acceleration of the reaction for the physiologically relevant neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin than reported earlier for the artificial substrate 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). Thus, the binding of hemin to A beta peptides might play an even more crucial role in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease than deduced from these earlier results. To mimic complex formation, a new surface architecture has been developed: The interaction between the truncated amyloid peptide A beta 1-16 and hemin immobilized on an aminohexanethiol spacer on a gold electrode has been analyzed by cyclic voltammetry. The resulting complex has a redox pair with a 25 mV more cathodic formal potential than hemin alone. KW - Peroxidatic activity Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-014-7822-8 SN - 1618-2642 SN - 1618-2650 VL - 406 IS - 14 SP - 3359 EP - 3364 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lukas, Marcus A1 - Wacker, Alexander T1 - Acclimation to dietary shifts impacts the carbon budgets of Daphnia magna JF - Journal of plankton research N2 - Daphnia responds to low availability of carbon (food quantity) or limiting concentrations of nutrients relative to carbon (C) in excess (food quality) by respectively saving or discharging C via different pathways. We investigated which kind of food limitation leads to a faster regulation in Daphnia C budgets, and whether the pre-assimilative C pathways, ingestion and faeces egestion and the post-assimilative C pathways, excretion and respiration, are regulated concurrently. Daphnia magna were exposed to dietary shifts in different food quantities or qualities; food quality was varied in terms of the essential component, cholesterol. After acclimation to the new diet ranging from 0 to 96 h, C budgets were measured by a radiotracer technique. Dietary shifts in quantity and quality caused Daphnia to quickly adjust their C budgets within 6 h, but different C pathways were affected. A shift to low food quantity reduced Daphnia respiration indicating C retention. In contrast, sudden low quality food caused increased faeces egestion to discharge excess C. Furthermore, we observed a delayed increase in excretion but no change in respiration within the time frame studied. Such time-shifted responses appear to be an appropriate means to keep the costs of physiological adjustments relatively low, which in turn would benefit Daphnia performance. KW - carbon pathway KW - cholesterol KW - zooplankton KW - food quality KW - food quantity Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbu018 SN - 0142-7873 SN - 1464-3774 VL - 36 IS - 3 SP - 848 EP - 858 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Engel, Anja A1 - Piontek, Judith A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Riebesell, Ulf A1 - Schulz, Kai Georg A1 - Sperling, Martin T1 - Impact of CO2 enrichment on organic matter dynamics during nutrient induced coastal phytoplankton blooms JF - Journal of plankton research N2 - A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of rising fCO(2) on the build-up and decline of organic matter during coastal phytoplankton blooms. Five mesocosms (similar to 38 mA(3) each) were deployed in the Baltic Sea during spring (2009) and enriched with CO2 to yield a gradient of 355-862 A mu atm. Mesocosms were nutrient fertilized initially to induce phytoplankton bloom development. Changes in particulate and dissolved organic matter concentrations, including dissolved high-molecular weight (> 1 kDa) combined carbohydrates, dissolved free and combined amino acids as well as transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), were monitored over 21 days together with bacterial abundance, and hydrolytic extracellular enzyme activities. Overall, organic matter followed well-known bloom dynamics in all CO2 treatments alike. At high fCO(2,) higher Delta POC:Delta PON during bloom rise, and higher TEP concentrations during bloom peak, suggested preferential accumulation of carbon-rich components. TEP concentration at bloom peak was significantly related to subsequent sedimentation of particulate organic matter. Bacterial abundance increased during the bloom and was highest at high fCO(2). We conclude that increasing fCO(2) supports production and exudation of carbon-rich components, enhancing particle aggregation and settling, but also providing substrate and attachment sites for bacteria. More labile organic carbon and higher bacterial abundance can increase rates of oxygen consumption and may intensify the already high risk of oxygen depletion in coastal seas in the future. KW - mesocosm KW - ocean acidification KW - phytoplankton KW - organic matter KW - TEP Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbt125 SN - 0142-7873 SN - 1464-3774 VL - 36 IS - 3 SP - 641 EP - 657 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yarman, Aysu A1 - Scheller, Frieder W. T1 - The first electrochemical MIP sensor for tamoxifen JF - Sensors N2 - We present an electrochemical MIP sensor for tamoxifen (TAM)-a nonsteroidal anti-estrogen-which is based on the electropolymerisation of an O-phenylenediamine. resorcinol mixture directly on the electrode surface in the presence of the template molecule. Up to now only. bulk. MIPs for TAM have been described in literature, which are applied for separation in chromatography columns. Electro-polymerisation of the monomers in the presence of TAM generated a film which completely suppressed the reduction of ferricyanide. Removal of the template gave a markedly increased ferricyanide signal, which was again suppressed after rebinding as expected for filling of the cavities by target binding. The decrease of the ferricyanide peak of the MIP electrode depended linearly on the TAM concentration between 1 and 100 nM. The TAM-imprinted electrode showed a 2.3 times higher recognition of the template molecule itself as compared to its metabolite 4-hydroxytamoxifen and no cross-reactivity with the anticancer drug doxorubucin was found. Measurements at + 1.1 V caused a fouling of the electrode surface, whilst pretreatment of TAM with peroxide in presence of HRP generated an oxidation product which was reducible at 0 mV, thus circumventing the polymer formation and electrochemical interferences. KW - molecularly imprinted polymers KW - anticancer drug KW - tamoxifen KW - electropolymerisation Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s140507647 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 14 IS - 5 SP - 7647 EP - 7654 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schatz, Juliane A1 - Freuling, Conrad Martin A1 - Auer, Ernst A1 - Goharriz, Hooman A1 - Harbusch, Christine A1 - Johnson, Nicholas A1 - Kaipf, Ingrid A1 - Mettenleiter, Thomas Christoph A1 - Muehldorder, Kristin A1 - Muehle, Ralf-Udo A1 - Ohlendorf, Bernd A1 - Pott-Dörfer, Bärbel A1 - Prueger, Julia A1 - Ali, Hanan Sheikh A1 - Stiefel, Dagmar A1 - Teubner, Jens A1 - Ulrich, Rainer Günter A1 - Wibbelt, Gudrun A1 - Müller, Thomas T1 - Enhanced passive bat rabies surveillance in indigenous bat species from Germany - A retrospective study JF - PLoS neglected tropical diseases N2 - In Germany, rabies in bats is a notifiable zoonotic disease, which is caused by European bat lyssaviruses type 1 and 2 (EBLV-1 and 2), and the recently discovered new lyssavirus species Bokeloh bat lyssavirus (BBLV). As the understanding of bat rabies in insectivorous bat species is limited, in addition to routine bat rabies diagnosis, an enhanced passive surveillance study, i.e. the retrospective investigation of dead bats that had not been tested for rabies, was initiated in 1998 to study the distribution, abundance and epidemiology of lyssavirus infections in bats from Germany. A total number of 5478 individuals representing 21 bat species within two families were included in this study. The Noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula) and the Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) represented the most specimens submitted. Of all investigated bats, 1.17% tested positive for lyssaviruses using the fluorescent antibody test (FAT). The vast majority of positive cases was identified as EBLV-1, predominately associated with the Serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus). However, rabies cases in other species, i.e. Nathusius' pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus nathusii), P. pipistrellus and Brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus) were also characterized as EBLV-1. In contrast, EBLV-2 was isolated from three Daubenton's bats (Myotis daubentonii). These three cases contribute significantly to the understanding of EBLV-2 infections in Germany as only one case had been reported prior to this study. This enhanced passive surveillance indicated that besides known reservoir species, further bat species are affected by lyssavirus infections. Given the increasing diversity of lyssaviruses and bats as reservoir host species worldwide, lyssavirus positive specimens, i.e. both bat and virus need to be confirmed by molecular techniques. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002835 SN - 1935-2735 VL - 8 IS - 5 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lu, Dandan A1 - Wang, Ting A1 - Persson, Staffan A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Schippers, Jos H. M. T1 - Transcriptional control of ROS homeostasis by KUODA1 regulates cell expansion during leaf development JF - Nature Communications N2 - The final size of an organism, or of single organs within an organism, depends on an intricate coordination of cell proliferation and cell expansion. Although organism size is of fundamental importance, the molecular and genetic mechanisms that control it remain far from understood. Here we identify a transcription factor, KUODA1 (KUA1), which specifically controls cell expansion during leaf development in Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that KUA1 expression is circadian regulated and depends on an intact clock. Furthermore, KUA1 directly represses the expression of a set of genes encoding for peroxidases that control reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis in the apoplast. Disruption of KUA1 results in increased peroxidase activity and smaller leaf cells. Chemical or genetic interference with the ROS balance or peroxidase activity affects cell size in a manner consistent with the identified KUA1 function. Thus, KUA1 modulates leaf cell expansion and final organ size by controlling ROS homeostasis. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4767 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 5 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koussoroplis, Apostolos-Manuel A1 - Nussbaumer, Julia A1 - Arts, Michael T. A1 - Guschina, Irina A. A1 - Kainz, Martin J. T1 - Famine and feast in a common freshwater calanoid: Effects of diet and temperature on fatty acid dynamics of Eudiaptomus gracilis JF - Limnology and oceanography N2 - We investigated the effects of temperature (4 degrees C, 8 degrees C, and 12 degrees C) on structural and storage dynamics, as measured by changes in fatty acids (FA) associated with cell membrane phospholipids (PL) and triacylglycerols (TAG), respectively, as well as on body weight and survival of a freshwater calanoid copepod (Eudiaptomus gracilis) during fasting (10 d) and refeeding (10 d) with two algae of differing nutritional quality (Cryptomonas ozolinii and Scenedesmus obliquus). Fasting led to 50% loss in body weight, a near total depletion of TAG, and a drastic decrease of the polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) in TAG and PL, indicating their preferential utilization and alterations in membrane function, respectively. Higher temperatures accelerated the decrease of body weight and of PUFA in PL and TAG, and decreased survival. After 10 d of refeeding, copepods partially recovered their initial lipid stores and cell membrane composition. The effects of food quality were temperature dependent: Cryptomonas promoted better recovery (i.e., return to or close to the levels at the beginning of the experiment) of both body weight and TAG at only the two higher temperatures (8 degrees C and 12 degrees C), whereas no recovery was observed at 4 degrees C. Higher temperatures and refeeding on Cryptomonas also had a positive, but minor, influence on the recovery of membrane FA composition. Survival differed among treatments but was lowest at the intermediate temperature (8 degrees C) for both diets. We conclude that temperature changes on the order of 4-8 degrees C significantly influence TAG and PL during fasting periods and interact with food quality to determine the extent of recovery in copepod lipids. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.3.0947 SN - 0024-3590 SN - 1939-5590 VL - 59 IS - 3 SP - 947 EP - 958 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seifert, Linda I. A1 - de Castro, Francisco A1 - Marquart, Arnim A1 - Gaedke, Ursula A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Vos, Matthijs T1 - Heated relations: temperature-mediated shifts in consumption across trophic levels JF - PLoS one N2 - A rise in temperature will intensify the feeding links involving ectotherms in food webs. However, it is unclear how the effects will quantitatively differ between the plant-herbivore and herbivore-carnivore interface. To test how warming could differentially affect rates of herbivory and carnivory, we studied trophic interaction strength in a food chain comprised of green algae, herbivorous rotifers and carnivorous rotifers at 10, 15, 20 and 25 degrees C. We found significant warming-induced changes in feeding by both herbivorous and carnivorous rotifers, but these responses occurred at different parts of the entire temperature gradient. The strongest response of the per capita herbivore's ingestion rate occurred due to an increase in temperature from 15 to 20 degrees C (1.9 fold: from 834 to 1611 algal cells per h(-1)) and of the per capita carnivore's ingestion rate from 20 to 25 degrees C (1.6 fold: from 1.5 to 2.5 prey h(-1)). Handling time, an important component of a consumer's functional response, significantly decreased from 15 to 20 degrees C in herbivorous rotifers. In contrast, it decreased from 20 to 25 degrees C in carnivorous rotifers. Attack rates significantly and strongly increased from 10 to 25 degrees C in the herbivorous animals, but not at all in the carnivores. Our results exemplify how the relative forces of top-down control exerted by herbivores and carnivores may strongly shift under global warming. But warming, and its magnitude, are not the only issue: If our results would prove to be representative, shifts in ectotherm interactions will quantitatively differ when a 5 degrees C increase starts out from a low, intermediate or high initial temperature. This would imply that warming could have different effects on the relative forces of carnivory and herbivory in habitats differing in average temperature, as would exist at different altitudes and latitudes. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095046 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 5 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER -