TY - GEN A1 - Balazadeh, Salma A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd T1 - A balance to death T2 - Nature plants N2 - Leaf senescence plays a crucial role in nutrient recovery in late-stage plant development and requires vast transcriptional reprogramming by transcription factors such as ORESARA1 (ORE1). A proteolytic mechanism is now found to control ORE1 degradation, and thus senescence, during nitrogen starvation. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0279-6 SN - 2055-026X SN - 2055-0278 VL - 4 IS - 11 SP - 863 EP - 864 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klauschies, Toni A1 - Coutinho, Renato Mendes A1 - Gaedke, Ursula T1 - A beta distribution-based moment closure enhances the reliability of trait-based aggregate models for natural populations and communities JF - Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog N2 - Ecological communities are complex adaptive systems that exhibit remarkable feedbacks between their biomass and trait dynamics. Trait-based aggregate models cope with this complexity by focusing on the temporal development of the community’s aggregate properties such as its total biomass, mean trait and trait variance. They are based on particular assumptions about the shape of the underlying trait distribution, which is commonly assumed to be normal. However, ecologically important traits are usually restricted to a finite range, and empirical trait distributions are often skewed or multimodal. As a result, normal distribution-based aggregate models may fail to adequately represent the biomass and trait dynamics of natural communities. We resolve this mismatch by developing a new moment closure approach assuming the trait values to be beta-distributed. We show that the beta distribution captures important shape properties of both observed and simulated trait distributions, which cannot be captured by a Gaussian. We further demonstrate that a beta distribution-based moment closure can strongly enhance the reliability of trait-based aggregate models. We compare the biomass, mean trait and variance dynamics of a full trait distribution (FD) model to the ones of beta (BA) and normal (NA) distribution-based aggregate models, under different selection regimes. This way, we demonstrate under which general conditions (stabilizing, fluctuating or disruptive selection) different aggregate models are reliable tools. All three models predicted very similar biomass and trait dynamics under stabilizing selection yielding unimodal trait distributions with small standing trait variation. We also obtained an almost perfect match between the results of the FD and BA models under fluctuating selection, promoting skewed trait distributions and ongoing oscillations in the biomass and trait dynamics. In contrast, the NA model showed unrealistic trait dynamics and exhibited different alternative stable states, and thus a high sensitivity to initial conditions under fluctuating selection. Under disruptive selection, both aggregate models failed to reproduce the results of the FD model with the mean trait values remaining within their ecologically feasible ranges in the BA model but not in the NA model. Overall, a beta distribution-based moment closure strongly improved the realism of trait-based aggregate models. KW - Moment closure KW - Normal and beta distribution KW - Skewed and peaked trait distributions KW - Fitness landscape and frequency-dependent selection KW - Eco-evolutionary dynamics KW - Modelling functional diversity Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.02.001 SN - 0304-3800 SN - 1872-7026 VL - 381 SP - 46 EP - 77 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Noonan, Michael J. A1 - Tucker, Marlee A. A1 - Fleming, Christen H. A1 - Akre, Thomas S. A1 - Alberts, Susan C. A1 - Ali, Abdullahi H. A1 - Altmann, Jeanne A1 - Antunes, Pamela Castro A1 - Belant, Jerrold L. A1 - Beyer, Dean A1 - Blaum, Niels A1 - Boehning-Gaese, Katrin A1 - Cullen Jr, Laury A1 - de Paula, Rogerio Cunha A1 - Dekker, Jasja A1 - Drescher-Lehman, Jonathan A1 - Farwig, Nina A1 - Fichtel, Claudia A1 - Fischer, Christina A1 - Ford, Adam T. A1 - Goheen, Jacob R. A1 - Janssen, Rene A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Kauffman, Matthew A1 - Kappeler, Peter M. A1 - Koch, Flavia A1 - LaPoint, Scott A1 - Markham, A. Catherine A1 - Medici, Emilia Patricia A1 - Morato, Ronaldo G. A1 - Nathan, Ran A1 - Oliveira-Santos, Luiz Gustavo R. A1 - Olson, Kirk A. A1 - Patterson, Bruce D. A1 - Paviolo, Agustin A1 - Ramalho, Emiliano Estero A1 - Rosner, Sascha A1 - Schabo, Dana G. A1 - Selva, Nuria A1 - Sergiel, Agnieszka A1 - da Silva, Marina Xavier A1 - Spiegel, Orr A1 - Thompson, Peter A1 - Ullmann, Wiebke A1 - Zieba, Filip A1 - Zwijacz-Kozica, Tomasz A1 - Fagan, William F. A1 - Mueller, Thomas A1 - Calabrese, Justin M. T1 - A comprehensive analysis of autocorrelation and bias in home range estimation JF - Ecological monographs : a publication of the Ecological Society of America. N2 - Home range estimation is routine practice in ecological research. While advances in animal tracking technology have increased our capacity to collect data to support home range analysis, these same advances have also resulted in increasingly autocorrelated data. Consequently, the question of which home range estimator to use on modern, highly autocorrelated tracking data remains open. This question is particularly relevant given that most estimators assume independently sampled data. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of autocorrelation on home range estimation. We base our study on an extensive data set of GPS locations from 369 individuals representing 27 species distributed across five continents. We first assemble a broad array of home range estimators, including Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) with four bandwidth optimizers (Gaussian reference function, autocorrelated‐Gaussian reference function [AKDE], Silverman's rule of thumb, and least squares cross‐validation), Minimum Convex Polygon, and Local Convex Hull methods. Notably, all of these estimators except AKDE assume independent and identically distributed (IID) data. We then employ half‐sample cross‐validation to objectively quantify estimator performance, and the recently introduced effective sample size for home range area estimation ( N̂ area ) to quantify the information content of each data set. We found that AKDE 95% area estimates were larger than conventional IID‐based estimates by a mean factor of 2. The median number of cross‐validated locations included in the hold‐out sets by AKDE 95% (or 50%) estimates was 95.3% (or 50.1%), confirming the larger AKDE ranges were appropriately selective at the specified quantile. Conversely, conventional estimates exhibited negative bias that increased with decreasing N̂ area. To contextualize our empirical results, we performed a detailed simulation study to tease apart how sampling frequency, sampling duration, and the focal animal's movement conspire to affect range estimates. Paralleling our empirical results, the simulation study demonstrated that AKDE was generally more accurate than conventional methods, particularly for small N̂ area. While 72% of the 369 empirical data sets had >1,000 total observations, only 4% had an N̂ area >1,000, where 30% had an N̂ area <30. In this frequently encountered scenario of small N̂ area, AKDE was the only estimator capable of producing an accurate home range estimate on autocorrelated data. KW - animal movement KW - kernel density estimation KW - local convex hull KW - minimum convex polygon KW - range distribution KW - space use KW - telemetry KW - tracking data Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1344 SN - 0012-9615 SN - 1557-7015 VL - 89 IS - 2 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Palkopoulou, Eleftheria A1 - Lipson, Mark A1 - Mallick, Swapan A1 - Nielsen, Svend A1 - Rohland, Nadin A1 - Baleka, Sina Isabelle A1 - Karpinski, Emil A1 - Ivancevici, Atma M. A1 - Thu-Hien To, A1 - Kortschak, Daniel A1 - Raison, Joy M. A1 - Qu, Zhipeng A1 - Chin, Tat-Jun A1 - Alt, Kurt W. A1 - Claesson, Stefan A1 - Dalen, Love A1 - MacPhee, Ross D. E. A1 - Meller, Harald A1 - Rocar, Alfred L. A1 - Ryder, Oliver A. A1 - Heiman, David A1 - Young, Sarah A1 - Breen, Matthew A1 - Williams, Christina A1 - Aken, Bronwen L. A1 - Ruffier, Magali A1 - Karlsson, Elinor A1 - Johnson, Jeremy A1 - Di Palma, Federica A1 - Alfoldi, Jessica A1 - Adelsoni, David L. A1 - Mailund, Thomas A1 - Munch, Kasper A1 - Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin A1 - Hofreiter, Michael A1 - Poinar, Hendrik A1 - Reich, David T1 - A comprehensive genomic history of extinct and living elephants JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America KW - paleogenomics KW - elephantid evolution KW - mammoth KW - admixture KW - species divergence Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1720554115 SN - 0027-8424 VL - 115 IS - 11 SP - E2566 EP - E2574 PB - National Acad. of Sciences CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kersting, Sebastian A1 - Rausch, Valentina A1 - Bier, Frank Fabian A1 - von Nickisch-Rosenegk, Markus T1 - A recombinase polymerase amplification assay for the diagnosis of atypical pneumonia JF - Analytical biochemistry : methods in the biological sciences N2 - Pneumonia is one of the most common and potentially lethal infectious conditions worldwide. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the pathogen most frequently associated with bacterial community-acquired pneumonia, while Legionella pneumophila is the major cause for local outbreaks of legionellosis. Both pathogens can be difficult to diagnose since signs and symptoms are nonspecific and do not differ from other causes of pneumonia. Therefore, a rapid diagnosis within a clinically relevant time is essential for a fast onset of the proper treatment. Although methods based on polymerase chain reaction significantly improved the identification of pathogens, they are difficult to conduct and need specialized equipment. We describe a rapid and sensitive test using isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification and detection on a disposable test strip. This method does not require any special instrumentation and can be performed in less than 20 min. The analytical sensitivity in the multiplex assay amplifying specific regions of S. pneumoniae and L. pneumophila simultaneously was 10 CFUs of genomic DNA per reaction. In cross detection studies with closely related strains and other bacterial agents the specificity of the RPA was confirmed. The presented method is applicable for near patient and field testing with a rather simple routine and the possibility for a read out with the naked eye. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ab.2018.04.014 SN - 0003-2697 SN - 1096-0309 VL - 550 SP - 54 EP - 60 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Basler, Georg A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran T1 - Advances in metabolic flux analysis toward genome-scale profiling of higher organisms JF - Bioscience reports : communications and reviews in molecular and cellular biology N2 - Methodological and technological advances have recently paved the way for metabolic flux profiling in higher organisms, like plants. However, in comparison with omics technologies, flux profiling has yet to provide comprehensive differential flux maps at a genome-scale and in different cell types, tissues, and organs. Here we highlight the recent advances in technologies to gather metabolic labeling patterns and flux profiling approaches. We provide an opinion of how recent local flux profiling approaches can be used in conjunction with the constraint-based modeling framework to arrive at genome-scale flux maps. In addition, we point at approaches which use metabolomics data without introduction of label to predict either non-steady state fluxes in a time-series experiment or flux changes in different experimental scenarios. The combination of these developments allows an experimentally feasible approach for flux-based large-scale systems biology studies. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1042/BSR20170224 SN - 0144-8463 SN - 1573-4935 VL - 38 PB - Portland Press (London) CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Özer, Aydan A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Affinity to host population stimulates physical growth in adult offspring of Turkish migrants in Germany JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Because of political conflicts and climate change, migration will be increased worldwide and integration in host societies is a challenge also for migrants. We hypothesize that migrants, who take up the challenge in a new social environment are taller than migrants who do not pose this challenge. We analyze by a questionnaire possible social, nutritional and ethnic influencing factors to body height (BH) of adult offspring of Turkish migrants (n = 82, 39 males) aged from 18 to 34 years (mean age 24.6 years). The results of multiple regression (downward selection) show that the more a male adult offspring of Turkish migrants feels like belonging to the Turkish culture, the smaller he is (95% CI, -3.79, -0.323). Further, the more a male adult offspring of Turkish migrants feels like belonging to the German culture, the taller he is (95% CI, -0.152, 1.738). We discussed it comparable to primates taking up their challenge in dominance, where as a result their body size increase is associated with higher IGF-1 level. IGF-1 is associated with emotional belonging and has a fundamental role in the regulation of metabolism and growth of the human body. With all pilot characteristics of our study results show that the successful challenge of integration in a new society is strongly associated with the emotional integration and identification in the sense of a personal sense of belonging to society. We discuss taller BH as a signal of social growth adjustment. In this sense, a secular trend of BH adaptation of migrants to hosts is a sign of integration. KW - height of Turkish migrants KW - social identification KW - strategic growth adjustments Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2018/0825 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 5 SP - 359 EP - 364 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sharma, Niharika A1 - Dang, Trang Minh A1 - Singh, Namrata A1 - Ruzicic, Slobodan A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Baumann, Ute A1 - Heuer, Sigrid T1 - Allelic variants of OsSUB1A cause differential expression of transcription factor genes in response to submergence in rice JF - Rice N2 - Background: Flooding during seasonal monsoons affects millions of hectares of rice-cultivated areas across Asia. Submerged rice plants die within a week due to lack of oxygen, light and excessive elongation growth to escape the water. Submergence tolerance was first reported in an aus-type rice landrace, FR13A, and the ethylene-responsive transcription factor (TF) gene SUB1A-1 was identified as the major tolerance gene. Intolerant rice varieties generally lack the SUB1A gene but some intermediate tolerant varieties, such as IR64, carry the allelic variant SUB1A-2. Differential effects of the two alleles have so far not been addressed. As a first step, we have therefore quantified and compared the expression of nearly 2500 rice TF genes between IR64 and its derived tolerant near isogenic line IR64-Sub1, which carries the SUB1A-1 allele. Gene expression was studied in internodes, where the main difference in expression between the two alleles was previously shown. Results: Nineteen and twenty-six TF genes were identified that responded to submergence in IR64 and IR64-Sub1, respectively. Only one gene was found to be submergence-responsive in both, suggesting different regulatory pathways under submergence in the two genotypes. These differentially expressed genes (DEGs) mainly included MYB, NAC, TIFY and Zn-finger TFs, and most genes were downregulated upon submergence. In IR64, but not in IR64-Sub1, SUB1B and SUB1C, which are also present in the Sub1 locus, were identified as submergence responsive. Four TFs were not submergence responsive but exhibited constitutive, genotype-specific differential expression. Most of the identified submergence responsive DEGs are associated with regulatory hormonal pathways, i.e. gibberellins (GA), abscisic acid (ABA), and jasmonic acid (JA), apart from ethylene. An in-silico promoter analysis of the two genotypes revealed the presence of allele-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms, giving rise to ABRE, DRE/CRT, CARE and Site II cis-elements, which can partly explain the observed differential TF gene expression. Conclusion: This study identified new gene targets with the potential to further enhance submergence tolerance in rice and provides insights into novel aspects of SUB1A-mediated tolerance. KW - Submergence tolerance KW - SUB1A KW - Rice KW - Transcription factors Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-017-0192-z SN - 1939-8425 SN - 1939-8433 VL - 11 IS - 2 PB - Springer Open CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, S. M. A1 - Finke, Hannah A1 - Ebert, Franziska A1 - Kopp, Johannes Florian A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Francesconi, Kevin A. A1 - Raber, G. A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja T1 - Arsenic-containing hydrocarbons BT - effects on gene expression, epigenetics, and biotransformation in HepG2 cells JF - Archives of toxicology : official journal of EUROTOX N2 - Arsenic-containing hydrocarbons (AsHCs), a subgroup of arsenolipids found in fish and algae, elicit substantial toxic effects in various human cell lines and have a considerable impact on cellular energy levels. The underlying mode of action, however, is still unknown. The present study analyzes the effects of two AsHCs (AsHC 332 and AsHC 360) on the expression of 44 genes covering DNA repair, stress response, cell death, autophagy, and epigenetics via RT-qPCR in human liver (HepG2) cells. Both AsHCs affected the gene expression, but to different extents. After treatment with AsHC 360, flap structure-specific endonuclease 1 (FEN1) as well as xeroderma pigmentosum group A complementing protein (XPA) and (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) showed time- and concentration-dependent alterations in gene expression, thereby indicating an impact on genomic stability. In the subsequent analysis of epigenetic markers, within 72 h, neither AsHC 332 nor AsHC 360 showed an impact on the global DNA methylation level, whereas incubation with AsHC 360 increased the global DNA hydroxymethylation level. Analysis of cell extracts and cell media by HPLC-mass spectrometry revealed that both AsHCs were considerably biotransformed. The identified metabolites include not only the respective thioxo-analogs of the two AsHCs, but also several arsenic-containing fatty acids and fatty alcohols, contributing to our knowledge of biotransformation mechanisms of arsenolipids. KW - Arsenolipids KW - Gene expression KW - Arsenic-containing hydrocarbons KW - Global DNA methylation KW - Arsenic speciation KW - Metabolism Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-018-2194-z SN - 0340-5761 SN - 1432-0738 VL - 92 IS - 5 SP - 1751 EP - 1765 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - As tall as my peers BT - similarity in body height between migrants and hosts JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Background: We define migrants as people who move from their place of birth to a new place of residence. Migration usually is directed by "Push-Pull" factors, for example to escape from poor living conditions or to find more prosperous socio-economic conditions. Migrant children tend to assimilate quickly, and soon perceive themselves as peers within their new social networks. Differences exist between growth of first generation and second generation migrants. Methods: We review body heights and height distributions of historic and modern migrant populations to test two hypotheses: 1) that migrant and adopted children coming from lower social status localities to higher status localities adjust their height growth toward the mean of the dominant recipient social network, and 2) social dominant colonial and military migrants display growth that significantly surpasses the median height of both the conquered population and the population of origin. Our analytical framework also considered social networks. Recent publications indicate that spatial connectedness (community effects) and social competitiveness can affect human growth. Results: Migrant children and adolescents of lower social status rapidly adjust in height towards average height of their hosts, but tend to mature earlier, and are prone to overweight. The mean height of colonial/military migrants does surpass that of the conquered and origin population. Conclusion: Observations on human social networks, non-human animal strategic growth adjustments, and competitive growth processes strengthen the concept of social connectedness being involved in the regulation of human migrant growth. KW - growth of migrants KW - community effect on height KW - dominance KW - strategic growth adjustments KW - competitive growth Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2018/0828 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 5 SP - 365 EP - 376 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Khozroughi, Amin Ghadiri A1 - Kroh, Lothar W. A1 - Schlueter, Oliver A1 - Rawel, Harshadrai Manilal T1 - Assessment of the bacterial impact on the post-mortem formation of zinc protoporphyrin IX in pork meat JF - Food chemistry N2 - The post-mortem accumulation of the heme biosynthesis metabolite zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) in porcine muscle is associated with both a meat-inherent and a bacterial enzymatic reaction during meat storage. To estimate the bacterial impact on ZnPP formation, meat and meat-like media were investigated by HPLC-FLD (and MALDI-TOF-MS) after inoculation with a representative microorganism (P. fluorescens). Results indicate the principal ability of meat-inherent bacteria to form ZnPP in meat extracts and meat-like media, but not on the meat muscle. Thus it was concluded that the ZnPP formation in meat is due to a meat-inherent enzymatic reaction induced by porcine ferrochelatase (FECH), while the bacterial (FECH) induced reaction seems to be not significant. KW - Meat storage KW - Pseudomonas KW - Post mortem chemistry KW - Microorganisms KW - Fluorescence Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.01.045 SN - 0308-8146 SN - 1873-7072 VL - 256 SP - 25 EP - 30 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bollier, Norbert A1 - Sicard, Adrien A1 - Leblond, Julie A1 - Latrasse, David A1 - Gonzalez, Nathalie A1 - Gevaudant, Frederic A1 - Benhamed, Moussa A1 - Raynaud, Cecile A1 - Lenhard, Michael A1 - Chevalier, Christian A1 - Hernould, Michel A1 - Delmas, Frederic T1 - At-MINI ZINC FINGER2 and Sl-INHIBITOR OF MERISTEM ACTIVITY, a Conserved Missing Link in the Regulation of Floral Meristem Termination in Arabidopsis and Tomato JF - The plant cell N2 - In angiosperms, the gynoecium is the last structure to develop within the flower due to the determinate fate of floral meristem (FM) stem cells. The maintenance of stem cell activity before its arrest at the stage called FM termination affects the number of carpels that develop. The necessary inhibition at this stage of WUSCHEL (WUS), which is responsible for stem cell maintenance, involves a two-step mechanism. Direct repression mediated by the MADS domain transcription factor AGAMOUS (AG), followed by indirect repression requiring the C2H2 zinc-finger protein KNUCKLES (KNU), allow for the complete termination of floral stem cell activity. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana MINI ZINC FINGER2 (AtMIF2) and its homolog in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), INHIBITOR OF MERISTEM ACTIVITY (SlIMA), participate in the FM termination process by functioning as adaptor proteins. AtMIF2 and SlIMA recruit AtKNU and SlKNU, respectively, to form a transcriptional repressor complex together with TOPLESS and HISTONE DEACETYLASE19. AtMIF2 and SlIMA bind to the WUS and SIWUS loci in the respective plants, leading to their repression. These results provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms governing (FM) termination and highlight the essential role of AtMIF2/SlIMA during this developmental step, which determines carpel number and therefore fruit size. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00653 SN - 1040-4651 SN - 1532-298X VL - 30 IS - 1 SP - 83 EP - 100 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - De Frenne, Pieter A1 - Blondeel, H. A1 - Brunet, J. A1 - Caron, M. M. A1 - Chabrerie, O. A1 - Cougnon, M. A1 - Cousins, S. A. O. A1 - Decocq, G. A1 - Diekmann, M. A1 - Graae, B. J. A1 - Hanley, M. E. A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Hermy, M. A1 - Kolb, A. A1 - Lenoir, J. A1 - Liira, J. A1 - Orczewska, A. A1 - Shevtsova, A. A1 - Vanneste, T. A1 - Verheyen, K. T1 - Atmospheric nitrogen deposition on petals enhances seed quality of the forest herb Anemone nemorosa JF - Plant biology N2 - Elevated atmospheric input of nitrogen (N) is currently affecting plant biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The growth and survival of numerous plant species is known to respond strongly to N fertilisation. Yet, few studies have assessed the effects of N deposition on seed quality and reproductive performance, which is an important life-history stage of plants. Here we address this knowledge gap by assessing the effects of atmospheric N deposition on seed quality of the ancient forest herb Anemone nemorosa using two complementary approaches. By taking advantage of the wide spatiotemporal variation in N deposition rates in pan-European temperate and boreal forests over 2years, we detected positive effects of N deposition on the N concentration (percentage N per unit seed mass, increased from 2.8% to 4.1%) and N content (total N mass per seed more than doubled) of A.nemorosa seeds. In a complementary experiment, we applied ammonium nitrate to aboveground plant tissues and the soil surface to determine whether dissolved N sources in precipitation could be incorporated into seeds. Although the addition of N to leaves and the soil surface had no effect, a concentrated N solution applied to petals during anthesis resulted in increased seed mass, seed N concentration and N content. Our results demonstrate that N deposition on the petals enhances bioaccumulation of N in the seeds of A.nemorosa. Enhanced atmospheric inputs of N can thus not only affect growth and population dynamics via root or canopy uptake, but can also influence seed quality and reproduction via intake through the inflorescences. KW - Latitudinal gradient KW - nitrogen deposition KW - nutrient stoichiometry KW - seed provisioning KW - seed quality KW - sexual reproduction KW - wood anemone Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12688 SN - 1435-8603 SN - 1438-8677 VL - 20 IS - 3 SP - 619 EP - 626 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - THES A1 - Stößel, Daniel T1 - Biomarker Discovery in Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease T1 - Biomarkerentwicklung in Multiple Sklerose und der Parkinson-Krankheit BT - novel insights into metabolic disease mechanisms N2 - Neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's (PD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) often result in a severe impairment of the patient´s quality of life. Effective therapies for the treatment are currently not available, which results in a high socio-economic burden. Due to the heterogeneity of the disease subtypes, stratification is particularly difficult in the early phase of the disease and is mainly based on clinical parameters such as neurophysiological tests and central nervous imaging. Due to good accessibility and stability, blood and cerebrospinal fluid metabolite markers could serve as surrogates for neurodegenerative processes. This can lead to an improved mechanistic understanding of these diseases and further be used as "treatment response" biomarkers in preclinical and clinical development programs. Therefore, plasma and CSF metabolite profiles will be identified that allow differentiation of PD from healthy controls, association of PD with dementia (PDD) and differentiation of PD subtypes such as akinetic rigid and tremor dominant PD patients. In addition, plasma metabolites for the diagnosis of primary progressive MS (PPMS) should be investigated and tested for their specificity to relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and their development during PPMS progression. By applying untargeted high-resolution metabolomics of PD patient samples and in using random forest and partial least square machine learning algorithms, this study identified 20 plasma metabolites and 14 CSF metabolite biomarkers. These differentiate against healthy individuals with an AUC of 0.8 and 0.9 in PD, respectively. We also identify ten PDD specific serum metabolites, which differentiate against healthy individuals and PD patients without dementia with an AUC of 1.0, respectively. Furthermore, 23 akinetic-rigid specific plasma markers were identified, which differentiate against tremor-dominant PD patients with an AUC of 0.94 and against healthy individuals with an AUC of 0.98. These findings also suggest more severe disease pathology in the akinetic-rigid PD than in tremor dominant PD. In the analysis of MS patient samples a partial least square analysis yielded predictive models for the classification of PPMS and resulted in 20 PPMS specific metabolites. In another MS study unknown changes in human metabolism were identified after administration of the multiple sclerosis drug dimethylfumarate, which is used for the treatment of RRMS. These results allow to describe and understand the hitherto completely unknown mechanism of action of this new drug and to use these findings for the further development of new drugs and targets against RRMS. In conclusion, these results have the potential for improved diagnosis of these diseases and improvement of mechanistic understandings, as multiple deregulated pathways were identified. Moreover, novel Dimethylfumarate targets can be used to aid drug development and treatment efficiency. Overall, metabolite profiling in combination with machine learning identified as a promising approach for biomarker discovery and mode of action elucidation. N2 - Neuroinflammatorische and neurodegenerative Erkrankungen wie Parkinson (PD) und Multiple Sklerose (MS) gehen oft mit einer starken Beeinträchtigung der Lebensqualität einher. Effektive Therapien für die Behandlung sind derzeit nicht verfügbar, was nicht zuletzt eine hohe sozioökonomische Last zur Folge hat. Aufgrund der Heterogenität der Krankheitsbilder ist eine Stratifizierung gerade in der Frühphase der Erkrankung schwierig und basiert hauptsächlich auf klinischen Parametern wie bspw. neurophysiologischen Tests und bildgebenden Verfahren. Aufgrund ihrer guten Zugänglichkeit und Stabilität könnten bestimmte Blut- und Liquor-Metabolitenmarker als Surrogat für neurodegenerative Prozesse dienen, zu einem verbesserten mechanistischen Verständnis dieser Krankheiten führen und nicht zuletzt als “treatment response“ Biomarker in präklinischen und klinischen Entwicklungsprogrammen herangezogen werden. In dieser Arbeit sollten deshalb Plasma- und CSF-Metabolitprofile identifiziert werden, die eine Differenzierung von PD zu gesunden Kontrollen, Assoziierung zu PD mit Demenz (PDD) sowie eine Abgrenzung zu unterschiedlichen PD-Subtypen wie akinetisch-rigiden sowie tremor-dominanten PD-Patienten ermöglichen. Weiterhin wurden in dieser Arbeit Plasmametabolite zur Diagnose von primär-progressiver MS (PPMS) erforscht und auf ihre Spezifität gegenüber schubförmig remittierender MS (RRMS) und PD geprüft sowie deren Verlauf während der PPMS Progression getestet. Hierbei konnten durch “untargeted Metabolomics“ in Kombination mit statistischen Modellen mehrere Plasma- und CSF-Metabolite in PD-Patienten/Erkrankten ermittelt werden, die mit Hilfe von statistischen Diagnosemodellen eine Differenzierung zu gesunden Personen ermöglichen. Darüber hinaus wurden in dieser Arbeit PDD-spezifische Serummetabolite identifiziert, die wiederum genutzt werden können, um diesen PD-Typen von gesunden Individuen und PD-Patienten ohne Demenz abzugrenzen. Des Weiteren konnten bei akinetisch-rigiden PD-Patienten spezifische Metabolite entdeckt werden, die im Vergleich zu tremor-dominanten PD-Patienten eine stärkere metabolische Krankheitssymptomatik suggerieren. Im Zusammenhang mit PPMS wurden in dieser Arbeit spezifische Plasma-Metabolite entdeckt, die zur Diagnose gegen RRMS, PD und gesunden Kontrollen genutzt werden können. Interessanterweise zeigte dabei ein spezifisches Lipid geringere Werte im PPMS Krankheitsverlauf, wodurch sich dieses als möglicher Marker zur Progressionsdiagnostik dieser Krankheit qualifiziert. Abschließend konnten in dieser Arbeit im humanen Stoffwechsel bisher unbekannte Angriffspunkte des Medikaments Dimethylfumarat, das zur Behandlung von RRMS verwendet wird, ermittelt werden. Durch diese Ergebnisse kann der bis jetzt gänzlich unbekannte Wirkungsmechanismus dieses neuen Medikaments besser beschrieben und verstanden, sowie zur Weiterentwicklung neuer Medikamente gegen RRMS genutzt werden. KW - metabolomics KW - biomarker KW - multiple sclerosis KW - Parkinson's disease KW - neurodegeneration KW - neuroinflammation KW - machine-learning KW - Parkinson-Krankheit KW - Biomarker KW - Maschinelles-Lernen KW - Metabolomics KW - Multiple-Sklerose Y1 - 2018 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Yuk-Chien A1 - Groth, Detlef T1 - Body height, social dominance and the political climate BT - a comment JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Background: The association between stature and social dominance is known. Dominance within social groups and current politics are related issues. We therefore aimed to compare estimates of the opinion of a population about their current political issues, with physical growth. Material and methods: We used data on the 2012 and the 2014 elections for the Japanese House of Representatives and the percent proportion of votes of the 47 prefectures of Japan, and regional data on body height of 17.5 year old men and women. Information on capita income, possession of mobile phones, urban/rural population ratio, and age distribution were added to capture socioeconomic factors. Four political parties were present in most of the 47 prefectures: the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the New Komeito Party (Kom) that is known for their social network community, and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP). Results: A dense network of associations exists between height, age distribution, per capita income, number of smartphones, and voting results. Male and female body height was inversely related with the proportion of votes for New Komeito Party. Average stature decreases by one mm per percent votes for this political party. Medium strong positive associations were found for male body height and voting results of the DPJ and for female body height with the JCP election results. Conclusion: In modern Japan, popular preferences for conservative political structures coincide with shorter stature. KW - stature KW - social dominance KW - strategic growth adjustments Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2018/0855 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 5 SP - 445 EP - 450 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bäurle, Isabel A1 - Brzezinka, Krzysztof A1 - Altmann, Simone T1 - BRUSHY1/TONSOKU/MGOUN3 is required for heat stress memory JF - Plant Cell & Environment N2 - Plants encounter biotic and abiotic stresses many times during their life cycle and this limits their productivity. Moderate heat stress (HS) primes a plant to survive higher temperatures that are lethal in the naïve state. Once temperature stress subsides, the memory of the priming event is actively retained for several days preparing the plant to better cope with recurring HS. Recently, chromatin regulation at different levels has been implicated in HS memory. Here, we report that the chromatin protein BRUSHY1 (BRU1)/TONSOKU/MGOUN3 plays a role in the HS memory in Arabidopsis thaliana. BRU1 is also involved in transcriptional gene silencing and DNA damage repair. This corresponds with the functions of its mammalian orthologue TONSOKU‐LIKE/NFΚBIL2. During HS memory, BRU1 is required to maintain sustained induction of HS memory‐associated genes, whereas it is dispensable for the acquisition of thermotolerance. In summary, we report that BRU1 is required for HS memory in A. thaliana, and propose a model where BRU1 mediates the epigenetic inheritance of chromatin states across DNA replication and cell division. KW - Arabidopsis thaliana KW - BRUSHY1 KW - chromatin KW - priming Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13365 VL - 42 SP - 771 EP - 781 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 - JOUR A1 - Kobel-Höller, Konstanze A1 - Gley, Kevin A1 - Jochinke, Janina A1 - Heider, Kristina A1 - Fritsch, Verena Nadin A1 - Ha Viet Duc Nguyen, A1 - Lischke, Timo A1 - Radek, Renate A1 - Baumgrass, Ria A1 - Mutzel, Rupert A1 - Thewes, Sascha T1 - Calcineurin Silencing in Dictyostelium discoideum Leads to Cellular Alterations Affecting Mitochondria, Gene Expression, and Oxidative Stress Response JF - Protist N2 - Calcineurin is involved in development and cell differentiation of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. However, since knockouts of the calcineurin-encoding genes are not possible in D. discoideum it is assumed that the phosphatase also plays a crucial role during vegetative growth of the amoebae. Therefore, we investigated the role of calcineurin during vegetative growth in D. discoideum. RNAi-silenced calcineurin mutants showed cellular alterations with an abnormal morphology of mitochondria and had increased content of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In contrast, mitochondria showed no substantial functional impairment. Calcineurin-silencing led to altered expression of calcium-regulated genes as well as mitochondrially-encoded genes. Furthermore, genes related to oxidative stress were higher expressed in the mutants, which correlated to an increased resistance towards reactive oxygen species (ROS). Most of the changes observed during vegetative growth were not seen after starvation of the calcineurin mutants. We show that impairment of calcineurin led to many subtle, but in the sum crucial cellular alterations in vegetative D. discoideum cells. As these alterations were not observed after starvation we propose a dual role for calcineurin during growth and development. Our results imply that calcineurin is one player in the mutual interplay between mitochondria and ROS during vegetative growth. KW - mtDNA KW - mitochondrial remodelling KW - calcium KW - oxidative stress KW - phototaxis Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protis.2018.04.004 SN - 1434-4610 VL - 169 IS - 4 SP - 584 EP - 602 PB - Elsevier GMBH CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pitzen, Valentin A1 - Askarzada, Sophie A1 - Gräf, Ralph A1 - Meyer, Irene T1 - CDK5RAP2 Is an Essential Scaffolding Protein of the Corona of the Dictyostelium Centrosome JF - Cells N2 - Dictyostelium centrosomes consist of a nucleus-associated cylindrical, three-layered core structure surrounded by a corona consisting of microtubule-nucleation complexes embedded in a scaffold of large coiled-coil proteins. One of them is the conserved CDK5RAP2 protein. Here we focus on the role of Dictyostelium CDK5RAP2 for maintenance of centrosome integrity, its interaction partners and its dynamic behavior during interphase and mitosis. GFP-CDK5RAP2 is present at the centrosome during the entire cell cycle except from a short period during prophase, correlating with the normal dissociation of the corona at this stage. RNAi depletion of CDK5RAP2 results in complete disorganization of centrosomes and microtubules suggesting that CDK5RAP2 is required for organization of the corona and its association to the core structure. This is in line with the observation that overexpressed GFP-CDK5RAP2 elicited supernumerary cytosolic MTOCs. The phenotype of CDK5RAP2 depletion was very reminiscent of that observed upon depletion of CP148, another scaffolding protein of the corona. BioID interaction assays revealed an interaction of CDK5RAP2 not only with the corona markers CP148, gamma-tubulin, and CP248, but also with the core components Cep192, CP75, and CP91. Furthermore, protein localization studies in both depletion strains revealed that CP148 and CDK5RAP2 cooperate in corona organization. KW - centrosome KW - centriole KW - Dictyostelium KW - microtubules KW - mitosis Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/cells7040032 SN - 2073-4409 VL - 7 IS - 4 PB - MDPI CY - Basel 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 -