TY - JOUR A1 - Fritz, Michael Andre A1 - Rosa, Stefanie A1 - Sicard, Adrien T1 - Mechanisms Underlying the Environmentally Induced Plasticity of Leaf Morphology JF - Frontiers in genetics N2 - The primary function of leaves is to provide an interface between plants and their environment for gas exchange, light exposure and thermoregulation. Leaves have, therefore a central contribution to plant fitness by allowing an efficient absorption of sunlight energy through photosynthesis to ensure an optimal growth. Their final geometry will result from a balance between the need to maximize energy uptake while minimizing the damage caused by environmental stresses. This intimate relationship between leaf and its surroundings has led to an enormous diversification in leaf forms. Leaf shape varies between species, populations, individuals or even within identical genotypes when those are subjected to different environmental conditions. For instance, the extent of leaf margin dissection has, for long, been found to inversely correlate with the mean annual temperature, such that Paleobotanists have used models based on leaf shape to predict the paleoclimate from fossil flora. Leaf growth is not only dependent on temperature but is also regulated by many other environmental factors such as light quality and intensity or ambient humidity. This raises the question of how the different signals can be integrated at the molecular level and converted into clear developmental decisions. Several recent studies have started to shed the light on the molecular mechanisms that connect the environmental sensing with organ-growth and patterning. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge on the influence of different environmental signals on leaf size and shape, their integration as well as their importance for plant adaptation. KW - plants KW - leaf morphology KW - environment KW - developmental plasticity KW - gene regulatory networks KW - sensory system KW - gene responsiveness Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00478 SN - 1664-8021 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Albers, Philip A1 - Uestuen, Suayib A1 - Witzel, Katja A1 - Bornke, Frederik T1 - Identification of a novel target of the bacterial effector HopZ1a T2 - Phytopathology N2 - The plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae is a gram-negative bacterium which infects a wide range of plant species including important crops plants. To suppress plant immunity and cause disease P.syringae injects type-III effector proteins (T3Es) into the plant cell cytosol. In this study, we identified a novel target of the well characterized bacterial T3E HopZ1a. HopZ1a is an acetyltransferase that was shown to disrupt vesicle transport during innate immunity by acetylating tubulin. Using a yeast-two-hybrid screen approach, we identified a REMORIN (REM) protein from tobacco as a novel HopZ1a target. HopZ1a interacts with REM at the plasma membrane (PM) as shown by split-YFP experiments. Interestingly, we found that PBS1, a well-known kinase involved in plant immunity also interacts with REM in pull-down assays, and at the PM as shown by BiFC. Furthermore, we confirmed that REM is phosphorylated by PBS1 in vitro. Overexpression of REM provokes the upregulation of defense genes and leads to disease-like phenotypes pointing to a role of REM in plant immune signaling. Further protein-protein interaction studies reveal novel REM binding partners with a possible role in plant immune signaling. Thus, REM might act as an assembly hub for an immune signaling complex targeted by HopZ1a. Taken together, this is the first report describing that a REM protein is targeted by a bacterial effector. How HopZ1a might mechanistically manipulate the plant immune system through interfering with REM function will be discussed. Y1 - 2018 SN - 0031-949X SN - 1943-7684 VL - 108 IS - 10 PB - American Phytopathological Society CY - Saint Paul ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Franco-Obregon, Alfredo A1 - Cambria, Elena A1 - Greutert, Helen A1 - Wernas, Timon A1 - Hitzl, Wolfgang A1 - Egli, Marcel A1 - Sekiguchi, Miho A1 - Boos, Norbert A1 - Hausmann, Oliver A1 - Ferguson, Stephen J. A1 - Kobayashi, Hiroshi A1 - Würtz-Kozak, Karin T1 - TRPC6 in simulated microgravity of intervertebral disc cells JF - European Spine Journal N2 - Purpose Prolonged bed rest and microgravity in space cause intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. Transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels are implicated in mechanosensing of several tissues, but are poorly explored in IVDs. Methods Primary human IVD cells from surgical biopsies composed of both annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus (passage 1-2) were exposed to simulated microgravity and to the TRPC channel inhibitor SKF-96365 (SKF) for up to 5days. Proliferative capacity, cell cycle distribution, senescence and TRPC channel expression were analyzed. Results Both simulated microgravity and TRPC channel antagonism reduced the proliferative capacity of IVD cells and induced senescence. While significant changes in cell cycle distributions (reduction in G1 and accumulation in G2/M) were observed upon SKF treatment, the effect was small upon 3days of simulated microgravity. Finally, downregulation of TRPC6 was shown under simulated microgravity. Conclusions Simulated microgravity and TRPC channel inhibition both led to reduced proliferation and increased senescence. Furthermore, simulated microgravity reduced TRPC6 expression. IVD cell senescence and mechanotransduction may hence potentially be regulated by TRPC6 expression. This study thus reveals promising targets for future studies. KW - Intervertebral disc KW - Simulated microgravity KW - Senescence KW - TRP channels KW - Mechanotransduction KW - Gene expression Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-018-5688-8 SN - 0940-6719 SN - 1432-0932 VL - 27 IS - 10 SP - 2621 EP - 2630 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Götz, Klaus-Peter A1 - Naher, Jobadatun A1 - Fettke, Jörg A1 - Chmielewski, Frank M. T1 - Changes of proteins during dormancy and bud development of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) JF - Scientia horticulturae : an international journal sponsored by the International Society for Horticultural Science N2 - Trees control the flowering processes in response to both environmental and endogenous (mechanisms at cellular/tissue level) conditions. Dormancy of flower buds is characterized by the reduction of growth and the enhancement of frost and desiccation resistance. The release of endodormancy and the beginning of ontogenetic development, as two important dates for developing reliable phenological models, escape from any visible signs. Thus, we identified - to our knowledge as first - relevant proteins in sweet cherry buds occurring during these phenological phases at high time resolution in three seasons (2012/13–2014/15) under natural conditions in Northeast Germany. The protein content of buds from the first week of October to leaf fall, from leaf fall to the end of endodormancy (t1), from t1 to the beginning of ontogenetic development (t1*), and from t1* until swollen bud, was comparable in each of the seasons. The increase of the protein content began after swollen bud and markedly differences occurred at side green, green tip, tight and open cluster. SDS gel electrophoresis followed by peptide mass fingerprinting accomplished by MALDI-TOF MS was applied for protein identification. ‘Volume intensity’ has been used to demonstrate the pattern and changes of proteins. None of the analysed proteins like for cell proliferation/differentiation (Phytosulfokines 3), carbon fixation (Rubisco), and defense against pathogenes (Major allergen Pru sv 1) indicates the date of endodormancy release or the beginning of the (invisible) ontogenetic development. The stages around green tip, tight, and open cluster resulted in markedly increase of the volume intensity of the protein for cell proliferation/differentiation and the carbon fixation, whereas the volume intensity of a protein for defense against pathogens markedly decreased. The pattern and changes of the volume intensity of neoxanthin synthase (NXS) in sweet cherry buds followed the increasing demand during endo- and ecodormancy to produce neoxanthin, which is a prominent member of the group of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers. KW - Dormancy phases KW - Buds KW - Prunus avium L. KW - Peptide mass fingerprinting Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2018.05.016 SN - 0304-4238 SN - 1879-1018 VL - 239 SP - 41 EP - 49 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Navarro-Retamal, Carlos A1 - Bremer, Anne A1 - Ingolfsson, Helgi I. A1 - Alzate-Morales, Jans A1 - Caballero, Julio A1 - Thalhammer, Anja A1 - Gonzalez, Wendy A1 - Hincha, Dirk K. T1 - Folding and Lipid Composition Determine Membrane Interaction of the Disordered Protein COR15A JF - Biophysical journal N2 - Plants from temperate climates, such as the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, are challenged with seasonal low temperatures that lead to increased freezing tolerance in fall in a process termed cold acclimation. Among other adaptations, this involves the accumulation of cold-regulated (COR) proteins, such as the intrinsically disordered chloroplast-localized protein COR15A. Together with its close homolog COR15B, it stabilizes chloroplast membranes during freezing. COR15A folds into amphipathic alpha-helices in the presence of high concentrations of low-molecular-mass crowders or upon dehydration. Under these conditions, the (partially) folded protein binds peripherally to membranes. In our study, we have used coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the details of COR15A-membrane binding and its effects on membrane structure and dynamics. Simulation results indicate that at least partial folding of COR15A and the presence of highly unsaturated galactolipids in the membranes are necessary for efficient membrane binding. The bound protein is stabilized on the membrane by interactions of charged and polar amino acids with galactolipid headgroups and by interactions of hydrophobic amino acids with the upper part of the fatty acyl chains. Experimentally, the presence of liposomes made from a mixture of lipids mimicking chloroplast membranes induces additional folding in COR15A under conditions of partial dehydration, in agreement with the simulation results. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2018.08.014 SN - 0006-3495 SN - 1542-0086 VL - 115 IS - 6 SP - 968 EP - 980 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Möser, Christin A1 - Lorenz, Jessica S. A1 - Sajfutdinow, Martin A1 - Smith, David M. T1 - Pinpointed Stimulation of EphA2 Receptors via DNA-Templated Oligovalence JF - International journal of molecular sciences N2 - DNA nanostructures enable the attachment of functional molecules to nearly any unique location on their underlying structure. Due to their single-base-pair structural resolution, several ligands can be spatially arranged and closely controlled according to the geometry of their desired target, resulting in optimized binding and/or signaling interactions. Here, the efficacy of SWL, an ephrin-mimicking peptide that binds specifically to EphrinA2 (EphA2) receptors, increased by presenting up to three of these peptides on small DNA nanostructures in an oligovalent manner. Ephrin signaling pathways play crucial roles in tumor development and progression. Moreover, Eph receptors are potential targets in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Here, the quantitative impact of SWL valency on binding, phosphorylation (key player for activation) and phenotype regulation in EphA2-expressing prostate cancer cells was demonstrated. EphA2 phosphorylation was significantly increased by DNA trimers carrying three SWL peptides compared to monovalent SWL. In comparison to one of EphA2’s natural ligands ephrin-A1, which is known to bind promiscuously to multiple receptors, pinpointed targeting of EphA2 by oligovalent DNA-SWL constructs showed enhanced cell retraction. Overall, we show that DNA scaffolds can increase the potency of weak signaling peptides through oligovalent presentation and serve as potential tools for examination of complex signaling pathways. KW - DNA nanostructure KW - ephrin KW - EphA2 KW - SWL KW - PC-3 cells KW - multivalence Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19113482 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 19 IS - 11 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwanhold, Nadine A1 - Iobbi-Nivol, Chantal A1 - Lehmann, Angelika A1 - Leimkühler, Silke T1 - Same but different BT - Comparison of two system-specific molecular chaperones for the maturation of formate dehydrogenases JF - PLoS one N2 - The maturation of bacterial molybdoenzymes is a complex process leading to the insertion of the bulky bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide (bis-MGD) cofactor into the apoenzyme. Most molybdoenzymes were shown to contain a specific chaperone for the insertion of the bis-MGD cofactor. Formate dehydrogenases (FDH) together with their molecular chaperone partner seem to display an exception to this specificity rule, since the chaperone FdhD has been proven to be involved in the maturation of all three FDH enzymes present in Escherichia colt. Multiple roles have been suggested for FdhD-like chaperones in the past, including the involvement in a sulfur transfer reaction from the L-cysteine desulfurase IscS to bis-MGD by the action of two cysteine residues present in a conserved CXXC motif of the chaperones. However, in this study we show by phylogenetic analyses that the CXXC motif is not conserved among FdhD-like chaperones. We compared in detail the FdhD-like homologues from Rhodobacter capsulatus and E. colt and show that their roles in the maturation of FDH enzymes from different subgroups can be exchanged. We reveal that bis-MGDbinding is a common characteristic of FdhD-like proteins and that the cofactor is bound with a sulfido-ligand at the molybdenum atom to the chaperone. Generally, we reveal that the cysteine residues in the motif CXXC of the chaperone are not essential for the production of active FDH enzymes. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201935 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 13 IS - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Binder, Florian A1 - Freise, Jona A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Beyrers, Konrad A1 - Jacob, Jens A1 - Krüger, Detlev H. A1 - Hofmann, Jörg A1 - Dreesman, Johannes A1 - Ulrich, Rainer Günter T1 - Hantaviren in Deutschland BT - Aktuelle Erkenntnisse zu Erreger, Reservoir, Verbreitung und Prognosemodellen JF - Berliner und Münchener tierärztliche Wochenschrift N2 - Hantaviruses are small mammal-associated pathogens that are found in rodents but also in shrews, moles and bats. Aim of this manuscript is to give a current overview of the epidemiology and ecology of hantaviruses in Germany and to discuss respective models for the prediction of virus outbreaks. In Germany the majority of human disease cases are caused by the Puumala virus (PUUV), transmitted by the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). PUUV is associated with the Western evolutionary lineage of the bank vole and is not present in the eastern and northern parts of Germany. A second human pathogenic hantavirus is the Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV), genotype Kurkino; its reservoir host, the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), is mostly occurring in the eastern part of Germany. A PUUV-related hantavirus is the rarely pathogenic Tula virus (TULV), that is associated with the common vole (Microtus arvalis). In addition, Seewis virus, Asikkala virus, and Bruges virus are shrew- and mole-associated hantaviruses with still unknown pathogenicity in humans. Human disease cases are associated with the different hantaviruses according to their regional distribution. The viruses can cause mild to severe but also subclinical courses of the respective disease. The number of human PUUV disease cases in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2017 correlates with the occurrence of high levels of seed production of beech trees ("beech mast") in the preceding year. Models based on weather parameters for the prediction of PUUV disease clusters as developed in recent years need further validation and optimisation. in addition to the abundance of infected reservoir rodents, the exposure behaviour of humans affects the risk of human infection. The application of robust forecast models can assist the public health service to develop and communicate spatially and temporally targeted information. Thus, further recommendations to mitigate infection risk for the public may be provided. N2 - Hantaviren sind Kleinsäuger-assoziierte Krankheitserreger, die vor allem in Nagetieren, aber auch in Spitzmäusen, Maulwürfen und Fledermäusen vorkommen. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, einen aktuellen Überblick zur Epidemiologie und Ökologie der Hantaviren in Deutschland zu geben und Modelle zur Vorhersage von Virusausbrüchen zu diskutieren. In Deutschland werden die meisten humanen Erkrankungsfälle beim Menschen durch das von der Rötelmaus (Myodes glareolus) übertragene Puumalavirus (PUUV) verursacht. PUUV ist mit der westlichen evolutionären Linie der Rötelmaus assoziiert und fehlt im östlichen und nördlichen Teil Deutschlands. Ein zweites humanpathogenes Hantavirus ist das Dobrava-Belgrad-Virus (DOBV), Genotyp Kurkino, dessen Reservoir die vor allem im östlichen Teil Deutschlands vorkommende Brandmaus (Apodemus agrarius) ist. Ein PUUV-verwandtes Hantavirus ist das selten humanpathogene Tulavirus (TULV), das mit der Feldmaus (Microtus arvalis) assoziiert ist. Darüber hinaus wurden mit dem Seewis-, Asikkala- und Brugesvirus Spitzmaus- und Maulwurf-assoziierte Hantaviren mit noch unklarer Humanpathogenität gefunden. Die humanen Erkrankungen sind jeweils mit den verschiedenen Hantaviren in deren regionaler Verteilung assoziiert und können mild bis schwer, aber auch subklinisch verlaufen. Das Auftreten von Häufungen humaner, durch PUUV verursachter Erkrankungen in den Jahren 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 und 2017 korreliert mit dem Auftreten einer starken Fruktifikation der Buche („Buchenmast“) im jeweiligen Vorjahr. Auf der Basis von Wetterparametern sind Modelle zur Vorhersage von PUUV-Erkrankungshäufungen entwickelt worden, die zukünftig validiert und optimiert werden müssen. Neben dem Ausmaß des Virusvorkommens im Reservoir wird das Risiko humaner Infektionen durch das Expositionsverhalten des Menschen beeinflusst. Durch die Anwendung von Prognosemodellen soll der öffentliche Gesundheitsdienst in die Lage versetzt werden, räumlich und zeitlich gezielte und sachgerechte Präventionsempfehlungen für die Bevölkerung abzugeben. T2 - Hantaviruses in Germany: current knowledge on pathogens, reservoirs, distribution and forecast models KW - early warning system KW - hantavirus KW - hantavirus disease KW - rodents KW - population dynamics KW - Frühwarn-System KW - Hantavirus KW - Hantavirus-Erkrankung KW - Nagetiere KW - Populationsdynamik Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2376/0005-9366-18003 SN - 0005-9366 SN - 1439-0299 VL - 131 IS - 11-12 SP - 453 EP - 464 PB - Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG. CY - Hannover ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Brechun, Katherine Emily A1 - Arndt, Katja Maren A1 - Woolley, G. Andrew T1 - Selection of protein-protein interactions of desired affinities with a bandpass circuit JF - Journal of molecular biology : JMB N2 - We have developed a genetic circuit in Escherichia coli that can be used to select for protein-protein interactions of different strengths by changing antibiotic concentrations in the media. The genetic circuit links protein-protein interaction strength to beta-lactamase activity while simultaneously imposing tuneable positive and negative selection pressure for beta-lactamase activity. Cells only survive if they express interacting proteins with affinities that fall within set high- and low-pass thresholds; i.e. the circuit therefore acts as a bandpass filter for protein-protein interactions. We show that the circuit can be used to recover protein-protein interactions of desired affinity from a mixed population with a range of affinities. The circuit can also be used to select for inhibitors of protein-protein interactions of defined strength. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - synthetic biology KW - genetic circuit KW - biological engineering KW - protein-protein interactions KW - twin-arginine translocation KW - selection system Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2018.11.011 SN - 0022-2836 SN - 1089-8638 VL - 431 IS - 2 SP - 391 EP - 400 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - van Grunsven, Roy Hendrikus Antonius A1 - Jaehnichen, David A1 - Grubisic, Maja A1 - Hölker, Franz T1 - Slugs (Arionidae) benefit from nocturnal artificial illumination JF - Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology N2 - Artificial illumination increases around the globe and this has been found to affect many groups of organisms and ecosystems. By manipulating nocturnal illumination using one large experimental field site with 24 streetlights and one dark control, we assessed the impact of artificial illumination on slugs over a period of 4 years. The number of slugs, primarily Arionidae, increased strongly in the illuminated site but not on the dark site. There are several nonexclusive explanations for this effect, including reduced predation and increased food quality in the form of carcasses of insects attracted by the light. As slugs play an important role in ecosystems and are also important pest species, the increase of slugs under artificial illumination cannot only affect ecosystem functioning but also have important economic consequences. KW - ALAN KW - Arionidae KW - gastropoda KW - light pollution KW - phototaxis Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2170 SN - 2471-5646 VL - 329 IS - 8-9 SP - 429 EP - 433 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - GEN A1 - Messerschmidt, Katrin A1 - Machens, Fabian A1 - Hochrein, Lena A1 - Naseri, Gita T1 - Orthogonal, light-inducible protein expression platform in yeast Sacchararomyces cerevisiae T2 - New biotechnology Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2018.05.153 SN - 1871-6784 SN - 1876-4347 VL - 44 SP - S19 EP - S19 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neumann, Bettina A1 - Götz, Robert A1 - Wrzolek, Pierre A1 - Scheller, Frieder W. A1 - Weidinger, Inez M. A1 - Schwalbe, Matthias A1 - Wollenberger, Ulla T1 - Enhancement of the Electrocatalytic Activity of Thienyl-Substituted Iron Porphyrin Electropolymers by a Hangman Effect JF - ChemCatChem : heterogeneous & homogeneous & bio- & nano-catalysis ; a journal of ChemPubSoc Europe N2 - The thiophene-modified iron porphyrin FeT3ThP and the respective iron Hangman porphyrin FeH3ThP, incorporating a carboxylic acid hanging group in the second coordination sphere of the iron center, were electropolymerized on glassy carbon electrodes using 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) as co-monomer. Scanning electron microscopy images and Resonance Raman spectra demonstrated incorporation of the porphyrin monomers into a fibrous polymer network. Porphyrin/polyEDOT films catalyzed the reduction of molecular oxygen in a four-electron reaction to water with onset potentials as high as +0.14V vs. Ag/AgCl in an aqueous solution of pH7. Further, FeT3ThP/polyEDOT films showed electrocatalytic activity towards reduction of hydrogen peroxide at highly positive potentials, which was significantly enhanced by introduction of the carboxylic acid hanging group in FeH3ThP. The second coordination sphere residue promotes formation of a highly oxidizing reaction intermediate, presumably via advantageous proton supply, as observed for peroxidases and catalases making FeH3ThP/polyEDOT films efficient mimics of heme enzymes. KW - activation of oxygen species KW - electro-polymerization KW - Hangman porphyrin KW - heterogeneous catalysis KW - immobilization Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201800934 SN - 1867-3880 SN - 1867-3899 VL - 10 IS - 19 SP - 4353 EP - 4361 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurze, Susanne A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Fartmann, Thomas T1 - Nitrogen enrichment in host plants increases the mortality of common Lepidoptera species JF - Oecologia N2 - The recent decline of Lepidoptera species strongly correlates with the increasing intensification of agriculture in Western and Central Europe. However, the effects of changed host-plant quality through agricultural fertilization on this insect group remain largely unexplored. For this reason, we tested the response of six common butterfly and moth species to host-plant fertilization using fertilizer quantities usually applied in agriculture. The larvae of the study species Coenonympha pamphilus, Lycaena phlaeas, Lycaena tityrus, Pararge aegeria, Rivula sericealis and Timandra comae were distributed according to a split-brood design to three host-plant treatments comprising one control treatment without fertilization and two fertilization treatments with an input of 150 and 300kgNha(-1)year(-1), respectively. In L.tityrus, we used two additional fertilization treatments with an input of 30 and 90kgNha(-1)year(-1), respectively. Fertilization increased the nitrogen concentration of both host-plant species, Rumex acetosella and Poa pratensis, and decreased the survival of larvae in all six Lepidoptera species by at least one-third, without clear differences between sorrel- and grass-feeding species. The declining survival rate in all species contradicts the well-accepted nitrogen-limitation hypothesis, which predicts a positive response in species performance to dietary nitrogen content. In contrast, this study presents the first evidence that current fertilization quantities in agriculture exceed the physiological tolerance of common Lepidoptera species. Our results suggest that (1) the negative effect of plant fertilization on Lepidoptera has previously been underestimated and (2) that it contributes to the range-wide decline of Lepidoptera. KW - Agricultural fertilization KW - Global change KW - Host-plant quality KW - Nitrogen-limitation hypothesis KW - Rearing experiment Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4266-4 SN - 0029-8549 SN - 1432-1939 VL - 188 IS - 4 SP - 1227 EP - 1237 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Quiterio, Ana A1 - Martins, Joao A1 - Onofre, Marcos A1 - Costa, Joao A1 - Rodrigues, Joao Mota A1 - Gerlach, Erin A1 - Scheur, Claude A1 - Herrmann, Christian T1 - MOBAK 1 assessment in primary physical education BT - exploring basic motor competences of portuguese 6-Year-Olds JF - Perceptual & motor skills N2 - Children’s motor competence is known to have a determinant role in learning and engaging later in complex motor skills and, thus, in physical activity. The development of adequate motor competence is a central aim of physical education, and assuring that pupils are learning and developing motor competence depends on accurate assessment protocols. The MOBAK 1 test battery is a recent instrument developed to assess motor competence in primary physical education. This study used the MOBAK 1 to explore motor competence levels and gender differences among 249 (Mage = 6.3, SD = 0.5 years; 127 girls and 122 boys) Grade 1 primary school Portuguese children. On independent sample t tests, boys presented higher object movement motor competence than girls (boys: M = 5.8, SD = 1.7; girls: M = 4.0, SD = 1.7; p < .001), while girls were more proficient among self-movement skills (girls: M = 5.1, SD = 1.8; boys: M = 4.3, SD = 1.7; p < .01). On “total motor competence,” boys (M = 10.3, SD = 2.6) averaged one point ahead of girls (M = 9.1, SD = 2.9). The percentage of girls in the first quartile of object movement was 18.9%, while, for “self movement,” the percentage of boys in the first quartile was almost double that of girls (30.3% and 17.3%, respectively). The confirmatory model to test for construct validity confirmed the assumed theoretical two-factor structure of MOBAK 1 test items in this Portuguese sample. These results support the MOBAK 1 instrument for assessing motor competence and highlighted gender differences, of relevance to intervention efforts. KW - physical education KW - MOBAK 1 KW - instrument KW - assessment KW - motor competence Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0031512518804358 SN - 0031-5125 SN - 1558-688X VL - 125 IS - 6 SP - 1055 EP - 1069 PB - Sage Publ. CY - Thousand Oaks ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Endesfelder, Stefanie A1 - Weichelt, Ulrike A1 - Schiller, Cornelia A1 - Winter, Katja A1 - von Haefen, Clarissa A1 - Bührer, Christoph T1 - Caffeine protects against anticonvulsant-induced impaired neurogenesis in the developing rat brain JF - Neurotoxicity Research N2 - In preterm infants, phenobarbital is the first-line antiepileptic drug for neonatal seizures while caffeine is used for the treatment of apnea. Data from experimental animals suggest that phenobarbital and other anticonvulsants are toxic for the developing brain, while neuroprotective effects have been reported for caffeine both in newborn rodents and preterm human infants. To characterize the interaction of phenobarbital and caffeine in the hippocampus of the developing rodent brain, we examined the effects of both drugs given separately or together on postnatal neurogenesis after administration to neonatal rats throughout postnatal day (P) 4 to P6. Phenobarbital treatment (50 mg/kg) resulted in a significant decrease of proliferative capacity in the dentate gyrus. Phenobarbital also reduced expression of neuronal markers (doublecortin (DCX), calretinin, NeuN), neuronal transcription factors (Pax6, Sox2, Tbr1/2, Prox1), and neurotrophins (NGF, BDNF, NT-3) up to 24 h after the last administration. The phenobarbital-mediated impairment of neurogenesis was largely ameliorated by preconditioning with caffeine (10 mg/kg). In contrast, caffeine alone reduced proliferative capacity and expression of the neuronal markers DCX and NeuN at 6 h, but increased expression of neurotrophins and neuronal transcription factors at 6 and 12 h. These results indicate that administration of phenobarbital during the vulnerable phase of brain development negatively interferes with neuronal development, which can be prevented in part by co-administration of caffeine. KW - Caffeine KW - Developing brain KW - Phenobarbital KW - Preterminfants KW - Hippocampal neurogenesis Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12640-018-9872-8 SN - 1029-8428 SN - 1476-3524 VL - 34 IS - 2 SP - 173 EP - 187 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Best, Robert B. A1 - Zheng, Wenwei A1 - Borgia, Alessandro A1 - Buholzer, Karin A1 - Borgia, Madeleine B. A1 - Hofmann, Hagen A1 - Soranno, Andrea A1 - Nettels, Daniel A1 - Gast, Klaus A1 - Grishaev, Alexander A1 - Schuler, Benjamin T1 - Comment on "Innovative scattering analysis shows that hydrophobic disordered proteins are expanded in water" T2 - Science N2 - Riback et al. (Reports, 13 October 2017, p. 238) used small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments to infer a degree of compaction for unfolded proteins in water versus chemical denaturant that is highly consistent with the results from Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments. There is thus no "contradiction" between the two methods, nor evidence to support their claim that commonly used FRET fluorophores cause protein compaction. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar7101 SN - 0036-8075 SN - 1095-9203 VL - 361 IS - 6405 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chen, Hsiang-Wen A1 - Persson, Staffan A1 - Grebe, Markus A1 - McFarlane, Heather E. T1 - Cellulose synthesis during cell plate assembly JF - Physiologia plantarum N2 - The plant cell wall surrounds and protects the cells. To divide, plant cells must synthesize a new cell wall to separate the two daughter cells. The cell plate is a transient polysaccharide-based compartment that grows between daughter cells and gives rise to the new cell wall. Cellulose constitutes a key component of the cell wall, and mutants with defects in cellulose synthesis commonly share phenotypes with cytokinesis-defective mutants. However, despite the importance of cellulose in the cell plate and the daughter cell wall, many open questions remain regarding the timing and regulation of cellulose synthesis during cell division. These questions represent a critical gap in our knowledge of cell plate assembly, cell division and growth. Here, we review what is known about cellulose synthesis at the cell plate and in the newly formed cross-wall and pose key questions about the molecular mechanisms that govern these processes. We further provide an outlook discussing outstanding questions and possible future directions for this field of research. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.12703 SN - 0031-9317 SN - 1399-3054 VL - 164 IS - 1 SP - 17 EP - 26 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schibalski, Anett A1 - Körner, Katrin A1 - Maier, Martin A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Schröder, Boris T1 - Novel model coupling approach for resilience analysis of coastal plant communities JF - Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America N2 - Resilience is a major research focus covering a wide range of topics from biodiversity conservation to ecosystem (service) management. Model simulations can assess the resilience of, for example, plant species, measured as the return time to conditions prior to a disturbance. This requires process-based models (PBM) that implement relevant processes such as regeneration and reproduction and thus successfully reproduce transient dynamics after disturbances. Such models are often complex and thus limited to either short-term or small-scale applications, whereas many research questions require species predictions across larger spatial and temporal scales. We suggest a framework to couple a PBM and a statistical species distribution model (SDM), which transfers the results of a resilience analysis by the PBM to SDM predictions. The resulting hybrid model combines the advantages of both approaches: the convenient applicability of SDMs and the relevant process detail of PBMs in abrupt environmental change situations. First, we simulate dynamic responses of species communities to a disturbance event with a PBM. We aggregate the response behavior in two resilience metrics: return time and amplitude of the response peak. These metrics are then used to complement long-term SDM projections with dynamic short-term responses to disturbance. To illustrate our framework, we investigate the effect of abrupt short-term groundwater level and salinity changes on coastal vegetation at the German Baltic Sea. We found two example species to be largely resilient, and, consequently, modifications of SDM predictions consisted mostly of smoothing out peaks in the occurrence probability that were not confirmed by the PBM. Discrepancies between SDM- and PBM-predicted species responses were caused by community dynamics simulated in the PBM and absent from the SDM. Although demonstrated with boosted regression trees (SDM) and an existing individual-based model, IBC-grass (PBM), our flexible framework can easily be applied to other PBM and SDM types, as well as other definitions of short-term disturbances or long-term trends of environmental change. Thus, our framework allows accounting for biological feedbacks in the response to short- and long-term environmental changes as a major advancement in predictive vegetation modeling. KW - Baltic Sea KW - hybrid model KW - Lolium perenne KW - model coupling KW - Scirpus maritimus KW - transient dynamics Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1758 SN - 1051-0761 SN - 1939-5582 VL - 28 IS - 6 SP - 1640 EP - 1654 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schuurmans, Jasper Merijn A1 - Brinkmann, Bregje W. A1 - Makower, Katharina A1 - Dittmann, Elke A1 - Huisman, Jef A1 - Matthijs, Hans C. P. T1 - Microcystin interferes with defense against high oxidative stress in harmful cyanobacteria JF - Harmful algae N2 - Harmful cyanobacteria producing toxic microcystins are a major concern in water quality management. In recent years, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been successfully applied to suppress cyanobacterial blooms in lakes. Physiological studies, however, indicate that microcystin protects cyanobacteria against oxidative stress, suggesting that H2O2 addition might provide a selective advantage for microcystin-producing (toxic) strains. This study compares the response of a toxic Microcystis strain, its non-toxic mutant, and a naturally non-toxic Microcystis strain to H2O2 addition representative of lake treatments. All three strains initially ceased growth upon H2O2 addition. Contrary to expectation, the non-toxic strain and non-toxic mutant rapidly degraded the added H2O2 and subsequently recovered, whereas the toxic strain did not degrade H2O2 and did not recover. Experimental catalase addition enabled recovery of the toxic strain, demonstrating that rapid H2O2 degradation is indeed essential for cyanobacterial survival. Interestingly, prior to H2O2 addition, gene expression of a thioredoxin and peroxiredoxin was much lower in the toxic strain than in its non-toxic mutant. Thioredoxin and peroxiredoxin are both involved in H2O2 degradation, and microcystin may potentially suppress their activity. These results show that microcystin-producing strains are less prepared for high levels of oxidative stress, and are therefore hit harder by H2O2 addition than non-toxic strains. KW - Cyanobacteria KW - Harmful algal blooms KW - Microcystins KW - Hydrogen peroxide KW - Microarrays KW - Microcystis aeruginosa Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2018.07.008 SN - 1568-9883 SN - 1878-1470 VL - 78 SP - 47 EP - 55 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Biterova, Ekaterina A1 - Esmaeeli Moghaddam Tabalvandani, Mariam A1 - Alanen, Heli I. A1 - Saaranen, Mirva A1 - Ruddock, Lloyd W. T1 - Structures of Angptl3 and Angptl4, modulators of triglyceride levels and coronary artery disease JF - Scientific reports N2 - Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of death globally and is linked to a number of risk factors including serum low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, triglycerides and lipoprotein(a). Recently two proteins, angiopoietin-like protein 3 and 4, have emerged from genetic studies as being factors that significantly modulate plasma triglyceride levels and coronary artery disease. The exact function and mechanism of action of both proteins remains to be elucidated, however, mutations in these proteins results in up to 34% reduction in coronary artery disease and inhibition of function results in reduced plasma triglyceride levels. Here we report the crystal structures of the fibrinogen-like domains of both proteins. These structures offer new insights into the reported loss of function mutations, the mechanisms of action of the proteins and open up the possibility for the rational design of low molecular weight inhibitors for intervention in coronary artery disease. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25237-7 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 8 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER -