TY - JOUR A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Epp, Laura Saskia A1 - Wieczorek, Mareike A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - High gene flow and complex treeline dynamics of Larix Mill. stands on the Taymyr Peninsula (north-central Siberia) revealed by nuclear microsatellites JF - Tree Genetics & Genomes N2 - Arctic treelines are facing a strong temperature increase as a result of recent global warming, causing possible changes in forest extent, which will alter vegetation-climate feedbacks. However, the mode and strength of the response is rather unclear, as potential changes are happening in areas that are very remote and difficult to access, and empirical data are still largely lacking. Here, we assessed the current population structure and genetic differentiation of Larix Mill. tree stands within the northernmost latitudinal treeline reaching ~ 72° N in the southern lowlands of the Taymyr Peninsula (~ 100° E). We sampled 743 individuals belonging to different height classes (seedlings, saplings, trees) at 11 locations along a gradient from ‘single tree’ tundra over ‘forest line’ to ‘dense forest’ stands and conducted investigations applying eight highly polymorphic nuclear microsatellites. Results suggest a high diversity within sub-populations (HE = 0.826–0.893), coupled, however, with heterozygote deficits in all sub-populations, but pronounced in ‘forest line’ stands. Overall, genetic differentiation of sub-populations is low (FST = 0.005), indicating a region-wide high gene flow, although ‘forest line’ stands harbour few rare and private alleles, likely indicating greater local reproduction. ‘Single tree’ stands, located beyond the northern forest line, are currently not involved in treeline expansion, but show signs of a long-term refuge, namely asexual reproduction and change of growth-form from erect to creeping growth, possibly having persisted for thousands of years. The lack of differentiation between the sub-populations points to a sufficiently high dispersal potential, and thus a rapid northward migration of the Siberian arctic treeline under recent global warming seems potentially unconstrained, but observations show it to be unexpectedly slow. KW - Larch KW - Population genetics KW - Boreal forests KW - Tundra-taiga transition KW - Range expansion Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-018-1235-3 SN - 1614-2942 SN - 1614-2950 VL - 14 IS - 2 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tucker, Marlee A. A1 - Boehning-Gaese, Katrin A1 - Fagan, William F. A1 - Fryxell, John M. A1 - Van Moorter, Bram A1 - Alberts, Susan C. A1 - Ali, Abdullahi H. A1 - Allen, Andrew M. A1 - Attias, Nina A1 - Avgar, Tal A1 - Bartlam-Brooks, Hattie A1 - Bayarbaatar, Buuveibaatar A1 - Belant, Jerrold L. A1 - Bertassoni, Alessandra A1 - Beyer, Dean A1 - Bidner, Laura A1 - van Beest, Floris M. A1 - Blake, Stephen A1 - Blaum, Niels A1 - Bracis, Chloe A1 - Brown, Danielle A1 - de Bruyn, P. J. Nico A1 - Cagnacci, Francesca A1 - Calabrese, Justin M. A1 - Camilo-Alves, Constanca A1 - Chamaille-Jammes, Simon A1 - Chiaradia, Andre A1 - Davidson, Sarah C. A1 - Dennis, Todd A1 - DeStefano, Stephen A1 - Diefenbach, Duane A1 - Douglas-Hamilton, Iain A1 - Fennessy, Julian A1 - Fichtel, Claudia A1 - Fiedler, Wolfgang A1 - Fischer, Christina A1 - Fischhoff, Ilya A1 - Fleming, Christen H. A1 - Ford, Adam T. A1 - Fritz, Susanne A. A1 - Gehr, Benedikt A1 - Goheen, Jacob R. A1 - Gurarie, Eliezer A1 - Hebblewhite, Mark A1 - Heurich, Marco A1 - Hewison, A. J. Mark A1 - Hof, Christian A1 - Hurme, Edward A1 - Isbell, Lynne A. A1 - Janssen, Rene A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Kaczensky, Petra A1 - Kane, Adam A1 - Kappeler, Peter M. A1 - Kauffman, Matthew A1 - Kays, Roland A1 - Kimuyu, Duncan A1 - Koch, Flavia A1 - Kranstauber, Bart A1 - LaPoint, Scott A1 - Leimgruber, Peter A1 - Linnell, John D. C. A1 - Lopez-Lopez, Pascual A1 - Markham, A. Catherine A1 - Mattisson, Jenny A1 - Medici, Emilia Patricia A1 - Mellone, Ugo A1 - Merrill, Evelyn A1 - Mourao, Guilherme de Miranda A1 - Morato, Ronaldo G. A1 - Morellet, Nicolas A1 - Morrison, Thomas A. A1 - Diaz-Munoz, Samuel L. A1 - Mysterud, Atle A1 - Nandintsetseg, Dejid A1 - Nathan, Ran A1 - Niamir, Aidin A1 - Odden, John A1 - Oliveira-Santos, Luiz Gustavo R. A1 - Olson, Kirk A. A1 - Patterson, Bruce D. A1 - de Paula, Rogerio Cunha A1 - Pedrotti, Luca A1 - Reineking, Bjorn A1 - Rimmler, Martin A1 - Rogers, Tracey L. A1 - Rolandsen, Christer Moe A1 - Rosenberry, Christopher S. A1 - Rubenstein, Daniel I. A1 - Safi, Kamran A1 - Said, Sonia A1 - Sapir, Nir A1 - Sawyer, Hall A1 - Schmidt, Niels Martin A1 - Selva, Nuria A1 - Sergiel, Agnieszka A1 - Shiilegdamba, Enkhtuvshin A1 - Silva, Joao Paulo A1 - Singh, Navinder A1 - Solberg, Erling J. A1 - Spiegel, Orr A1 - Strand, Olav A1 - Sundaresan, Siva A1 - Ullmann, Wiebke A1 - Voigt, Ulrich A1 - Wall, Jake A1 - Wattles, David A1 - Wikelski, Martin A1 - Wilmers, Christopher C. A1 - Wilson, John W. A1 - Wittemyer, George A1 - Zieba, Filip A1 - Zwijacz-Kozica, Tomasz A1 - Mueller, Thomas T1 - Moving in the Anthropocene BT - global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements JF - Science N2 - Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam9712 SN - 0036-8075 SN - 1095-9203 VL - 359 IS - 6374 SP - 466 EP - 469 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington 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 - THES A1 - Zhang, Yunming T1 - Understanding the functional specialization of poly(A) polymerases in Arabidopsis thaliana Y1 - 2018 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tabares, Ximena A1 - Mapani, Benjamin A1 - Blaum, Niels A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Composition and diversity of vegetation and pollen spectra along gradients of grazing intensity and precipitation in southern Africa JF - Review of palaeobotany and palynology : an international journal N2 - Understanding vegetation-modern pollen relationships is essential to provide confidence in fossil pollen reconstructions of long-term vegetation changes in savanna ecosystems. In this paper we compare the taxonomical composition and the diversity (Hill NO, N1, N2) of vegetation and modern pollen along precipitation and local grazing-intensity gradients in Namibian savannas. Modern pollen was extracted from surface soil samples collected from 5 x 5 m plots distributed along four 500 m gradients. Vegetation was surveyed in each plot. The results show a high correspondence between vegetation and pollen data in terms of composition. Precipitation and grazing explain a significant although low proportion of compositional change in the vegetation and pollen spectra. We identified pollen taxa as indicators of grazing pressure such as Limeum, Alternanthera, and particularly Tribulus. Correspondence between vegetation and pollen data in terms of taxa richness (NO) is limited, probably because of the influence of landscape heterogeneity and openness, as well as low pollen concentrations. In contrast, the effective numbers of common and dominant taxa (N1, N2) are consistent among the different datasets. We conclude that in spite of limitations, modern pollen assemblages can reflect changes in vegetation composition, richness and diversity patterns along precipitation and grazing gradients in savanna environments. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Modern pollen-vegetation relationships KW - Hill numbers KW - Indicator species KW - Savanna ecology KW - Namibia Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2018.04.004 SN - 0034-6667 SN - 1879-0615 VL - 253 SP - 88 EP - 100 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Synodinos, Alexios D. A1 - Eldridge, David A1 - Geißler, Katja A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Lohmann, Dirk A1 - Midgley, Guy A1 - Blaum, Niels T1 - Remotely sensed canopy height reveals three pantropical ecosystem states BT - a comment T2 - Ecology : a publication of the Ecological Society of America Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1997 SN - 0012-9658 SN - 1939-9170 VL - 99 IS - 1 SP - 231 EP - 234 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fujikura, Ushio A1 - Jing, Runchun A1 - Hanada, Atsushi A1 - Takebayashi, Yumiko A1 - Sakakibara, Hitoshi A1 - Yamaguchi, Shinjiro A1 - Kappel, Christian A1 - Lenhard, Michael T1 - Variation in splicing efficiency underlies morphological evolution in capsella JF - Developmental cell N2 - Understanding the molecular basis of morphological change remains a central challenge in evolutionary-developmental biology. The transition from outbreeding to selfing is often associated with a dramatic reduction in reproductive structures and functions, such as the loss of attractive pheromones in hermaphroditic Caenorhabditis elegans and a reduced flower size in plants. Here, we demonstrate that variation in the level of the brassinosteroid-biosynthesis enzyme CYP724A1 contributes to the reduced flower size of selfing Capsella rubella compared with its outbreeding ancestor Capsella grandiflora. The primary transcript of the C. rubella allele is spliced more efficiently than that of C. grandiflora, resulting in higher brassinosteroid levels. These restrict organ growth by limiting cell proliferation. More efficient splicing of the C. rubella allele results from two de novo mutations in the selfing lineage. Thus, our results highlight the potentially widespread importance of differential splicing efficiency and higher-than-optimal hormone levels in generating phenotypic variation. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2017.11.022 SN - 1534-5807 SN - 1878-1551 VL - 44 IS - 2 SP - 192 EP - 203 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Watanabe, Mutsumi A1 - Tohge, Takayuki A1 - Balazadeh, Salma A1 - Erban, Alexander A1 - Giavalisco, Patrick A1 - Kopka, Joachim A1 - Mueller-Roeber, Bernd A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Hoefgen, Rainer T1 - Comprehensive Metabolomics Studies of Plant Developmental Senescence JF - Plant Senescence: Methods and Protocols N2 - Leaf senescence is an essential developmental process that involves diverse metabolic changes associated with degradation of macromolecules allowing nutrient recycling and remobilization. In contrast to the significant progress in transcriptomic analysis of leaf senescence, metabolomics analyses have been relatively limited. A broad overview of metabolic changes during leaf senescence including the interactions between various metabolic pathways is required to gain a better understanding of the leaf senescence allowing to link transcriptomics with metabolomics and physiology. In this chapter, we describe how to obtain comprehensive metabolite profiles and how to dissect metabolic shifts during leaf senescence in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Unlike nucleic acid analysis for transcriptomics, a comprehensive metabolite profile can only be achieved by combining a suite of analytic tools. Here, information is provided for measurements of the contents of chlorophyll, soluble proteins, and starch by spectrophotometric methods, ions by ion chromatography, thiols and amino acids by HPLC, primary metabolites by GC/TOF-MS, and secondary metabolites and lipophilic metabolites by LC/ESI-MS. These metabolite profiles provide a rich catalogue of metabolic changes during leaf senescence, which is a helpful database and blueprint to be correlated to future studies such as transcriptome and proteome analyses, forward and reverse genetic studies, or stress-induced senescence studies. KW - Senescence KW - Metabolomics KW - Arabidopsis KW - GC/MS KW - LC/MS KW - HPLC KW - IC Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-1-4939-7672-0 SN - 978-1-4939-7670-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7672-0_28 SN - 1064-3745 SN - 1940-6029 VL - 1744 SP - 339 EP - 358 PB - Humana Press CY - Totowa ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rodriguez Cubillos, Andres Eduardo A1 - Tong, Hao A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - de Abreu e Lima, Francisco Anastacio A1 - Yu, Jing A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Laitinen, Roosa A. E. T1 - Inheritance patterns in metabolism and growth in diallel crosses of Arabidopsis thaliana from a single growth habitat JF - Heredity N2 - Metabolism is a key determinant of plant growth and modulates plant adaptive responses. Increased metabolic variation due to heterozygosity may be beneficial for highly homozygous plants if their progeny is to respond to sudden changes in the habitat. Here, we investigate the extent to which heterozygosity contributes to the variation in metabolism and size of hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana whose parents are from a single growth habitat. We created full diallel crosses among seven parents, originating from Southern Germany, and analysed the inheritance patterns in primary and secondary metabolism as well as in rosette size in situ. In comparison to primary metabolites, compounds from secondary metabolism were more variable and showed more pronounced non-additive inheritance patterns which could be attributed to epistasis. In addition, we showed that glucosinolates, among other secondary metabolites, were positively correlated with a proxy for plant size. Therefore, our study demonstrates that heterozygosity in local A. thaliana population generates metabolic variation and may impact several tasks directly linked to metabolism. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-017-0030-5 SN - 0018-067X SN - 1365-2540 VL - 120 IS - 5 SP - 463 EP - 473 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kamranfar, Iman A1 - Xue, Gang-Ping A1 - Tohge, Takayuki A1 - Sedaghatmehr, Mastoureh A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Balazadeh, Salma A1 - Mueller-Roeber, Bernd T1 - Transcription factor RD26 is a key regulator of metabolic reprogramming during dark-induced senescence JF - New phytologist : international journal of plant science N2 - Leaf senescence is a key process in plants that culminates in the degradation of cellular constituents and massive reprogramming of metabolism for the recovery of nutrients from aged leaves for their reuse in newly developing sinks. We used molecular-biological and metabolomics approaches to identify NAC transcription factor (TF) RD26 as an important regulator of metabolic reprogramming in Arabidopsis thaliana. RD26 directly activates CHLOROPLAST VESICULATION (CV), encoding a protein crucial for chloroplast protein degradation, concomitant with an enhanced protein loss in RD26 over-expressors during senescence, but a reduced decline of protein in rd26 knockout mutants. RD26 also directly activates LKR/SDH involved in lysine catabolism, and PES1 important for phytol degradation. Metabolic profiling revealed reduced c-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in RD26 overexpressors, accompanied by the induction of respective catabolic genes. Degradation of lysine, phytol and GABA is instrumental for maintaining mitochondrial respiration in carbon-limiting conditions during senescence. RD26 also supports the degradation of starch and the accumulation of mono-and disaccharides during senescence by directly enhancing the expression of AMY1, SFP1 and SWEET15 involved in carbohydrate metabolism and transport. Collectively, during senescence RD26 acts by controlling the expression of genes across the entire spectrum of the cellular degradation hierarchy. KW - Arabidopsis KW - fatty acid KW - primary metabolism KW - protein and amino acid degradation KW - respiration KW - senescence Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15127 SN - 0028-646X SN - 1469-8137 VL - 218 IS - 4 SP - 1543 EP - 1557 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - GEN A1 - Rud, R. A1 - Käthner, Jana A1 - Giesser, J. A1 - Pasche, R. A1 - Giebel, Antje A1 - Selbeck, Jörn A1 - Shenderey, C. A1 - Fleury, D. A1 - Zude, Manuela A1 - Alchanatis, Victor T1 - Monitoring spatial variability in an apple orchard under different water regimes T2 - International Symposium on Sensing Plant Water Status - Methods and Applications in Horticultural Science N2 - Precision fruticulture addresses site or tree-adapted crop management. In the present study, soil and tree status, as well as fruit quality at harvest were analysed in a commercial apple (Malus × domestica 'Gala Brookfield'/Pajam1) orchard in a temperate climate. Trees were irrigated in addition to precipitation. Three irrigation levels (0, 50 and 100%) were applied. Measurements included readings of apparent electrical conductivity of soil (ECa), stem water potential, canopy temperature obtained by infrared camera, and canopy volume estimated by LiDAR and RGB colour imaging. Laboratory analyses of 6 trees per treatment were done on fruit considering the pigment contents and quality parameters. Midday stem water potential (SWP), normalized crop water stress index (CWSI) calculated from thermal data, and fruit yield and quality at harvest were analysed. Spatial patterns of the variability of tree water status were estimated by CWSI imaging supported by SWP readings. CWSI ranged from 0.1 to 0.7 indicating high variability due to irrigation and precipitation. Canopy volume data were less variable. Soil ECa appeared homogeneous in the range of 0 to 4 mS m-1. Fruit harvested in a drought stress zone showed enhanced portion of pheophytin in the chlorophyll pool. Irrigation affected soluble solids content and, hence, the quality of fruit. Overall, results highlighted that spatial variation in orchards can be found even if marginal variability of soil properties can be assumed. KW - apple KW - CWSI KW - precision agriculture KW - management zone Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-94-62611-93-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1197.19 SN - 0567-7572 SN - 2406-6168 VL - 1197 SP - 139 EP - 146 PB - International Society for Horticultural Science CY - The Hague ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mayer, Martin A1 - Ullmann, Wiebke A1 - Sunde, Peter A1 - Fischer, Christina A1 - Blaum, Niels T1 - Habitat selection by the European hare in arable landscapes BT - The importance of small-scale habitat structure for conservation JF - Ecology and Evolution N2 - Agricultural land-use practices have intensified over the last decades, leading to population declines of various farmland species, including the European hare (Lepus europaeus). In many European countries, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes. Compared to pastures, arable land is highly variable, resulting in a large spatial variation of food and cover for wildlife over the course of the year, which potentially affects habitat selection by hares. Here, we investigated within-home-range habitat selection by hares in arable areas in Denmark and Germany to identify habitat requirements for their conservation. We hypothesized that hare habitat selection would depend on local habitat structure, that is, vegetation height, but also on agricultural field size, vegetation type, and proximity to field edges. Active hares generally selected for short vegetation (1-25 cm) and avoided higher vegetation and bare ground, especially when fields were comparatively larger. Vegetation >50 cm potentially restricts hares from entering parts of their home range and does not provide good forage, the latter also being the case on bare ground. The vegetation type was important for habitat selection by inactive hares, with fabaceae, fallow, and maize being selected for, potentially providing both cover and forage. Our results indicate that patches of shorter vegetation could improve the forage quality and habitat accessibility for hares, especially in areas with large monocultures. Thus, policymakers should aim to increase areas with short vegetation throughout the year. Further, permanent set-asides, like fallow and wildflower areas, would provide year-round cover for inactive hares. Finally, the reduction in field sizes would increase the density of field margins, and farming different crop types within small areas could improve the habitat for hares and other farmland species. KW - agriculture KW - arable land KW - conservation KW - GPS KW - habitat selection KW - Lepus europaeus KW - vegetation height Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4613 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 8 IS - 23 SP - 11619 EP - 11633 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ullmann, Wiebke A1 - Fischer, Christina A1 - Pirhofer-Walzl, Karin A1 - Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie A1 - Blaum, Niels T1 - Spatiotemporal variability in resources affects herbivore home range formation in structurally contrasting and unpredictable agricultural landscapes JF - Landscape ecology N2 - We investigated whether a given landscape structure affects the level of home range size adaptation in response to resource variability. We tested whether increasing resource variability forces herbivorous mammals to increase their home ranges. In 2014 and 2015 we collared 40 European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) with GPS-tags to record hare movements in two regions in Germany with differing landscape structures. We examined hare home range sizes in relation to resource availability and variability by using the normalized difference vegetation index as a proxy. Hares in simple landscapes showed increasing home range sizes with increasing resource variability, whereas hares in complex landscapes did not enlarge their home range. Animals in complex landscapes have the possibility to include various landscape elements within their home ranges and are more resilient against resource variability. But animals in simple landscapes with few elements experience shortcomings when resource variability becomes high. The increase in home range size, the movement related increase in energy expenditure, and a decrease in hare abundances can have severe implications for conservation of mammals in anthropogenic landscapes. Hence, conservation management could benefit from a better knowledge about fine-scaled effects of resource variability on movement behaviour. KW - Resource variability KW - Resource availability KW - Home range size KW - European brown hare KW - GPS tracking KW - Telemetry KW - Lepus europaeus Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-018-0676-2 SN - 0921-2973 SN - 1572-9761 VL - 33 IS - 9 SP - 1505 EP - 1517 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - THES A1 - Pham, Phuong Anh T1 - The metabolic significance of the NAD+ salvage pathway and the alternative pathway of respiration in Arabidopsis thaliana Y1 - 2018 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koziel, Slawomir A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Tutkuviene, Janina A1 - Jakimaviciene, Egle Marija A1 - Mumm, Rebekka A1 - Barbieri, Davide A1 - Godina, Elena A1 - El-Shabrawi, Mortada A1 - Elhusseini, Mona A1 - Musalek, Martin A1 - Pruszkowska-Przybylska, Paulina A1 - El Dash, Hanaa H. A1 - Safar, Hebatalla Hassan A1 - Lehmann, Andreas A1 - Swanson, James A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Liu, Yuk-Chien A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Kirchengast, Sylvia A1 - Siniarska, Anna A1 - Nieczuja-Dwojacka, Joanna A1 - Kralik, Miroslav A1 - Satake, Takashi A1 - Harc, Tomasz A1 - Roelants, Mathieu A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - Meeting Report: Growth and social environment BT - Proceedings of the 25th Aschauer Soiree, held at Krobielowice, Poland, November 18th 2017 JF - Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews N2 - Twenty-two scientists met at Krobielowice, Poland, to discuss the impact of the social environment, spatial proximity, migration, poverty, but also psychological factors such as body perception and satisfaction, and social stressors such as elite sports, and teenage pregnancies, on child and adolescent growth. The data analysis included linear mixed effects models with different random effects, Monte Carlo analyses, and network simulations. The work stressed the importance of the peer group, but also included historic material, some considerations about body proportions, and growth in chronic liver, and congenital heart disease. KW - Body height KW - Social environment KW - Strategic growth adjustment KW - Competitive growth KW - Community effects on growth Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.17458/per.vol15.2018.ksh.mr.GrowthSocialEnvironment SN - 1565-4753 VL - 15 IS - 4 SP - 319 EP - 329 PB - Medical Media CY - Netanya 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 - Friedrich, Thomas A1 - Faivre, Lea A1 - Bäurle, Isabel A1 - Schubert, Daniel T1 - Chromatin-based mechanisms of temperature memory in plants JF - Plant, cell & environment : cell physiology, whole-plant physiology, community physiology N2 - For successful growth and development, plants constantly have to gauge their environment. Plants are capable to monitor their current environmental conditions, and they are also able to integrate environmental conditions over time and store the information induced by the cues. In a developmental context, such an environmental memory is used to align developmental transitions with favourable environmental conditions. One temperature-related example of this is the transition to flowering after experiencing winter conditions, that is, vernalization. In the context of adaptation to stress, such an environmental memory is used to improve stress adaptation even when the stress cues are intermittent. A somatic stress memory has now been described for various stresses, including extreme temperatures, drought, and pathogen infection. At the molecular level, such a memory of the environment is often mediated by epigenetic and chromatin modifications. Histone modifications in particular play an important role. In this review, we will discuss and compare different types of temperature memory and the histone modifications, as well as the reader, writer, and eraser proteins involved. KW - chromatin KW - cold KW - epigenetics KW - heat KW - memory KW - nucleosome remodelling KW - polycomb KW - priming KW - trithorax Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13373 SN - 0140-7791 SN - 1365-3040 VL - 42 IS - 3 SP - 762 EP - 770 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken 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 - Fischer, Stefan A1 - Mayer-Scholl, Anne A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Spierling, Nastasja G. A1 - Heuser, Elisa A1 - Schmidt, Sabrina A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Rosenfeld, Ulrike A1 - Jacob, Jens A1 - Nöckler, Karsten A1 - Ulrich, Rainer G. T1 - Leptospira genomospecies and sequence type prevalence in small mammal populations in Germany JF - Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases N2 - Leptospirosis is a worldwide emerging infectious disease caused by zoonotic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. Numerous mammals, including domestic and companion animals, can be infected by Leptospira spp., but rodents and other small mammals are considered the main reservoir. The annual number of recorded human leptospirosis cases in Germany (2001-2016) was 25-166. Field fever outbreaks in strawberry pickers, due to infection with Leptospira kirschneri serovar Grippotyphosa, were reported in 2007 and 2014. To identify the most commonly occurring Leptospira genomospecies, sequence types (STs), and their small mammal host specificity, a monitoring study was performed during 2010-2014 in four federal states of Germany. Initial screening of kidney tissues of 3,950 animals by PCR targeting the lipl32 gene revealed 435 rodents of 6 species and 89 shrews of three species positive for leptospiral DNA. PCR-based analyses resulted in the identification of the genomospecies L. kirschneri (62.7%), Leptospira interrogans (28.3%), and Leptospira borgpetersenii (9.0%), which are represented by four, one, and two STs, respectively. The average Leptospira prevalence was highest (approximate to 30%) in common voles (Microtus arvalis) and field voles (Microtus agrestis). Both species were exclusively infected with L. kirschneri. In contrast, in bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis), DNA of all three genomospecies was detected, and in common shrews (Sorex araneus) DNA of L. kirschneri and L. borgpetersenii was identified. The association between individual infection status and demographic factors varied between species; infection status was always positively correlated to body weight. In conclusion, the study confirmed a broad geographical distribution of Leptospira in small mammals and suggested an important public health relevance of common and field voles as reservoirs of L. kirschneri. Furthermore, the investigations identified seasonal, habitat-related, as well as individual influences on Leptospira prevalence in small mammals that might impact public health. KW - demography KW - Germany KW - habitat KW - Leptospira spp KW - leptospirosis KW - MLST KW - rodent KW - shrew KW - SLST Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2017.2140 SN - 1530-3667 SN - 1557-7759 VL - 18 IS - 4 SP - 188 EP - 199 PB - Liebert CY - New Rochelle ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mrochen, Daniel M. A1 - Schulz, Daniel A1 - Fischer, Stefan A1 - Jeske, Kathrin A1 - El Gohary, Heba A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Truebe, Patricia A1 - Suchomel, Josef A1 - Tricaud, Emilie A1 - Jacob, Jens A1 - Heroldova, Marta A1 - Bröker, Barbara M. A1 - Strommenger, Birgit A1 - Walther, Birgit A1 - Ulrich, Rainer G. A1 - Holtfreter, Silva T1 - Wild rodents and shrews are natural hosts of Staphylococcus aureus JF - International Journal of Medical Microbiology N2 - Laboratory mice are the most commonly used animal model for Staphylococcus aureus infection studies. We have previously shown that laboratory mice from global vendors are frequently colonized with S. aureus. Laboratory mice originate from wild house mice. Hence, we investigated whether wild rodents, including house mice, as well as shrews are naturally colonized with S. aureus and whether S. aureus adapts to the wild animal host. 295 animals of ten different species were caught in different locations over four years (2012-2015) in Germany, France and the Czech Republic. 45 animals were positive for S. aureus (15.3%). Three animals were co-colonized with two different isolates, resulting in 48 S. aureus isolates in total. Positive animals were found in Germany and the Czech Republic in each studied year. The S. aureus isolates belonged to ten different spa types, which grouped into six lineages (clonal complex (CC) 49, CC88, CC130, CC1956, sequence type (ST) 890, ST3033). CC49 isolates were most abundant (17/48, 35.4%), followed by CC1956 (14/48, 29.2%) and ST890 (9/48, 18.8%). The wild animal isolates lacked certain properties that are common among human isolates, e.g., a phage-encoded immune evasion cluster, superantigen genes on mobile genetic elements and antibiotic resistance genes, which suggests long-term adaptation to the wild animal host. One CC130 isolate contained the mecC gene, implying wild rodents might be both reservoir and vector for methicillin-resistant. In conclusion, we demonstrated that wild rodents and shrews are naturally colonized with S. aureus, and that those S. aureus isolates show signs of host adaptation. KW - Staphylococcus aureus KW - Colonization KW - Wild mice KW - Host adaptation KW - Immune evasion cluster KW - mecC Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmm.2017.09.014 SN - 1438-4221 SN - 1618-0607 VL - 308 IS - 6 SP - 590 EP - 597 PB - Elsevier CY - Jena ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Stefan A1 - Spierling, Nastasja G. A1 - Heuser, Elisa A1 - Kling, Christopher A1 - Schmidt, Sabrina A1 - Rosenfeld, Ulrike A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Jacob, Jens A1 - Ulrich, Rainer G. A1 - Essbauer, Sandra T1 - High prevalence of Rickettsia helvetica in wild small mammal populations in Germany JF - Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases N2 - Since the beginning of the 21st century, spotted fever rickettsioses are known as emerging diseases worldwide. Rickettsiae are obligately intracellular bacteria transmitted by arthropod vectors. The ecology of Rickettsia species has not been investigated in detail, but small mammals are considered to play a role as reservoirs. Aim of this study was to monitor rickettsiae in wild small mammals over a period of five years in four federal states of Germany. Initial screening of ear pinna tissues of 3939 animals by Pan-Rick real-time PCR targeting the citrate synthase (gltA) gene revealed 296 rodents of seven species and 19 shrews of two species positive for rickettsial DNA. Outer membrane protein gene (ompB, ompAIV) PCRs based typing resulted in the identification of three species: Rickettsia helvetica (90.9%) was found as the dominantly occurring species in the four investigated federal states, but Rickettsia felis (7.8%) and Rickettsia raoultii (1.3%) were also detected. The prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in rodents of the genus Apodemus was found to be higher (approximately 14%) than in all other rodent and shrew species at all investigated sites. General linear mixed model analyses indicated that heavier (older) individuals of yellow-necked mice and male common voles seem to contain more often rickettsial DNA than younger ones. Furthermore, rodents generally collected in forests in summer and autumn more often carried rickettsial DNA. In conclusion, this study indicated a high prevalence of R. helvetica in small mammal populations and suggests an age-dependent increase of the DNA prevalence in some of the species and in animals originating from forest habitats. The finding of R. helvetica and R. felis DNA in multiple small mammal species may indicate frequent trans-species transmission by feeding of vectors on different species. Further investigations should target the reason for the discrepancy between the high rickettsial DNA prevalence in rodents and the so far almost absence of clinical apparent human infections. KW - Rickettsia helvetica KW - Rodent KW - Germany KW - Age KW - Reproduction KW - Season Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.01.009 SN - 1877-959X SN - 1877-9603 VL - 9 IS - 3 SP - 500 EP - 505 PB - Elsevier GMBH CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reverey, Florian A1 - Ganzert, Lars A1 - Lischeid, Gunnar A1 - Ulrich, Andreas A1 - Premke, Katrin A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Dry-wet cycles of kettle hole sediments leave a microbial and biogeochemical legacy JF - The science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man N2 - Understanding interrelations between an environment's hydrological past and its current biogeochemistry is necessary for the assessment of biogeochemical and microbial responses to changing hydrological conditions. The question how previous dry-wet events determine the contemporary microbial and biogeochemical state is addressed in this study. Therefore, sediments exposed to the atmosphere of areas with a different hydrological past within one kettle hole, i.e. (1) the predominantly inundated pond center, (2) the pond margin frequently desiccated for longer periods and (3) an intermediate zone, were incubated with the same rewetting treatment. Physicochemical and textural characteristics were related to structural microbial parameters regarding carbon and nitrogen turnover, i.e. abundance of bacteria and fungi, denitrifiers (targeted by the nirK und nirS functional genes) and nitrate ammonifiers (targeted by the nrfA functional gene). Our study reveals that, in combination with varying sediment texture, the hydrological history creates distinct microbial habitats with defined boundary conditions within the kettle hole, mainly driven by redox conditions, pH and organic matter (OM) composition. OM mineralization, as indicated by CO2-outgassing, was most efficient in exposed sediments with a less stable hydrological past. The potential for nitrogen retention via nitrate ammonification was highest in the hydrologically rather stable pond center, counteracting nitrogen loss due to denitrification. Therefore, the degree of hydrological stability is an important factor leaving a microbial and biogeochemical legacy, which determines carbon and nitrogen losses from small lentic freshwater systems in the long term run. KW - Desiccation KW - DNRA KW - Denitrifiers KW - Organic matter mineralization KW - Carbon KW - Nitrogen Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.220 SN - 0048-9697 SN - 1879-1026 VL - 627 SP - 985 EP - 996 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Arias-Andres, Maria A1 - Kluemper, Uli A1 - Rojas-Jimenez, Keilor A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Microplastic pollution increases gene exchange in aquatic ecosystems JF - Environmental pollution N2 - Pollution by microplastics in aquatic ecosystems is accumulating at an unprecedented scale, emerging as a new surface for biofilm formation and gene exchange. In this study, we determined the permissiveness of aquatic bacteria towards a model antibiotic resistance plasmid, comparing communities that form biofilms on microplastics vs. those that are free-living. We used an exogenous and red-fluorescent E. coli donor strain to introduce the green-fluorescent broad-host-range plasmid pKJKS which encodes for trimethoprim resistance. We demonstrate an increased frequency of plasmid transfer in bacteria associated with microplastics compared to bacteria that are free-living or in natural aggregates. Moreover, comparison of communities grown on polycarbonate filters showed that increased gene exchange occurs in a broad range of phylogenetically-diverse bacteria. Our results indicate horizontal gene transfer in this habitat could distinctly affect the ecology of aquatic microbial communities on a global scale. The spread of antibiotic resistance through microplastics could also have profound consequences for the evolution of aquatic bacteria and poses a neglected hazard for human health. KW - Microplastics KW - Aquatic ecosystems KW - Biofilm KW - Horizontal gene transfer KW - Antibiotic resistance Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.058 SN - 0269-7491 SN - 1873-6424 VL - 237 SP - 253 EP - 261 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mühlenbruch, Marco A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Eigemann, Falk A1 - Voss, Maren T1 - Mini-review: Phytoplankton-derived polysaccharides in the marine environment and their interactions with heterotrophic bacteria JF - Environmental microbiology N2 - Within the wealth of molecules constituting marine dissolved organic matter, carbohydrates make up the largest coherent and quantifiable fraction. Their main sources are from primary producers, which release large amounts of photosynthetic products – mainly polysaccharides – directly into the surrounding water via passive and active exudation. The organic carbon and other nutrients derived from these photosynthates enrich the ‘phycosphere’ and attract heterotrophic bacteria. The rapid uptake and remineralization of dissolved free monosaccharides by heterotrophic bacteria account for the barely detectable levels of these compounds. By contrast, dissolved combined polysaccharides can reach high concentrations, especially during phytoplankton blooms. Polysaccharides are too large to be taken up directly by heterotrophic bacteria, instead requiring hydrolytic cleavage to smaller oligo- or monomers by bacteria with a suitable set of exoenzymes. The release of diverse polysaccharides by various phytoplankton taxa is generally interpreted as the deposition of excess organic material. However, these molecules likely also fulfil distinct, yet not fully understood functions, as inferred from their active modulation in terms of quality and quantity when phytoplankton becomes nutrient limited or is exposed to heterotrophic bacteria. This minireview summarizes current knowledge regarding the exudation and composition of phytoplankton-derived exopolysaccharides and acquisition of these compounds by heterotrophic bacteria. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14302 SN - 1462-2912 SN - 1462-2920 VL - 20 IS - 8 SP - 2671 EP - 2685 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bizic-Ionescu, Mina A1 - Ionescu, Danny A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Organic Particles: Heterogeneous Hubs for Microbial Interactions in Aquatic Ecosystems JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - The dynamics and activities of microbes colonizing organic particles (hereafter particles) greatly determine the efficiency of the aquatic carbon pump. Current understanding is that particle composition, structure and surface properties, determined mostly by the forming organisms and organic matter, dictate initial microbial colonization and the subsequent rapid succession events taking place as organic matter lability and nutrient content change with microbial degradation. We applied a transcriptomic approach to assess the role of stochastic events on initial microbial colonization of particles. Furthermore, we asked whether gene expression corroborates rapid changes in carbon-quality. Commonly used size fractionated filtration averages thousands of particles of different sizes, sources, and ages. To overcome this drawback, we used replicate samples consisting each of 3–4 particles of identical source and age and further evaluated the consequences of averaging 10–1000s of particles. Using flow-through rolling tanks we conducted long-term experiments at near in situ conditions minimizing the biasing effects of closed incubation approaches often referred to as “the bottle-effect.” In our open flow-through rolling tank system, however, active microbial communities were highly heterogeneous despite an identical particle source, suggesting random initial colonization. Contrasting previous reports using closed incubation systems, expression of carbon utilization genes didn’t change after 1 week of incubation. Consequently, we suggest that in nature, changes in particle-associated community related to carbon availability are much slower (days to weeks) due to constant supply of labile, easily degradable organic matter. Initial, random particle colonization seems to be subsequently altered by multiple organismic interactions shaping microbial community interactions and functional dynamics. Comparative analysis of thousands particles pooled togethers as well as pooled samples suggests that mechanistic studies of microbial dynamics should be done on single particles. The observed microbial heterogeneity and inter-organismic interactions may have important implications for evolution and biogeochemistry in aquatic systems. KW - particle-associated bacteria KW - microbial communities KW - inter- and intra-species interactions KW - antagonism KW - phage KW - transcriptome Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02569 SN - 1664-302X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bachmann, Jennifer A1 - Heimbach, Tabea A1 - Hassenrück, Christiane A1 - Kopprio, German A. A1 - Iversen, Morten Hvitfeldt A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Gärdes, Astrid T1 - Environmental Drivers of Free-Living vs. Particle-Attached Bacterial Community Composition in the Mauritania Upwelling System JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - Saharan dust input and seasonal upwelling along North-West Africa provide a model system for studying microbial processes related to the export and recycling of nutrients. This study offers the first molecular characterization of prokaryotic particle-attached (PA; > 3.0 mu m) and free-living (FL; 0.2-3.0 mu m) players in this important ecosystem during August 2016. Environmental drivers for alpha-diversity, bacterial community composition, and differences between FL and PA fractions were identified. The ultra-oligotrophic waters off Senegal were dominated by Cyanobacteria while higher relative abundances of Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Planctomycetes (known particle-degraders) occurred in the upwelling area. Temperature, proxy for different water masses, was the best predictor for changes in FL communities. PA community variation was best explained by temperature and ammonium. Bray Curtis dissimilarities between FL and PA were generally very high and correlated with temperature and salinity in surface waters. Greatest similarities between FL and PA occurred at the deep chlorophyll maximum, where bacterial substrate availability was likely highest. This indicates that environmental drivers do not only influence changes among FL and PA communities but also differences between them. This could provide an explanation for contradicting results obtained by different studies regarding the dissimilarity/similarity between FL and PA communities and their biogeochemical functions. KW - prokaryotes KW - biodiversity KW - microbial ecology KW - alpha diversity KW - Bray Curtis dissimilarity KW - temperature KW - salinity KW - 16S rRNA Illumina amplicon sequencing Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02836 SN - 1664-302X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Van den Wyngaert, Silke A1 - Rojas-Jimenez, Keilor A1 - Seto, Kensuke A1 - Kagami, Maiko A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Diversity and Hidden Host Specificity of Chytrids Infecting Colonial Volvocacean Algae JF - Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology N2 - Chytrids are zoosporic fungi that play an important, but yet understudied, ecological role in aquatic ecosystems. Many chytrid species have been morphologically described as parasites on phytoplankton. However, the majority of them have rarely been isolated and lack DNA sequence data. In this study we isolated and cultivated three parasitic chytrids, infecting a common volvocacean host species, Yamagishiella unicocca. To identify the chytrids, we characterized morphology and life cycle, and analyzed phylogenetic relationships based on 18S and 28S rDNA genes. Host range and specificity of the chytrids was determined by cross-infection assays with host strains, characterized by rbcL and ITS markers. We were able to confirm the identity of two chytrid strains as Endocoenobium eudorinae Ingold and Dangeardia mamillata Schroder and described the third chytrid strain as Algomyces stechlinensis gen. et sp. nov. The three chytrids were assigned to novel and phylogenetically distant clades within the phylum Chytridiomycota, each exhibiting different host specificities. By integrating morphological and molecular data of both the parasitic chytrids and their respective host species, we unveiled cryptic host-parasite associations. This study highlights that a high prevalence of (pseudo)cryptic diversity requires molecular characterization of both phytoplankton host and parasitic chytrid to accurately identify and compare host range and specificity, and to study phytoplankton-chytrid interactions in general. KW - Chytridiomycota KW - Dangeardia mamillata KW - Endocoenobium eudorinae KW - fungal parasites KW - life cycle KW - phytoplankton Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12632 SN - 1066-5234 SN - 1550-7408 VL - 65 IS - 6 SP - 870 EP - 881 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Arias Andrés, María de Jesús A1 - Kettner, Marie Therese A1 - Miki, Takeshi A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Microplastics: New substrates for heterotrophic activity contribute to altering organic matter cycles in aquatic ecosystems JF - The science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man N2 - Heterotrophic microbes with the capability to process considerable amounts of organic matter can colonize microplastic particles (MP) in aquatic ecosystems. Weather colonization of microorganisms on MP will alter ecological niche and functioning of microbial communities remains still unanswered. Therefore, we compared the functional diversity of biofilms on microplastics when incubated in three lakes in northeastern Germany differing in trophy and limnological features. For all lakes, we compared heterotrophic activities of MP biofilms with those of microorganisms in the surrounding water by using Biolog (R) EcoPlates and assessed their oxygen consumption in microcosm assays with and without MP. The present study found that the total biofilm biomass was higher in the oligo-mesotrophic and dystrophic lakes than in the eutrophic lake. In all lakes, functional diversity profiles of MP biofilms consistently differed from those in the surrounding water. However, solely in the oligo-mesotrophic lake MP biofilms had a higher functional richness compared to the ambient water. These results demonstrate that the functionality and hence the ecological role of MP-associated microbial communities are context-dependent, i.e. different environments lead to substantial changes in biomass build up and heterotrophic activities of MP biofilms. We propose that MP surfaces act as new niches for aquatic microorganisms and that the constantly increasing MP pollution has the potential to globally impact carbon dynamics of pelagic environments by altering heterotrophic activities. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Microplastics KW - Microorganisms KW - Biofilms KW - Total biomass KW - Heterotrophic activity KW - Functional diversity KW - Multi-functionality index Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.199 SN - 0048-9697 SN - 1879-1026 VL - 635 SP - 1152 EP - 1159 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bálint, Miklós A1 - Pfenninger, Markus A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Taberlet, Pierre A1 - Vellend, Mark A1 - Leibold, Mathew A. A1 - Englund, Goran A1 - Bowler, Diana T1 - Environmental DNA time series in ecology JF - Trends in ecology & evolution N2 - Ecological communities change in time and space, but long-term dynamics at the century-to-millennia scale are poorly documented due to lack of relevant data sets. Nevertheless, understanding long-term dynamics is important for explaining present-day biodiversity patterns and placing conservation goals in a historical context. Here, we use recent examples and new perspectives to highlight how environmental DNA (eDNA) is starting to provide a powerful new source of temporal data for research questions that have so far been overlooked, by helping to resolve the ecological dynamics of populations, communities, and ecosystems over hundreds to thousands of years. We give examples of hypotheses that may be addressed by temporal eDNA biodiversity data, discuss possible research directions, and outline related challenges. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.09.003 SN - 0169-5347 SN - 1872-8383 VL - 33 IS - 12 SP - 945 EP - 957 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mantzouki, Evanthia A1 - Beklioglu, Meryem A1 - Brookes, Justin D. A1 - Domis, Lisette Nicole de Senerpont A1 - Dugan, Hilary A. A1 - Doubek, Jonathan P. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Nejstgaard, Jens C. A1 - Pollard, Amina I. A1 - Ptacnik, Robert A1 - Rose, Kevin C. A1 - Sadro, Steven A1 - Seelen, Laura A1 - Skaff, Nicholas K. A1 - Teubner, Katrin A1 - Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A. A1 - Ibelings, Bastiaan W. T1 - Snapshot surveys for lake monitoring, more than a shot in the dark JF - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution KW - multi-lake snapshot surveys KW - lake monitoring KW - Nyquist-shannon sampling theorem KW - space-for-time substitution KW - phytoplankton ecology Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2018.00201 SN - 2296-701X VL - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mantzouki, Evanthia A1 - Campbell, James A1 - van Loon, Emiel A1 - Visser, Petra A1 - Konstantinou, Iosif A1 - Antoniou, Maria A1 - Giuliani, Gregory A1 - Machado-Vieira, Danielle A1 - de Oliveira, Alinne Gurjao A1 - Maronic, Dubravka Spoljaric A1 - Stevic, Filip A1 - Pfeiffer, Tanja Zuna A1 - Vucelic, Itana Bokan A1 - Zutinic, Petar A1 - Udovic, Marija Gligora A1 - Plenkovic-Moraj, Andelka A1 - Tsiarta, Nikoletta A1 - Blaha, Ludek A1 - Geris, Rodan A1 - Frankova, Marketa A1 - Christoffersen, Kirsten Seestern A1 - Warming, Trine Perlt A1 - Feldmann, Tonu A1 - Laas, Alo A1 - Panksep, Kristel A1 - Tuvikene, Lea A1 - Kangro, Kersti A1 - Haggqvist, Kerstin A1 - Salmi, Pauliina A1 - Arvola, Lauri A1 - Fastner, Jutta A1 - Straile, Dietmar A1 - Rothhaupt, Karl-Otto A1 - Fonvielle, Jeremy Andre A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Avagianos, Christos A1 - Kaloudis, Triantafyllos A1 - Triantis, Theodoros A1 - Zervou, Sevasti-Kiriaki A1 - Hiskia, Anastasia A1 - Gkelis, Spyros A1 - Panou, Manthos A1 - McCarthy, Valerie A1 - Perello, Victor C. A1 - Obertegger, Ulrike A1 - Boscaini, Adriano A1 - Flaim, Giovanna A1 - Salmaso, Nico A1 - Cerasino, Leonardo A1 - Koreiviene, Judita A1 - Karosiene, Jurate A1 - Kasperoviciene, Jurate A1 - Savadova, Ksenija A1 - Vitonyte, Irma A1 - Haande, Sigrid A1 - Skjelbred, Birger A1 - Grabowska, Magdalena A1 - Karpowicz, Maciej A1 - Chmura, Damian A1 - Nawrocka, Lidia A1 - Kobos, Justyna A1 - Mazur-Marzec, Hanna A1 - Alcaraz-Parraga, Pablo A1 - Wilk-Wozniak, Elzbieta A1 - Krzton, Wojciech A1 - Walusiak, Edward A1 - Gagala, Ilona A1 - Mankiewicz-Boczek, Joana A1 - Toporowska, Magdalena A1 - Pawlik-Skowronska, Barbara A1 - Niedzwiecki, Michal A1 - Peczula, Wojciech A1 - Napiorkowska-Krzebietke, Agnieszka A1 - Dunalska, Julita A1 - Sienska, Justyna A1 - Szymanski, Daniel A1 - Kruk, Marek A1 - Budzynska, Agnieszka A1 - Goldyn, Ryszard A1 - Kozak, Anna A1 - Rosinska, Joanna A1 - Szelag-Wasielewska, Elzbieta A1 - Domek, Piotr A1 - Jakubowska-Krepska, Natalia A1 - Kwasizur, Kinga A1 - Messyasz, Beata A1 - Pelechata, Aleksandra A1 - Pelechaty, Mariusz A1 - Kokocinski, Mikolaj A1 - Madrecka, Beata A1 - Kostrzewska-Szlakowska, Iwona A1 - Frak, Magdalena A1 - Bankowska-Sobczak, Agnieszka A1 - Wasilewicz, Michal A1 - Ochocka, Agnieszka A1 - Pasztaleniec, Agnieszka A1 - Jasser, Iwona A1 - Antao-Geraldes, Ana M. A1 - Leira, Manel A1 - Hernandez, Armand A1 - Vasconcelos, Vitor A1 - Morais, Joao A1 - Vale, Micaela A1 - Raposeiro, Pedro M. A1 - Goncalves, Vitor A1 - Aleksovski, Boris A1 - Krstic, Svetislav A1 - Nemova, Hana A1 - Drastichova, Iveta A1 - Chomova, Lucia A1 - Remec-Rekar, Spela A1 - Elersek, Tina A1 - Delgado-Martin, Jordi A1 - Garcia, David A1 - Luis Cereijo, Jose A1 - Goma, Joan A1 - Carmen Trapote, Mari A1 - Vegas-Vilarrubia, Teresa A1 - Obrador, Biel A1 - Garcia-Murcia, Ana A1 - Real, Monserrat A1 - Romans, Elvira A1 - Noguero-Ribes, Jordi A1 - Parreno Duque, David A1 - Fernandez-Moran, Elisabeth A1 - Ubeda, Barbara A1 - Angel Galvez, Jose A1 - Marce, Rafael A1 - Catalan, Nuria A1 - Perez-Martinez, Carmen A1 - Ramos-Rodriguez, Eloisa A1 - Cillero-Castro, Carmen A1 - Moreno-Ostos, Enrique A1 - Maria Blanco, Jose A1 - Rodriguez, Valeriano A1 - Juan Montes-Perez, Jorge A1 - Palomino, Roberto L. A1 - Rodriguez-Perez, Estela A1 - Carballeira, Rafael A1 - Camacho, Antonio A1 - Picazo, Antonio A1 - Rochera, Carlos A1 - Santamans, Anna C. A1 - Ferriol, Carmen A1 - Romo, Susana A1 - Soria, Juan Miguel A1 - Hansson, Lars-Anders A1 - Urrutia-Cordero, Pablo A1 - Ozen, Arda A1 - Bravo, Andrea G. A1 - Buck, Moritz A1 - Colom-Montero, William A1 - Mustonen, Kristiina A1 - Pierson, Don A1 - Yang, Yang A1 - Verspagen, Jolanda M. H. A1 - Domis, Lisette N. de Senerpont A1 - Seelen, Laura A1 - Teurlincx, Sven A1 - Verstijnen, Yvon A1 - Lurling, Miquel A1 - Maliaka, Valentini A1 - Faassen, Elisabeth J. A1 - Latour, Delphine A1 - Carey, Cayelan C. A1 - Paerl, Hans W. A1 - Torokne, Andrea A1 - Karan, Tunay A1 - Demir, Nilsun A1 - Beklioglu, Meryem A1 - Filiz, Nur A1 - Levi, Eti E. A1 - Iskin, Ugur A1 - Bezirci, Gizem A1 - Tavsanoglu, Ulku Nihan A1 - Celik, Kemal A1 - Ozhan, Koray A1 - Karakaya, Nusret A1 - Kocer, Mehmet Ali Turan A1 - Yilmaz, Mete A1 - Maraslioglu, Faruk A1 - Fakioglu, Ozden A1 - Soylu, Elif Neyran A1 - Yagci, Meral Apaydin A1 - Cinar, Sakir A1 - Capkin, Kadir A1 - Yagci, Abdulkadir A1 - Cesur, Mehmet A1 - Bilgin, Fuat A1 - Bulut, Cafer A1 - Uysal, Rahmi A1 - Koker, Latife A1 - Akcaalan, Reyhan A1 - Albay, Meric A1 - Alp, Mehmet Tahir A1 - Ozkan, Korhan A1 - Sevindik, Tugba Ongun A1 - Tunca, Hatice A1 - Onem, Burcin A1 - Richardson, Jessica A1 - Edwards, Christine A1 - Bergkemper, Victoria A1 - Beirne, Eilish A1 - Cromie, Hannah A1 - Ibelings, Bastiaan W. T1 - Data Descriptor: A European Multi Lake Survey dataset of environmental variables, phytoplankton pigments and cyanotoxins JF - Scientific Data N2 - Under ongoing climate change and increasing anthropogenic activity, which continuously challenge ecosystem resilience, an in-depth understanding of ecological processes is urgently needed. Lakes, as providers of numerous ecosystem services, face multiple stressors that threaten their functioning. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are a persistent problem resulting from nutrient pollution and climate-change induced stressors, like poor transparency, increased water temperature and enhanced stratification. Consistency in data collection and analysis methods is necessary to achieve fully comparable datasets and for statistical validity, avoiding issues linked to disparate data sources. The European Multi Lake Survey (EMLS) in summer 2015 was an initiative among scientists from 27 countries to collect and analyse lake physical, chemical and biological variables in a fully standardized manner. This database includes in-situ lake variables along with nutrient, pigment and cyanotoxin data of 369 lakes in Europe, which were centrally analysed in dedicated laboratories. Publishing the EMLS methods and dataset might inspire similar initiatives to study across large geographic areas that will contribute to better understanding lake responses in a changing environment. KW - Climate-change ecology KW - Limnology KW - Water resources Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.226 SN - 2052-4463 VL - 5 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Darwall, William A1 - Bremerich, Vanessa A1 - De Wever, Aaike A1 - Dell, Anthony I. A1 - Freyhof, Joerg A1 - Gessner, Mark O. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Harrison, Ian A1 - Irvine, Ken A1 - Jähnig, Sonja C. A1 - Jeschke, Jonathan M. A1 - Lee, Jessica J. A1 - Lu, Cai A1 - Lewandowska, Aleksandra M. A1 - Monaghan, Michael T. A1 - Nejstgaard, Jens C. A1 - Patricio, Harmony A1 - Schmidt-Kloiber, Astrid A1 - Stuart, Simon N. A1 - Thieme, Michele A1 - Tockner, Klement A1 - Turak, Eren A1 - Weyl, Olaf T1 - The alliance for freshwater life BT - a global call to unite efforts for freshwater biodiversity science and conservation JF - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems N2 - 1. Global pressures on freshwater ecosystems are high and rising. Viewed primarily as a resource for humans, current practices of water use have led to catastrophic declines in freshwater species and the degradation of freshwater ecosystems, including their genetic and functional diversity. Approximately three-quarters of the world's inland wetlands have been lost, one-third of the 28 000 freshwater species assessed for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are threatened with extinction, and freshwater vertebrate populations are undergoing declines that are more rapid than those of terrestrial and marine species. This global loss continues unchecked, despite the importance of freshwater ecosystems as a source of clean water, food, livelihoods, recreation, and inspiration. 2. The causes of these declines include hydrological alterations, habitat degradation and loss, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, and the multiple impacts of climate change. Although there are policy initiatives that aim to protect freshwater life, these are rarely implemented with sufficient conviction and enforcement. Policies that focus on the development and management of fresh waters as a resource for people almost universally neglect the biodiversity that they contain. 3. Here we introduce the Alliance for Freshwater Life, a global initiative, uniting specialists in research, data synthesis, conservation, education and outreach, and policymaking. This expert network aims to provide the critical mass required for the effective representation of freshwater biodiversity at policy meetings, to develop solutions balancing the needs of development and conservation, and to better convey the important role freshwater ecosystems play in human well-being. Through this united effort we hope to reverse this tide of loss and decline in freshwater biodiversity. We introduce several short- and medium-term actions as examples for making positive change, and invite individuals, organizations, authorities, and governments to join the Alliance for Freshwater Life. KW - biodiversity KW - conservation evaluation KW - endangered species KW - fish KW - invertebrates KW - macrophytes Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2958 SN - 1052-7613 SN - 1099-0755 VL - 28 IS - 4 SP - 1015 EP - 1022 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Göritz, Anna A1 - Berger, Stella A. A1 - Gege, Peter A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Nejstgaard, Jens C. A1 - Riedel, Sebastian A1 - Röttgers, Rüdiger A1 - Utschig, Christian T1 - Retrieval of water constituents from hyperspectral in-situ measurements under variable cloud cover BT - a case study at Lake Stechlin (Germany) JF - Remote sensing / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) N2 - Remote sensing and field spectroscopy of natural waters is typically performed under clear skies, low wind speeds and low solar zenith angles. Such measurements can also be made, in principle, under clouds and mixed skies using airborne or in-situ measurements; however, variable illumination conditions pose a challenge to data analysis. In the present case study, we evaluated the inversion of hyperspectral in-situ measurements for water constituent retrieval acquired under variable cloud cover. First, we studied the retrieval of Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption from in-water irradiance measurements. Then, we evaluated the errors in the retrievals of the concentration of total suspended matter (TSM), Chl-a and the absorption coefficient of CDOM from above-water reflectance measurements due to highly variable reflections at the water surface. In order to approximate cloud reflections, we extended a recent three-component surface reflectance model for cloudless atmospheres by a constant offset and compared different surface reflectance correction procedures. Our findings suggest that in-water irradiance measurements may be used for the analysis of absorbing compounds even under highly variable weather conditions. The extended surface reflectance model proved to contribute to the analysis of above-water reflectance measurements with respect to Chl-a and TSM. Results indicate the potential of this approach for all-weather monitoring. KW - remote sensing KW - inland water KW - hyperspectral measurements KW - in-situ KW - cloud KW - surface reflection KW - inversion KW - bio-optical modeling Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10020181 SN - 2072-4292 VL - 10 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cuadrat, Rafael R. C. A1 - Ionescu, Danny A1 - Davila, Alberto M. R. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Recovering genomics clusters of secondary metabolites from lakes using genome-resolved metagenomics JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - Metagenomic approaches became increasingly popular in the past decades due to decreasing costs of DNA sequencing and bioinformatics development. So far, however, the recovery of long genes coding for secondary metabolites still represents a big challenge. Often, the quality of metagenome assemblies is poor, especially in environments with a high microbial diversity where sequence coverage is low and complexity of natural communities high. Recently, new and improved algorithms for binning environmental reads and contigs have been developed to overcome such limitations. Some of these algorithms use a similarity detection approach to classify the obtained reads into taxonomical units and to assemble draft genomes. This approach, however, is quite limited since it can classify exclusively sequences similar to those available (and well classified) in the databases. In this work, we used draft genomes from Lake Stechlin, north-eastern Germany, recovered by MetaBat, an efficient binning tool that integrates empirical probabilistic distances of genome abundance, and tetranucleotide frequency for accurate metagenome binning. These genomes were screened for secondary metabolism genes, such as polyketide synthases (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthases (NRPS), using the Anti-SMASH and NAPDOS workflows. With this approach we were able to identify 243 secondary metabolite clusters from 121 genomes recovered from our lake samples. A total of 18 NRPS, 19 PKS, and 3 hybrid PKS/NRPS clusters were found. In addition, it was possible to predict the partial structure of several secondary metabolite clusters allowing for taxonomical classifications and phylogenetic inferences. Our approach revealed a high potential to recover and study secondary metabolites genes from any aquatic ecosystem. KW - metagenomics 2.0 KW - PKS KW - NRPS KW - freshwater KW - environmental genomics Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00251 SN - 1664-302X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lehmann, Andreas A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Kurvers, Ralf H. J. M. A1 - Dammhahn, Melanie T1 - Under pressure: human adolescents express a pace-of-life syndrome JF - Behavioral ecology and sociobiology N2 - The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis posits that life-history characteristics, among individual differences in behavior, and physiological traits have coevolved in response to environmental conditions. This hypothesis has generated much research interest because it provides testable predictions concerning the association between the slow-fast life-history continuum and behavioral and physiological traits. Although humans are among the most well-studied species and similar concepts exist in the human literature, the POLS hypothesis has not yet been directly applied to humans. Therefore, we aimed to (i) test predicted relationships between life history, physiology, and behavior in a human population and (ii) better integrate the POLS hypothesis with other similar concepts. Using data of a representative sample of German adolescents, we extracted maturation status for girls (menarche, n = 791) and boys (voice break, n = 486), and a set of health-related risk-taking behaviors and cardiovascular parameters. Maturation status and health-related risk behavior as well as maturation status and cardiovascular physiology covaried in boys and girls. Fast maturing boys and girls had higher blood pressure and expressed more risk-taking behavior than same-aged slow maturing boys and girls, supporting general predictions of the POLS hypothesis. Only some physiological and behavioral traits were positively correlated, suggesting that behavioral and physiological traits might mediate life-history trade-offs differently. Moreover, some aspects of POLS were sex-specific. Overall, the POLS hypothesis shares many similarities with other conceptual frameworks from the human literature and these concepts should be united more thoroughly to stimulate the study of POLS in humans and other animals. Significance statement The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis suggests that life history, behavioral and physiological traits have coevolved in response to environmental conditions. Here, we tested this link in a representative sample of German adolescents, using data from a large health survey (the KIGGs study) containing information on individual age and state of maturity for girls and boys, and a set of health-related risk-taking behaviors and cardiovascular parameters. We found that fast maturing girls and boys had overall higher blood pressure and expressed more risk-taking behavior than same-aged slow maturing girls and boys. Only some behavioral and physiological traits were positively correlated, suggesting that behavioral and physiological traits might mediate life-history trade-offs differently and not necessarily form a syndrome. Our results demonstrate a general link between life history, physiological and behavioral traits in humans, while simultaneously highlighting a more complex and rich set of relationships, since not all relationships followed predictions by the POLS hypothesis. KW - Adolescence KW - Humans KW - Life history KW - Menarche KW - Physiology KW - Risk taking Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-018-2465-y SN - 0340-5443 SN - 1432-0762 VL - 72 IS - 3 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - THES A1 - Lehmann, Andreas T1 - Variability in human life history traits BT - an analysis of spatial and temporal variation and their integration into recent conceptual frameworks Y1 - 2018 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Batista, A. M. M. A1 - Woodhouse, Jason Nicholas A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Giani, A. T1 - Methanogenic archaea associated to Microcystis sp. in field samples and in culture JF - Hydrobiologia : acta hydrobiologica, hydrographica, limnologica et protistologica N2 - Cyanobacterial mass developments impact the community composition of heterotrophic microorganisms with far-reaching consequences for biogeochemical and energy cycles of freshwater ecosystems including reservoirs. Here we sought to evaluate the temporal stability of methanogenic archaea in the water column and further scrutinize their associations with cyanobacteria. Monthly samples were collected from October 2009 to December 2010 in hypereutrophic Pampulha reservoir with permanently blooming cyanobacteria, and from January to December 2011 in oligotrophic Volta Grande reservoir with only sporadic cyanobacteria incidence. The presence of archaea in cyanobacterial cultures was investigated by screening numerous strains of Microcystis spp. from these reservoirs as well as from lakes in Europe, Asia, and North-America. We consistently determined the occurrence of archaea, in particular methanogenic archaea, in both reservoirs throughout the year. However, archaea were only associated with two strains (Microcystis sp. UFMG 165 and UFMG 175) recently isolated from these reservoirs. These findings do not implicate archaea in the occurrence of methane in the epilimnion of inland waters, but rather serve to highlight the potential of microhabitats associated with particles, including phytoplankton, to shelter unique microbial communities. KW - Cyanobacteria KW - Methanogenic archaea KW - Bacterial community composition KW - Microcystis sp KW - Tropical reservoir Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3655-3 SN - 0018-8158 SN - 1573-5117 VL - 831 IS - 1 SP - 163 EP - 172 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Arias-Andres, Maria A1 - Rojas-Jimenez, Keilor A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Collateral effects of microplastic pollution on aquatic microorganisms BT - An ecological perspective JF - Trends in Analytical Chemistry N2 - Microplastics (MP) provide a unique and extensive surface for microbial colonization in aquatic ecosystems. The formation of microorganism-microplastic complexes, such as biofilms, maximizes the degradation of organic matter and horizontal gene transfer. In this context, MP affect the structure and function of microbial communities, which in turn render the physical and chemical fate of MP. This new paradigm generates challenges for microbiology, ecology, and ecotoxicology. Dispersal of MP is concomitant with that of their associated microorganisms and their mobile genetic elements, including antibiotic resistance genes, islands of pathogenicity, and diverse metabolic pathways. Functional changes in aquatic microbiomes can alter carbon metabolism and food webs, with unknown consequences on higher organisms or human microbiomes and hence health. Here, we examine a variety of effects of MP pollution from the microbial ecology perspective, whose repercussions on aquatic ecosystems begin to be unraveled. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Microplastics (MP) KW - Biofilms KW - HGT KW - Microbial ecology KW - Carbon cycling KW - Aquatic ecosystems KW - Health risk assessment Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2018.11.041 SN - 0165-9936 SN - 1879-3142 VL - 112 SP - 234 EP - 240 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Garcia, Sarahi L. A1 - Buck, Moritz A1 - Hamilton, Joshua J. A1 - Wurzbacher, Christian A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - McMahon, Katherine D. A1 - Eiler, Alexander T1 - Model communities hint at promiscuous metabolic linkages between ubiquitous free-living freshwater bacteria JF - mSphere N2 - Genome streamlining is frequently observed in free-living aquatic microorganisms and results in physiological dependencies between microorganisms. However, we know little about the specificity of these microbial associations. In order to examine the specificity and extent of these associations, we established mixed cultures from three different freshwater environments and analyzed the cooccurrence of organisms using a metagenomic time series. Free-living microorganisms with streamlined genomes lacking multiple biosynthetic pathways showed no clear recurring pattern in their interaction partners. Free-living freshwater bacteria form promiscuous cooperative associations. This notion contrasts with the well-documented high specificities of interaction partners in host-associated bacteria. Considering all data together, we suggest that highly abundant free-living bacterial lineages are functionally versatile in their interactions despite their distinct streamlining tendencies at the single-cell level. This metabolic versatility facilitates interactions with a variable set of community members. KW - community KW - interactions KW - metagenomics KW - microbial ecology KW - mixed cultures KW - promiscuous Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00202-18 SN - 2379-5042 VL - 3 IS - 3 PB - American Society for Microbiology CY - Washington ER -