TY - JOUR A1 - Leimkühler, Silke A1 - Bühning, Martin A1 - Beilschmidt, Lena T1 - Shared sulfur mobilization routes for tRNA thiolation and molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis in prokaryotes and eukaryotes JF - Biomolecules N2 - Modifications of transfer RNA (tRNA) have been shown to play critical roles in the biogenesis, metabolism, structural stability and function of RNA molecules, and the specific modifications of nucleobases with sulfur atoms in tRNA are present in pro- and eukaryotes. Here, especially the thiomodifications xm(5)s(2)U at the wobble position 34 in tRNAs for Lys, Gln and Glu, were suggested to have an important role during the translation process by ensuring accurate deciphering of the genetic code and by stabilization of the tRNA structure. The trafficking and delivery of sulfur nucleosides is a complex process carried out by sulfur relay systems involving numerous proteins, which not only deliver sulfur to the specific tRNAs but also to other sulfur-containing molecules including iron-sulfur clusters, thiamin, biotin, lipoic acid and molybdopterin (MPT). Among the biosynthesis of these sulfur-containing molecules, the biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor (Moco) and the synthesis of thio-modified tRNAs in particular show a surprising link by sharing protein components for sulfur mobilization in pro- and eukaryotes. KW - tRNA KW - molybdenum cofactor KW - persulfide KW - thiocarboxylate KW - thionucleosides KW - sulfurtransferase KW - l-cysteine desulfurase Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/biom7010005 SN - 2218-273X VL - 7 IS - 1 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kramer, Elena M. A1 - Lenhard, Michael T1 - Shape and form in plant development T2 - Seminars in cell & developmental biology Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.11.004 SN - 1084-9521 VL - 79 SP - 1 EP - 2 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard A1 - Raschke, Elena A1 - Epp, Laura Saskia A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Schwamborn, Georg A1 - Schirrmeister, Lutz A1 - Overduin, Pier Paul A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Sedimentary ancient DNA and pollen reveal the composition of plant organic matter in Late Quaternary permafrost sediments of the Buor Khaya Peninsula (north-eastern Siberia) JF - Biogeosciences N2 - Organic matter deposited in ancient, ice-rich permafrost sediments is vulnerable to climate change and may contribute to the future release of greenhouse gases; it is thus important to get a better characterization of the plant organic matter within such sediments. From a Late Quaternary permafrost sediment core from the Buor Khaya Peninsula, we analysed plant-derived sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) to identify the taxonomic composition of plant organic matter, and undertook palynological analysis to assess the environmental conditions during deposition. Using sedaDNA, we identified 154 taxa and from pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs we identified 83 taxa. In the deposits dated between 54 and 51 kyr BP, sedaDNA records a diverse low-centred polygon plant community including recurring aquatic pond vegetation while from the pollen record we infer terrestrial open-land vegetation with relatively dry environmental conditions at a regional scale. A fluctuating dominance of either terrestrial or swamp and aquatic taxa in both proxies allowed the local hydrological development of the polygon to be traced. In deposits dated between 11.4 and 9.7 kyr BP (13.4-11.1 cal kyr BP), sedaDNA shows a taxonomic turnover to moist shrub tundra and a lower taxonomic richness compared to the older samples. Pollen also records a shrub tundra community, mostly seen as changes in relative proportions of the most dominant taxa, while a decrease in taxonomic richness was less pronounced compared to sedaDNA. Our results show the advantages of using sedaDNA in combination with palynological analyses when macrofossils are rarely preserved. The high resolution of the sedaDNA record provides a detailed picture of the taxonomic composition of plant-derived organic matter throughout the core, and palynological analyses prove valuable by allowing for inferences of regional environmental conditions. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-575-2017 SN - 1726-4170 SN - 1726-4189 VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 575 EP - 596 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - GEN A1 - Scheffler, Tatjana T1 - Root infinitives on Twitter T2 - Snippets Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7358/snip-2017-031-sche SN - 1590-1807 IS - 31 SP - 24 EP - 25 PB - Editioni Università di Lettere Economica Diritto CY - Milano ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hasan, Ahmed Abdallah Abdalrahman Mohamed A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Role of soluble and membrane-bound dipeptidyl peptidase-4 in diabetic nephropathy JF - Journal of Molecular Endocrinology N2 - Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most frequent, devastating and costly complications of diabetes. The available therapeutic approaches are limited. Dipeptidyl peptidase type 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors represent a new class of glucose-lowering drugs that might also have reno-protective properties. DPP-4 exists in two forms: a plasma membranebound form and a soluble form, and can exert many biological actions mainly through its peptidase activity and interaction with extracellular matrix components. The kidneys have the highest DPP-4 expression level in mammalians. DPP-4 expression and urinary activity are up-regulated in diabetic nephropathy, highlighting its role as a potential target to manage diabetic nephropathy. Preclinical animal studies and some clinical data suggest that DPP-4 inhibitors decrease the progression of diabetic nephropathy in a blood pressure-and glucose-independent manner. Many studies reported that these reno-protective effects could be due to increased half-life of DPP-4 substrates such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and stromal derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1a). However, the underlying mechanisms are far from being completely understood and clearly need further investigations. KW - DPP-4 KW - diabetic nephropathy KW - DPP-4 inhibitors KW - GLP-1 and SDF-1a Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1530/JME-17-0005 SN - 0952-5041 SN - 1479-6813 VL - 59 SP - R1 EP - R10 PB - Bioscientifica LTD CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ehmann, Lisa A1 - Zoller, Michael A1 - Minichmayr, Iris K. A1 - Scharf, Christina A1 - Maier, Barbara A1 - Schmitt, Maximilian V. A1 - Hartung, Niklas A1 - Huisinga, Wilhelm A1 - Vogeser, Michael A1 - Frey, Lorenz A1 - Zander, Johannes A1 - Kloft, Charlotte T1 - Role of renal function in risk assessment of target non-attainment after standard dosing of meropenem in critically ill patients BT - a prospective observational study JF - Critical care N2 - Background: Severe bacterial infections remain a major challenge in intensive care units because of their high prevalence and mortality. Adequate antibiotic exposure has been associated with clinical success in critically ill patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the target attainment of standard meropenem dosing in a heterogeneous critically ill population, to quantify the impact of the full renal function spectrum on meropenem exposure and target attainment, and ultimately to translate the findings into a tool for practical application. Methods: A prospective observational single-centre study was performed with critically ill patients with severe infections receiving standard dosing of meropenem. Serial blood samples were drawn over 4 study days to determine meropenem serum concentrations. Renal function was assessed by creatinine clearance according to the Cockcroft and Gault equation (CLCRCG). Variability in meropenem serum concentrations was quantified at the middle and end of each monitored dosing interval. The attainment of two pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets (100% T->MIC, 50% T->4xMIC) was evaluated for minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 2 mg/L and 8 mg/L and standard meropenem dosing (1000 mg, 30-minute infusion, every 8 h). Furthermore, we assessed the impact of CLCRCG on meropenem concentrations and target attainment and developed a tool for risk assessment of target non-attainment. Results: Large inter-and intra-patient variability in meropenem concentrations was observed in the critically ill population (n = 48). Attainment of the target 100% T->MIC was merely 48.4% and 20.6%, given MIC values of 2 mg/L and 8 mg/L, respectively, and similar for the target 50% T->4xMIC. A hyperbolic relationship between CLCRCG (25-255 ml/minute) and meropenem serum concentrations at the end of the dosing interval (C-8h) was derived. For infections with pathogens of MIC 2 mg/L, mild renal impairment up to augmented renal function was identified as a risk factor for target non-attainment (for MIC 8 mg/L, additionally, moderate renal impairment). Conclusions: The investigated standard meropenem dosing regimen appeared to result in insufficient meropenem exposure in a considerable fraction of critically ill patients. An easy-and free-to-use tool (the MeroRisk Calculator) for assessing the risk of target non-attainment for a given renal function and MIC value was developed. KW - beta-Lactam KW - Intensive care KW - Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics KW - Target attainment KW - Renal function KW - Risk assessment tool KW - Continuous renal replacement therapy Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-017-1829-4 SN - 1466-609X SN - 1364-8535 VL - 21 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Muñoz, Alfonso A1 - Mangano, Silvina A1 - Paz Gonzalez-Garcia, Mary A1 - Contreras, Ramon A1 - Sauer, Michael A1 - De Rybel, Bert A1 - Weijers, Dolf A1 - Juan Sanchez-Serrano, Jose A1 - Sanmartin, Maite A1 - Rojo, Enrique T1 - RIMA-Dependent Nuclear Accumulation of IYO Triggers Auxin-Irreversible Cell Differentiation in Arabidopsis JF - The plant cell N2 - The transcriptional regulator MINIYO (IYO) is essential and rate-limiting for initiating cell differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, IYO moves from the cytosol into the nucleus in cells at the meristem periphery, possibly triggering their differentiation. However, the genetic mechanisms controlling IYO nuclear accumulation were unknown, and the evidence that increased nuclear IYO levels trigger differentiation remained correlative. Searching for IYO interactors, we identified RPAP2 IYO Mate (RIMA), a homolog of yeast and human proteins linked to nuclear import of selective cargo. Knockdown of RIMA causes delayed onset of cell differentiation, phenocopying the effects of IYO knockdown at the transcriptomic and developmental levels. Moreover, differentiation is completely blocked when IYO and RIMA activities are simultaneously reduced and is synergistically accelerated when IYO and RIMA are concurrently overexpressed, confirming their functional interaction. Indeed, RIMA knockdown reduces the nuclear levels of IYO and prevents its prodifferentiation activity, supporting the conclusion that RIMA-dependent nuclear IYO accumulation triggers cell differentiation in Arabidopsis. Importantly, by analyzing the effect of the IYO/RIMA pathway on xylem pole pericycle cells, we provide compelling evidence reinforcing the view that the capacity for de novo organogenesis and regeneration from mature plant tissues can reside in stem cell reservoirs. Y1 - 0201 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.16.00791 SN - 1040-4651 SN - 1532-298X VL - 29 IS - 3 SP - 575 EP - 588 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yang, Xiaoping A1 - Darko, Kwame Oteng A1 - Huang, Yanjun A1 - He, Caimei A1 - Yang, Huansheng A1 - He, Shanping A1 - Li, Jianzhong A1 - Li, Jian A1 - Hocher, Berthold A1 - Yin, Yulong T1 - Resistant starch regulates gut microbiota BT - structure, biochemistry and cell signalling JF - Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology N2 - Starch is one of the most popular nutritional sources for both human and animals. Due to the variation of its nutritional traits and biochemical specificities, starch has been classified into rapidly digestible, slowly digestible and resistant starch. Resistant starch has its own unique chemical structure, and various forms of resistant starch are commercially available. It has been found being a multiple-functional regulator for treating metabolic dysfunction. Different functions of resistant starch such as modulation of the gut microbiota, gut peptides, circulating growth factors, circulating inflammatory mediators have been characterized by animal studies and clinical trials. In this mini-review, recent remarkable progress in resistant starch on gut microbiota, particularly the effect of structure, biochemistry and cell signaling on nutrition has been summarized, with highlights on its regulatory effect on gut microbiota. KW - Resistant starch KW - Gut microbiota KW - Nutrition Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000477386 SN - 1015-8987 SN - 1421-9778 VL - 42 IS - 1 SP - 306 EP - 318 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwensow, Nina I. A1 - Detering, Harald A1 - Pederson, Stephen A1 - Mazzoni, Camila A1 - Sinclair, Ron A1 - Peacock, David A1 - Kovaliski, John A1 - Cooke, Brian A1 - Fickel, Jörns A1 - Sommer, Simone T1 - Resistance to RHD virus in wild Australian rabbits BT - comparison of susceptible and resistant individuals using a genomewide approach JF - Molecular ecology N2 - Deciphering the genes involved in disease resistance is essential if we are to understand host-pathogen coevolutionary processes. The rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) was imported into Australia in 1995 as a biocontrol agent to manage one of the most successful and devastating invasive species, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). During the first outbreaks of the disease, RHDV caused mortality rates of up to 97%. Recently, however, increased genetic resistance to RHDV has been reported. Here, we have aimed to identify genomic differences between rabbits that survived a natural infection with RHDV and those that died in the field using a genomewide next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach. We detected 72 SNPs corresponding to 133 genes associated with survival of a RHD infection. Most of the identified genes have known functions in virus infections and replication, immune responses or apoptosis, or have previously been found to be regulated during RHD. Some of the genes identified in experimental studies, however, did not seem to play a role under natural selection regimes, highlighting the importance of field studies to complement the genomic background of wildlife diseases. Our study provides a set of candidate markers as a tool for the future scanning of wild rabbits for their resistance to RHDV. This is important both for wild rabbit populations in southern Europe where RHD is regarded as a serious problem decimating the prey of endangered predator species and for assessing the success of currently planned RHDV variant biocontrol releases in Australia. KW - adaptation KW - genetic resistance KW - host-pathogen coevolution KW - natural selection KW - rabbit KW - rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14228 SN - 0962-1083 SN - 1365-294X VL - 26 SP - 4551 EP - 4561 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - THES A1 - Schraplau, Anne T1 - Regulation der Expression von Xenobiotika-metabolisierenden Enzymen und Deiodasen durch die Xenobiotika-abhängige wechselseitige Induktion von Xenosensor-Transkriptionsfaktoren und Prostaglandin E2 BT - Auswirkung auf die Aktivierung und Inaktivierung von Schilddrüsenhormonen Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Valente, Luis A1 - Etienne, Rampal S. A1 - Davalos, Liliana M. T1 - Recent extinctions disturb path to equilibrium diversity in Caribbean bats JF - Nature Ecology & Evolution N2 - Islands are ideal systems to model temporal changes in biodiversity and reveal the influence of humans on natural communities. Although theory predicts biodiversity on islands tends towards an equilibrium value, the recent extinction of large proportions of island biotas complicates testing this model. The well-preserved subfossil record of Caribbean bats-involving multiple insular radiations-provides a rare opportunity to model diversity dynamics in an insular community. Here, we reconstruct the diversity trajectory in noctilionoid bats of the Greater Antilles by applying a dynamic model of colonization, extinction and speciation to phylogenetic and palaeontological data including all known extinct and extant species. We show species richness asymptotes to an equilibrium value, a demonstration of natural equilibrium dynamics across an entire community. However, recent extinctions-many caused by humans-have wiped out nearly a third of island lineages, dragging diversity away from equilibrium. Using a metric to measure island biodiversity loss, we estimate it will take at least eight million years to regain pre-human diversity levels. Our integrative approach reveals how anthropogenic extinctions can drastically alter the natural trajectory of biological communities, resulting in evolutionary disequilibrium. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-016-0026 SN - 2397-334X VL - 1 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Rosenfeld, Ulrike A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Schmidt, Sabrina A1 - Ulrich, Rainer G. A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Jacob, Jens T1 - Puumala hantavirus infections in bank vole populations BT - host and virus dynamics in Central Europe JF - BMC ecology N2 - Background In Europe, bank voles (Myodes glareolus) are widely distributed and can transmit Puumala virus (PUUV) to humans, which causes a mild to moderate form of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, called nephropathia epidemica. Uncovering the link between host and virus dynamics can help to prevent human PUUV infections in the future. Bank voles were live trapped three times a year in 2010–2013 in three woodland plots in each of four regions in Germany. Bank vole population density was estimated and blood samples collected to detect PUUV specific antibodies. Results We demonstrated that fluctuation of PUUV seroprevalence is dependent not only on multi-annual but also on seasonal dynamics of rodent host abundance. Moreover, PUUV infection might affect host fitness, because seropositive individuals survived better from spring to summer than uninfected bank voles. Individual space use was independent of PUUV infections. Conclusions Our study provides robust estimations of relevant patterns and processes of the dynamics of PUUV and its rodent host in Central Europe, which are highly important for the future development of predictive models for human hantavirus infection risk KW - Myodes glareolus KW - Population dynamics KW - Puumala virus seroprevalence KW - Space use KW - Survival Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-017-0118-z SN - 1472-6785 VL - 17 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reschke, Stefan A1 - Mebs, Stefan A1 - Sigfridsson-Clauss, Kajsa G. V. A1 - Kositzki, Ramona A1 - Leimkühler, Silke A1 - Haumann, Michael T1 - Protonation and Sulfido versus Oxo Ligation Changes at the Molybdenum Cofactor in Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XDH) Variants Studied by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy JF - Inorganic chemistry N2 - Enzymes of the xanthine oxidase family are among the best characterized mononuclear molybdenum enzymes. Open questions about their mechanism of transfer of an oxygen atom to the substrate remain. The enzymes share a molybdenum cofactor (Moco) with the metal ion binding a molybdopterin (MPT) molecule via its dithiolene function and terminal sulfur and oxygen groups. For xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) from the bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus, we used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine the Mo site structure, its changes in a pH range of 5-10, and the influence of amino acids (Glu730 and Gln179) close to Moco in wild-type (WT), Q179A, and E730A variants, complemented by enzyme kinetics and quantum chemical studies. Oxidized WT and Q179A revealed a similar Mo (VI) ion with each one MPT, Mo=O, Mo-O-, and Mo=S ligand, and a weak Mo-O(E730) bond at alkaline pH. Protonation of an oxo to a hydroxo (OH) ligand (pK similar to 6.8) causes inhibition of XDH at acidic pH, whereas deprotonated xanthine (pK similar to 8.8) is an inhibitor at alkaline pH. A similar acidic pK for the WT and Q179A. variants, as well as the metrical parameters of the Mo site and density functional theory calculations, suggested protonation at the equatorial oxo group. The sulfido was replaced with an oxo ligand in the inactive E730A variant, further showing another oxo and one Mo OH ligand at Mo, which are independent of pH. Our findings suggest a reaction mechanism for XDH in which an initial oxo rather than a hydroxo group and the sulfido ligand are essential for xanthine oxidation. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6b02846 SN - 0020-1669 SN - 1520-510X VL - 56 IS - 4 SP - 2165 EP - 2176 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shubchynskyy, Volodymyr A1 - Boniecka, Justyna A1 - Schweighofer, Alois A1 - Simulis, Justinas A1 - Kvederaviciute, Kotryna A1 - Stumpe, Michael A1 - Mauch, Felix A1 - Balazadeh, Salma A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Boutrot, Freddy A1 - Zipfel, Cyril A1 - Meskiene, Irute T1 - Protein phosphatase AP2C1 negatively regulates basal resistance and defense responses to Pseudomonas syringae JF - Journal of experimental botany N2 - Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) mediate plant immune responses to pathogenic bacteria. However, less is known about the cell autonomous negative regulatory mechanism controlling basal plant immunity. We report the biological role of Arabidopsis thaliana MAPK phosphatase AP2C1 as a negative regulator of plant basal resistance and defense responses to Pseudomonas syringae. AP2C2, a closely related MAPK phosphatase, also negatively controls plant resistance. Loss of AP2C1 leads to enhanced pathogen-induced MAPK activities, increased callose deposition in response to pathogen-associated molecular patterns or to P. syringae pv. tomato (Pto) DC3000, and enhanced resistance to bacterial infection with Pto. We also reveal the impact of AP2C1 on the global transcriptional reprogramming of transcription factors during Pto infection. Importantly, ap2c1 plants show salicylic acid-independent transcriptional reprogramming of several defense genes and enhanced ethylene production in response to Pto. This study pinpoints the specificity of MAPK regulation by the different MAPK phosphatases AP2C1 and MKP1, which control the same MAPK substrates, nevertheless leading to different downstream events. We suggest that precise and specific control of defined MAPKs by MAPK phosphatases during plant challenge with pathogenic bacteria can strongly influence plant resistance. KW - Callose KW - defense genes KW - MAPK KW - MAPK phosphatase KW - PAMP KW - PP2C phosphatase KW - Pseudomonas syringae KW - salicylic acid KW - transcription factors Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erw485 SN - 0022-0957 SN - 1460-2431 VL - 68 IS - 5 SP - 1169 EP - 1183 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gietler, Marta A1 - Nykiel, Malgorzata A1 - Orzechowski, Slawomir A1 - Fettke, Jörg A1 - Zagdanska, Barbara T1 - Protein carbonylation linked to wheat seedling tolerance to water deficiency JF - Environmental and experimental botany N2 - The appearance of the first leaf from the coleoptile in wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L.) coincides with the development of seedling susceptibility to water deficiency on the fifth day following imbibition. In dehydrated wheat seedlings, an increase in the protein carbonyl group has been observed. The coincidence of higher protein carbonylation levels with development of dehydration intolerance drew our attention. To gain more insight into the molecular basis of wheat drought tolerance, the seedling profiles of carbonylated proteins were analysed and compared. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF and LC-MS/MS) were used to indicate and identify differential carbonylated proteins. Among the protein spots with at least a two-fold change in protein abundance in dehydrated seedlings in relation to control (well-watered) plants during the tolerant phase of growth, 19 carbonylated proteins increased and 18 carbonylated proteins decreased in abundance. Among 26 differentially expressed carbonylated proteins in sensitive seedlings, the abundance of 10 protein spots increased while that of 16 proteins decreased upon dehydration. We have demonstrated a link between protein carbonylation and seedling sensitivity to dehydration. The analysis of carbonylated protein profiles clearly showed that proteins with a potential role in the maintenance of dehydration tolerance in wheat seedlings are mainly linked to energy production, anti-fungal and/or insecticidal activity, or to the regulation of both protein synthesis and degradation. KW - Protein carbonylation KW - Dehydration tolerance KW - Triticum aestivum L. KW - Seedlings KW - Proteomic Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2017.02.004 SN - 0098-8472 SN - 1873-7307 VL - 137 SP - 84 EP - 95 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schmidt, Marco F. ED - Schmidt, Marco F. T1 - Preface T2 - Drug target miRNA Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-4939-6563-2 SN - 978-1-4939-6561-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6563-2 SN - 1064-3745 SN - 1940-6029 VL - 1517 SP - V EP - V PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kleine-Vehn, Jürgen A1 - Sauer, Michael ED - Kleine-Vehn, Jürgen ED - Sauer, Michael T1 - Preface T2 - Plant Hormones: Methods and Protocols Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-1-4939-6469-7 SN - 978-1-4939-6467-3 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6469-7 SN - 1064-3745 SN - 1940-6029 VL - 1497 SP - V EP - V PB - Springer CY - New York ET - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - McGinnis, Daniel F. A1 - Flury, Sabine A1 - Tang, Kam W. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Porewater methane transport within the gas vesicles of diurnally migrating Chaoborus spp. BT - an energetic advantage JF - Scientific reports N2 - Diurnally-migrating Chaoborus spp. reach populations of up to 130,000 individuals m−2 in lakes up to 70 meters deep on all continents except Antarctica. Linked to eutrophication, migrating Chaoborus spp. dwell in the anoxic sediment during daytime and feed in the oxic surface layer at night. Our experiments show that by burrowing into the sediment, Chaoborus spp. utilize the high dissolved gas partial pressure of sediment methane to inflate their tracheal sacs. This mechanism provides a significant energetic advantage that allows the larvae to migrate via passive buoyancy rather than more energy-costly swimming. The Chaoborus spp. larvae, in addition to potentially releasing sediment methane bubbles twice a day by entering and leaving the sediment, also transport porewater methane within their gas vesicles into the water column, resulting in a flux of 0.01–2 mol m−2 yr−1 depending on population density and water depth. Chaoborus spp. emerging annually as flies also result in 0.1–6 mol m−2 yr−1 of carbon export from the system. Finding the tipping point in lake eutrophication enabling this methane-powered migration mechanism is crucial for ultimately reconstructing the geographical expansion of Chaoborus spp., and the corresponding shifts in the lake’s biogeochemistry, carbon cycling and food web structure. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep44478 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 7 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lu, Yong-Ping A1 - Hasan, Ahmed A. A1 - Zeng, Shufei A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Plasma ET-1 concentrations are elevated in pregnant women with hypertension - meta-analysis of clinical studies JF - Kidney & blood pressure research : official organ of the Gesellschaft für Nephrologie ; official organ of the Deutsche Liga zur Bekämpfung des Hohen Blutdruckes e.V., Deutsche Hypertonie-Gesellschaft N2 - Background/Aims: The ET system might be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. The objective is to analyse the impact of ET-1 in hypertensive pregnant women by a strict meta-analysis of published human clinical studies. Methods: Based on the principle of Cochrane systematic reviews, Cohort studies in PubMed (Medline), Google Scholar and China Biological Medicine Database (CBM-disc) designed to identify the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the pathophysiology of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia were screened. Review Manager Version 5.0 (Rev-Man 5.0) was applied for statistical analysis. Mean difference and 95% confidence interval (CI) were shown in inverse variance (IV) fixed-effects model or IV random-effects model. Results: Sixteen published cohort studies including 1739 hypertensive cases and 409 controls were used in the meta-analysis. ET-1 plasma concentrations were higher in hypertensive pregnant women as compared to the controls (mean difference between groups: 19.02 [15.60～22.44], P < 0.00001,). These finding were driven by severity of hypertension and/or degree of proteinuria. Conclusion: Plasma ET-1 concentrations are elevated in hypertensive disorders during human pregnancy. In particular women with preeclampsia (hypertensive pregnant women with proteinuria) have substantially elevated plasma ET-1 concentration as compared to pregnant women with normal blood pressure. KW - Et-1 KW - Pregnancy KW - Hypertension KW - Meta-analysis Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000482004 SN - 1420-4096 SN - 1423-0143 VL - 42 IS - 4 SP - 654 EP - 663 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinze, Johannes A1 - Joshi, Jasmin Radha T1 - Plant-soil feedback effects can be masked by aboveground herbivory under natural field conditions JF - Oecologia N2 - For plants, herbivory and interactions with their surrounding soil ecosystem are crucial factors influencing individual performance and plant-community composition. Until now, research has mostly focused on individual effects of herbivory or plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) on plant growth and community composition, but few studies have explicitly investigated herbivory in the context of PSFs. These few studies, however, were performed under greenhouse conditions even though PSFs and herbivory may differ between greenhouse and field conditions. Therefore, we performed a field experiment in a grassland, testing the growth responses of three grass species that consistently differ in local abundance, on soils previously conditioned by these species. We tested these PSF effects for the three species both in the presence and in the absence of aboveground herbivores. Without herbivores, the two subdominant species suffered from negative PSF effects. However, in the presence of herbivores and on heterospecific soils, the same two species experienced a significant loss of shoot biomass, whereas, in contrast, enhanced root growth was observed on conspecific soils, resulting in overall neutral PSF effects. The dominant species was not damaged by herbivores and showed overall neutral PSF effects in the field with and without herbivores. Our study provides empirical evidence that negative PSF effects that exist under natural field conditions in grasslands can be overwhelmed by aboveground herbivory. Hence, potential PSF effects might not be detected in the field, because other abiotic and biotic interactions such as aboveground herbivory have stronger effects on plant performance and might therefore mask or override these PSF effects. KW - Herbivores KW - Field experiment KW - Plant-community composition KW - Plant diversity KW - Plant-soil feedback Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-017-3997-y SN - 0029-8549 SN - 1432-1939 VL - 186 IS - 1 SP - 235 EP - 246 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR ED - Kleine-Vehn, Jürgen ED - Sauer, Michael T1 - Plant Hormones BT - Methods and Protocols JF - Methods in Molecular Biology N2 - This volume aims to present a representative cross-section of modern experimental approaches relevant to Plant Hormone Biology, ranging from relatively simple physiological to highly sophisticated methods. Chapters describe physiological, developmental, microscopy-based techniques, measure hormone contents, and heterologous systems. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. KW - phenotyping KW - four-dimensional tissue reconstruction KW - hormonal pathways KW - measure hormone contents KW - heterologous systems Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-1-4939-6467-3 SN - 978-1-4939-8210-3 SN - 978-1-4939-6469-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6469-7 SN - 1064-3745 SN - 1940-6029 IS - 1497 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gall, Andrea A1 - Uebel, Udo A1 - Ebensen, Uwe A1 - Hillebrand, Helmut A1 - Meier, Sandra A1 - Singer, Gabriel A1 - Wacker, Alexander A1 - Striebel, Maren T1 - Planktotrons BT - a novel indoor mesocosm facility for aquatic biodiversity and food web research JF - Limnology and oceanography-methods N2 - We established a new indoor mesocosm facility, 12 fully controlled Planktotrons, designed to conduct marine and freshwater experiments for biodiversity and food web approaches using natural or artificial, benthic or planktonic communities. The Planktotrons are a unique and custom-tailored facility allowing long-term experiments. Wall growth can be inhibited by a rotating gate paddle with silicone lips. Additionally, temperature and light intensity are individually controllable for each Planktotron and the large volume (600 L) enables high-frequency or volume-intense measurements. In a pilot freshwater experiment various trophic levels of a pelagic food web were maintained for up to 90 d. First, an artificially assembled phytoplankton community of 11 species was inoculated in all Planktotrons. After 22 d, two ciliates were added to all, and three Daphnia species were added to six Planktotrons. After 72 d, dissolved organic matter (DOM, an alkaline soil extract) was added as an external disturbance to six of the 12 Planktotrons, involving three Planktotrons stocked with Daphnia and three without, respectively. We demonstrate the suitability of the Planktotrons for food web and biodiversity research. Variation among replicated Planktotrons (n=3 minimum) did not differ from other laboratory systems and field experiments. We investigated population dynamics and interactions among the different trophic levels, and found them affected by the sequence of ciliate and Daphnia addition and the disturbance caused by addition of DOM. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10196 SN - 1541-5856 VL - 15 SP - 663 EP - 677 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Martins, Renata F. A1 - Fickel, Jörns A1 - Minh Le, A1 - Thanh Van Nguyen, A1 - Nguyen, Ha M. A1 - Timmins, Robert A1 - Gan, Han Ming A1 - Rovie-Ryan, Jeffrine J. A1 - Lenz, Dorina A1 - Förster, Daniel W. A1 - Wilting, Andreas T1 - Phylogeography of red muntjacs reveals three distinct mitochondrial lineages JF - BMC evolutionary biology N2 - Background: The members of the genus Muntiacus are of particular interest to evolutionary biologists due to their extreme chromosomal rearrangements and the ongoing discussions about the number of living species. Red muntjacs have the largest distribution of all muntjacs and were formerly considered as one species. Karyotype differences led to the provisional split between the Southern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) and the Northern Red Muntjac (M. vaginalis), but uncertainties remain as, so far, no phylogenetic study has been conducted. Here, we analysed whole mitochondrial genomes of 59 archival and 16 contemporaneous samples to resolve uncertainties about their taxonomy and used red muntjacs as model for understanding the evolutionary history of other species in Southeast Asia. Results: We found three distinct matrilineal groups of red muntjacs: Sri Lankan red muntjacs (including the Western Ghats) diverged first from other muntjacs about 1.5 Mya; later northern red muntjacs (including North India and Indochina) and southern red muntjacs (Sundaland) split around 1.12 Mya. The diversification of red muntjacs into these three main lineages was likely promoted by two Pleistocene barriers: one through the Indian subcontinent and one separating the Indochinese and Sundaic red muntjacs. Interestingly, we found a high level of gene flow within the populations of northern and southern red muntjacs, indicating gene flow between populations in Indochina and dispersal of red muntjacs over the exposed Sunda Shelf during the Last Glacial Maximum. Conclusions: Our results provide new insights into the evolution of species in South and Southeast Asia as we found clear genetic differentiation in a widespread and generalist species, corresponding to two known biogeographical barriers: The Isthmus of Kra and the central Indian dry zone. In addition, our molecular data support either the delineation of three monotypic species or three subspecies, but more importantly these data highlight the conservation importance of the Sri Lankan/South Indian red muntjac. KW - Phylogeography KW - Archival DNA KW - Muntjac KW - Southeast Asia KW - Species complex Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-0888-0 SN - 1471-2148 VL - 17 IS - 34 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - THES A1 - Kubsch, Bastian T1 - Phase-specific fusion between biomembranes using SNARE mimetics Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kolk, Jens A1 - Naaf, Tobias A1 - Wulf, Monika T1 - Paying the colonization credit BT - converging plant species richness in ancient and post-agricultural forests in NE Germany over five decades JF - Biodiversity and conservation N2 - Massive historical land cover changes in the Central European lowlands have resulted in a forest distribution that now comprises small remnants of ancient forests and more recently established post-agricultural forests. Here, land-use history is considered a key driver of recent herb-layer community changes, where an extinction debt in ancient forest remnants and/or a colonization credit in post-agricultural forests are being paid over time. On a regional scale, these payments should in theory lead toward a convergence in species richness between ancient and post-agricultural forests over time. In this study, we tested this assumption with a resurvey of 117 semi-permanent plots in the well-studied deciduous forests of the Prignitz region (Brandenburg, NE Germany), where we knew that the plant communities of post-agricultural stands exhibit a colonization credit while the extinction debt in ancient stands has largely been paid. We compared changes in the species richness of all herb layer species, forest specialists and ancient forest indicator species between ancient and post-agricultural stands with linear mixed effect models and determined the influence of patch connectivity on the magnitude of species richness changes. Species richness increased overall, but the richness of forest specialists increased significantly more in post-agricultural stands and was positively influenced by higher patch connectivity, indicating a convergence in species richness between the ancient and postagricultural stands. Furthermore, the richness of ancient forest indicator species only increased significantly in post-agricultural stands. For the first time, we were able to verify a gradual payment of the colonization credit in post-agricultural forest stands using a comparison of actual changes in temporal species richness. KW - Herb layer KW - Land-use history KW - Land-use legacy KW - Long-term change KW - Resurvey KW - Temperate forest Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1271-y SN - 0960-3115 SN - 1572-9710 VL - 26 SP - 735 EP - 755 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Taube, Robert A1 - Ganzert, Lars A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Gleixner, Gerd A1 - Premke, Katrin T1 - Organic matter quality structures benthic fatty acid patterns and the abundance of fungi and bacteria in temperate lakes JF - The science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man N2 - Benthic microbial communities (BMCs) play important roles in the carbon cycle of lakes, and benthic littoral zones in particular have been previously highlighted as biogeochemical hotspots. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) presents the major carbon pool in lakes, and although the effect of DOM composition on the pelagic microbial community composition is widely accepted, little is known about its effect on BMCs, particularly aquatic fungi. Therefore, we investigated the composition of benthic littoral microbial communities in twenty highly diverse lakes in northeast Germany. DOM quality was analyzed via size exclusion chromatography (SEC), fluorescence parallel factor analyses (PRAFACs) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. We determined the BMC composition and biomass using phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFA) and extended the interpretation to the analysis of fungi by applying a Bayesian mixed model. We present evidence that the quality of DOM structures the BMCs, which are dominated by heterotrophic bacteria and show low fungal biomass. The fungal biomass increases when the DOM pool is processed by microorganisms of allochthonous origin, whereas the opposite is true for bacteria. KW - PLFA KW - PARAFAC KW - Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) KW - Aquatic fungi KW - Stable isotopes KW - FASTAR Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.256 SN - 0048-9697 SN - 1879-1026 VL - 610 SP - 469 EP - 481 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hornick, Thomas A1 - Bach, Lennart T. A1 - Crawfurd, Katharine J. A1 - Spilling, Kristian A1 - Achterberg, Eric P. A1 - Woodhouse, Jason Nicholas A1 - Schulz, Kai G. A1 - Brussaard, Corina P. D. A1 - Riebesell, Ulf A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Ocean acidification impacts bacteria-phytoplankton coupling at low-nutrient conditions JF - Biogeosciences N2 - The oceans absorb about a quarter of the annually produced anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), resulting in a decrease in surface water pH, a process termed ocean acidification (OA). Surprisingly little is known about how OA affects the physiology of heterotrophic bacteria or the coupling of heterotrophic bacteria to phytoplankton when nutrients are limited. Previous experiments were, for the most part, undertaken during productive phases or following nutrient additions designed to stimulate algal blooms. Therefore, we performed an in situ large-volume mesocosm (similar to 55 m(3)) experiment in the Baltic Sea by simulating different fugacities of CO2 (fCO(2)) extending from present to future conditions. The study was conducted in July-August after the nominal spring bloom, in order to maintain low-nutrient conditions throughout the experiment. This resulted in phytoplankton communities dominated by small-sized functional groups (picophytoplankton). There was no consistent fCO(2)-induced effect on bacterial protein production (BPP), cell-specific BPP (csBPP) or biovolumes (BVs) of either free-living (FL) or particle-associated (PA) heterotrophic bacteria, when considered as individual components (univariate analyses). Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance (PERMANOVA) revealed a significant effect of the fCO(2) treatment on entire assemblages of dissolved and particulate nutrients, metabolic parameters and the bacteria-phytoplankton community. However, distance-based linear modelling only identified fCO(2) as a factor explaining the variability observed amongst the microbial community composition, but not for explaining variability within the metabolic parameters. This suggests that fCO(2) impacts on microbial metabolic parameters occurred indirectly through varying physicochemical parameters and microbial species composition. Cluster analyses examining the co-occurrence of different functional groups of bacteria and phytoplankton further revealed a separation of the four fCO(2)-treated mesocosms from both control mesocosms, indicating that complex trophic interactions might be altered in a future acidified ocean. Possible consequences for nutrient cycling and carbon export are still largely unknown, in particular in a nutrient-limited ocean. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1-2017 SN - 1726-4170 SN - 1726-4189 VL - 14 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Busch, Verena A1 - Klaus, Valentin H. A1 - Penone, Caterina A1 - Schäfer, Deborah A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Niinemets, Ülo A1 - Penuelas, Josep A1 - Hölzel, Norbert A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Kleinebecker, Till T1 - Nutrient stoichiometry and land use rather than species richness determine plant functional diversity JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Plant functional traits reflect individual and community ecological strategies. They allow the detection of directional changes in community dynamics and ecosystemic processes, being an additional tool to assess biodiversity than species richness. Analysis of functional patterns in plant communities provides mechanistic insight into biodiversity alterations due to anthropogenic activity. Although studies have consi-dered of either anthropogenic management or nutrient availability on functional traits in temperate grasslands, studies combining effects of both drivers are scarce. Here, we assessed the impacts of management intensity (fertilization, mowing, grazing), nutrient stoichiometry (C, N, P, K), and vegetation composition on community-weighted means (CWMs) and functional diversity (Rao's Q) from seven plant traits in 150 grasslands in three regions in Germany, using data of 6 years. Land use and nutrient stoichiometry accounted for larger proportions of model variance of CWM and Rao's Q than species richness and productivity. Grazing affected all analyzed trait groups; fertilization and mowing only impacted generative traits. Grazing was clearly associated with nutrient retention strategies, that is, investing in durable structures and production of fewer, less variable seed. Phenological variability was increased. Fertilization and mowing decreased seed number/mass variability, indicating competition-related effects. Impacts of nutrient stoichiometry on trait syndromes varied. Nutrient limitation (large N:P, C:N ratios) promoted species with conservative strategies, that is, investment in durable plant structures rather than fast growth, fewer seed, and delayed flowering onset. In contrast to seed mass, leaf-economics variability was reduced under P shortage. Species diversity was positively associated with the variability of generative traits. Synthesis. Here, land use, nutrient availability, species richness, and plant functional strategies have been shown to interact complexly, driving community composition, and vegetation responses to management intensity. We suggest that deeper understanding of underlying mechanisms shaping community assembly and biodiversity will require analyzing all these parameters. KW - biodiversity exploratories KW - fertilization KW - leaf economics KW - mowing KW - nutrient availability KW - nutrient ratios KW - phosphorus KW - plant functional traits KW - plant strategies KW - seed mass Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3609 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 8 IS - 1 SP - 601 EP - 616 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwiebs, Anja A1 - Thomas, Dominique Jeanette A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Pfeilschifter, Josef A1 - Radeke, Heinfried H. T1 - Nuclear translocation of SGPP-1 and decrease of SGPL-1 activity contribute to sphingolipid rheostat regulation of inflammatory dendritic cells JF - Mediators of inflammation N2 - A balanced sphingolipid rheostat is indispensable for dendritic cell function and survival and thus initiation of an immune response. Sphingolipid levels are dynamically maintained by the action of sphingolipid enzymes of which sphingosine kinases, S1P phosphatases (SGPP-1/2) and S1P lyase (SGPL-1), are pivotal in the balance of S1P and sphingosine levels. In this study, we present that SGPP-1 and SGPL-1 are regulated in inflammatory dendritic cells and contribute to S1P fate. TLR-dependent activation caused SGPL-1 protein downregulation with subsequent decrease of enzymatic activity by two-thirds. In parallel, confocal fluorescence microscopy revealed that endogenous SGPP-1 was expressed in nuclei of naive dendritic cells and was translocated into the cytoplasmatic compartment upon inflammatory stimulation resulting in dephosphorylation of S1P. Mass spectrometric determination showed that a part of the resulting sphingosine was released from the cell, increasing extracellular levels. Another route of diminishing intracellular S1P was possibly taken by its export via ATP-binding cassette transporter C1 which was upregulated in array analysis, while the S1P transporter, spinster homolog 2, was not relevant in dendritic cells. These investigations newly describe the sequential expression and localization of the endogenous S1P regulators SGPP-1 and SGPL-1 and highlight their contribution to the sphingolipid rheostat in inflammation. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/5187368 SN - 0962-9351 SN - 1466-1861 PB - Hindawi Publishing Corp. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pospisil, Christina A1 - Czernitzki, Anna-Franziska A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - No association between nutrition and body height in German kindergarten children BT - a pilot study JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Anthropologists all over the world are discussing influences on individual height including quantity and quality of nutrition. To examine whether a relationship between nutritional components and height can be found this pilot study has been developed. The research samples consisted of 44 children (age 3–6 years) attending two different kindergartens in Germany. Height measurements were taken for each child. Furthermore the parents had to fill out a 24-hour questionnaire to document their children’s eating habits during the weekend. In order to standardize the measured height values z-scores were calculated with reference to the average height of the overall cohort. The results of correlation analysis indicate that height is not significantly related to any of the main nutritional components as protein (r = –0.148), carbohydrates (r = 0.126), fat (r = 0.107), fibre (r = –0.289), vitamin (r = 0.050), calcium (r = 0.110), potassium (r = 0.189) and overall calorie intake (r = 0.302). In conclusion, it can be stated that the quality of nutrition may not have a strong influence on individual height. However, due to the small sample size further research should be provided with a larger cohort of children to verify the present results. KW - nutritional components KW - individual body height KW - children KW - Germany Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2017/0704 SN - 0003-5548 SN - 2363-7099 VL - 74 IS - 3 SP - 199 EP - 202 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bernacchioni, Caterina A1 - Ghini, Veronica A1 - Cencetti, Francesca A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Donati, Chiara A1 - Bruni, Paola A1 - Turano, Paola T1 - NMR metabolomics highlights sphingosine kinase-1 as a new molecular switch in the orchestration of aberrant metabolic phenotype in cancer cells JF - Molecular oncology / Federation of European Biochemical Societies N2 - Strong experimental evidence in animal and cellular models supports a pivotal role of sphingosine kinase-1 (SK1) in oncogenesis. In many human cancers, SK1 levels are upregulated and these increases are linked to poor prognosis in patients. Here, by employing untargeted NMR- based metabolomic profiling combined with functional validations, we report the crucial role of SK1 in the metabolic shift known as the Warburg effect in A2780 ovarian cancer cells. Indeed, expression of SK1 induced a high glycolytic rate, characterized by increased levels of lactate along with increased expression of the proton/monocarboxylate symporter MCT1, and decreased oxidative metabolism, associated with the accumulation of intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and reduction in CO2 production. Additionally, SK1-expressing cells displayed a significant increase in glucose uptake paralleled by GLUT3 transporter upregulation. The role of SK1 is not limited to the induction of aerobic glycolysis, affecting metabolic pathways that appear to support the biosynthesis of macromolecules. These findings highlight the role of SK1 signaling axis in cancer metabolic reprogramming, pointing out innovative strategies for cancer therapies. KW - NMR-based metabolomics KW - ovarian cancer KW - sphingosine kinase-1 KW - Warburg effect Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.12048 SN - 1878-0261 VL - 11 SP - 517 EP - 533 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Endesfelder, Stefanie A1 - Weichelt, Ulrike A1 - Strauß, Evelyn A1 - Schlör, Anja A1 - Sifringer, Marco A1 - Scheuer, Till A1 - Bührer, Christoph A1 - Schmitz, Thomas T1 - Neuroprotection by caffeine in hyperoxia-induced neonatal brain injury JF - International journal of molecular sciences N2 - Sequelae of prematurity triggered by oxidative stress and free radical-mediated tissue damage have coined the term “oxygen radical disease of prematurity”. Caffeine, a potent free radical scavenger and adenosine receptor antagonist, reduces rates of brain damage in preterm infants. In the present study, we investigated the effects of caffeine on oxidative stress markers, anti-oxidative response, inflammation, redox-sensitive transcription factors, apoptosis, and extracellular matrix following the induction of hyperoxia in neonatal rats. The brain of a rat pups at postnatal Day 6 (P6) corresponds to that of a human fetal brain at 28–32 weeks gestation and the neonatal rat is an ideal model in which to investigate effects of oxidative stress and neuroprotection of caffeine on the developing brain. Six-day-old Wistar rats were pre-treated with caffeine and exposed to 80% oxygen for 24 and 48 h. Caffeine reduced oxidative stress marker (heme oxygenase-1, lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide, and glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC)), promoted anti-oxidative response (superoxide dismutase, peroxiredoxin 1, and sulfiredoxin 1), down-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines, modulated redox-sensitive transcription factor expression (Nrf2/Keap1, and NFκB), reduced pro-apoptotic effectors (poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), and caspase-3), and diminished extracellular matrix degeneration (matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2, and inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 1/2). Our study affirms that caffeine is a pleiotropic neuroprotective drug in the developing brain due to its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties. KW - anti-oxidative response KW - caffeine KW - hyperoxia KW - oxidative stress KW - preterm infants KW - developing brain Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18010187 SN - 1422-0067 SN - 1661-6596 VL - 18 PB - Molecular Diversity Preservation International CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pyšek, Petr A1 - Pergl, Jan A1 - Essl, Franz A1 - Lenzner, Bernd A1 - Dawson, Wayne A1 - Kreft, Holger A1 - Weigelt, Patrick A1 - Winter, Marten A1 - Kartesz, John A1 - Nishino, Misako A1 - Antonova, Liubov A. A1 - Barcelona, Julie F. A1 - Cabezas, Francisco José A1 - Cárdenas López, Dairon A1 - Cárdenas-Toro, Juliana A1 - Castańo, Nicolás A1 - Chacón, Eduardo A1 - Chatelain, Cyrille A1 - Dullinger, Stefan A1 - Ebel, Aleksandr L. A1 - Figueiredo, Estrela A1 - Fuentes, Nicol A1 - Genovesi, Piero A1 - Groom, Quentin J. A1 - Henderson, Lesley A1 - Inderjit, A1 - Kupriyanov, Andrey A1 - Masciadri, Silvana A1 - Maurel, Noëlie A1 - Meerman, Jan A1 - Morozova, Olʹga V. A1 - Moser, Dietmar A1 - Nickrent, Daniel A1 - Nowak, Pauline M. A1 - Pagad, Shyama A1 - Patzelt, Annette A1 - Pelser, Pieter B. A1 - Seebens, Hanno A1 - Shu, Wen-sheng A1 - Thomas, Jacob A1 - Velayos, Mauricio A1 - Weber, Ewald A1 - Wieringa, Jan J. A1 - Baptiste, Maria P. A1 - Kleunen, Mark van T1 - Naturalized alien flora of the world T1 - Naturalizovaná nepůvodní flóra světa BT - species diversity, taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns, geographic distribution and global hotspots of plant invasion BT - druhová diverzita, taxonomické a fylogenetické složení, geografické zákonitosti a globální ohniska rostlinných invazí JF - Preslia : the journal of the Czech Botanical Society N2 - Using the recently built Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database, containing data on the distribution of naturalized alien plants in 483 mainland and 361 island regions of the world, we describe patterns in diversity and geographic distribution of naturalized and invasive plant species, taxonomic, phylogenetic and life-history structure of the global naturalized flora as well as levels of naturalization and their determinants. The mainland regions with the highest numbers of naturalized aliens are some Australian states (with New South Wales being the richest on this continent) and several North American regions (of which California with 1753 naturalized plant species represents the world’s richest region in terms of naturalized alien vascular plants). England, Japan, New Zealand and the Hawaiian archipelago harbour most naturalized plants among islands or island groups. These regions also form the main hotspots of the regional levels of naturalization, measured as the percentage of naturalized aliens in the total flora of the region. Such hotspots of relative naturalized species richness appear on both the western and eastern coasts of North America, in north-western Europe, South Africa, south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and India. High levels of island invasions by naturalized plants are concentrated in the Pacific, but also occur on individual islands across all oceans. The numbers of naturalized species are closely correlated with those of native species, with a stronger correlation and steeper increase for islands than mainland regions, indicating a greater vulnerability of islands to invasion by species that become successfully naturalized. South Africa, India, California, Cuba, Florida, Queensland and Japan have the highest numbers of invasive species. Regions in temperate and tropical zonobiomes harbour in total 9036 and 6774 naturalized species, respectively, followed by 3280 species naturalized in the Mediterranean zonobiome, 3057 in the subtropical zonobiome and 321 in the Arctic. The New World is richer in naturalized alien plants, with 9905 species compared to 7923 recorded in the Old World. While isolation is the key factor driving the level of naturalization on islands, zonobiomes differing in climatic regimes, and socioeconomy represented by per capita GDP, are central for mainland regions. The 11 most widely distributed species each occur in regions covering about one third of the globe or more in terms of the number of regions where they are naturalized and at least 35% of the Earth’s land surface in terms of those regions’ areas, with the most widely distributed species Sonchus oleraceus occuring in 48% of the regions that cover 42% of the world area. Other widely distributed species are Ricinus communis, Oxalis corniculata, Portulaca oleracea, Eleusine indica, Chenopodium album, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Stellaria media, Bidens pilosa, Datura stramonium and Echinochloa crus-galli. Using the occurrence as invasive rather than only naturalized yields a different ranking, with Lantana camara (120 regions out of 349 for which data on invasive status are known), Calotropis procera (118), Eichhornia crassipes (113), Sonchus oleraceus (108) and Leucaena leucocephala (103) on top. As to the life-history spectra, islands harbour more naturalized woody species (34.4%) thanmainland regions (29.5%), and fewer annual herbs (18.7% compared to 22.3%). Ranking families by their absolute numbers of naturalized species reveals that Compositae (1343 species), Poaceae (1267) and Leguminosae (1189) contribute most to the global naturalized alien flora. Some families are disproportionally represented by naturalized aliens on islands (Arecaceae, Araceae, Acanthaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae, Convolvulaceae, Rubiaceae, Malvaceae), and much fewer so on mainland (e.g. Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Boraginaceae). Relating the numbers of naturalized species in a family to its total global richness shows that some of the large species-rich families are over-represented among naturalized aliens (e.g. Poaceae, Leguminosae, Rosaceae, Amaranthaceae, Pinaceae), some under-represented (e.g. Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae), whereas the one richest in naturalized species, Compositae, reaches a value expected from its global species richness. Significant phylogenetic signal indicates that families with an increased potential of their species to naturalize are not distributed randomly on the evolutionary tree. Solanum (112 species), Euphorbia (108) and Carex (106) are the genera richest in terms of naturalized species; over-represented on islands are Cotoneaster, Juncus, Eucalyptus, Salix, Hypericum, Geranium and Persicaria, while those relatively richer in naturalized species on the mainland are Atriplex, Opuntia, Oenothera, Artemisia, Vicia, Galium and Rosa. The data presented in this paper also point to where information is lacking and set priorities for future data collection. The GloNAF database has potential for designing concerted action to fill such data gaps, and provide a basis for allocating resources most efficiently towards better understanding and management of plant invasions worldwide. KW - alien species KW - distribution KW - Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database KW - invasive species KW - islands KW - life history KW - mainland KW - naturalized species KW - phylogeny KW - plant invasion KW - regional floras KW - species richness KW - taxonomy KW - zonobiome Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.23855/preslia.2017.203 SN - 0032-7786 VL - 89 IS - 3 SP - 203 EP - 274 PB - Czech Botanical Soc. CY - Praha ER - TY - THES A1 - Zeng, Ting T1 - Nanoparticles promoted biocatalysis BT - Electrochemical investigation of human sulfite oxidase on nanoparticles modified electrodes Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Peng, Xingzhou T1 - Multiphase polymers based on polydepsipeptides as a multifunctional materials platform Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maddock, Simon T. A1 - Childerstone, Aaron A1 - Fry, Bryan Grieg A1 - Williams, David J. A1 - Barlow, Axel A1 - Wuester, Wolfgang T1 - Multi-locus phylogeny and species delimitation of Australo-Papuan blacksnakes (Pseudechis Wagler, 1830: Elapidae: Serpentes) JF - Molecular phylogenetics and evolution N2 - Genetic analyses of Australasian organisms have resulted in the identification of extensive cryptic diversity across the continent. The venomous elapid snakes are among the best-studied organismal groups in this region, but many knowledge gaps persist: for instance, despite their iconic status, the species-level diversity among Australo-Papuan blacksnakes (Pseudechis) has remained poorly understood due to the existence of a group of cryptic species within the P. australis species complex, collectively termed "pygmy mulga snakes". Using two mitochondrial and three nuclear loci we assess species boundaries within the genus using Bayesian species delimitation methods and reconstruct their phylogenetic history using multispecies coalescent approaches. Our analyses support the recognition of 10 species, including all of the currently described pygmy mulga snakes and one undescribed species from the Northern Territory of Australia. Phylogenetic relationships within the genus are broadly consistent with previous work, with the recognition of three major groups, the viviparous red-bellied black snake P. porphyriacus forming the sister species to two clades consisting of ovoviviparous species. KW - Australia KW - New Guinea KW - Molecular phylogenetics KW - BPP KW - Snakes KW - Multispecies coalescent Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.09.005 SN - 1055-7903 SN - 1095-9513 VL - 107 SP - 48 EP - 55 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klose, Sascha Peter A1 - Rolke, Daniel A1 - Baumann, Otto T1 - Morphogenesis of honeybee hypopharyngeal gland during pupal development JF - Frontiers in zoology N2 - Background The hypopharyngeal gland of worker bees contributes to the production of the royal jelly fed to queens and larvae. The gland consists of thousands of two-cell units that are composed of a secretory cell and a duct cell and that are arranged in sets of about 12 around a long collecting duct. Results By fluorescent staining, we have examined the morphogenesis of the hypopharyngeal gland during pupal life, from a saccule lined by a pseudostratified epithelium to the elaborate organ of adult worker bees. The hypopharyngeal gland develops as follows. (1) Cell proliferation occurs during the first day of pupal life in the hypopharyngeal gland primordium. (2) Subsequently, the epithelium becomes organized into rosette-like units of three cells. Two of these will become the secretory cell and the duct cell of the adult secretory units; the third cell contributes only temporarily to the development of the secretory units and is eliminated by apoptosis in the second half of pupal life. (3) The three-cell units of flask-shaped cells undergo complex changes in cell morphology. Thus, by mid-pupal stage, the gland is structurally similar to the adult hypopharyngeal gland. (4) Concomitantly, the prospective secretory cell attains its characteristic subcellular organization by the invagination of a small patch of apical membrane domain, its extension to a tube of about 100 μm in length (termed a canaliculus), and the expansion of the tube to a diameter of about 3 μm. (6) Finally, the canaliculus-associated F-actin system becomes reorganized into rings of bundled actin filaments that are positioned at regular distances along the membrane tube. Conclusions The morphogenesis of the secretory units in the hypopharyngeal gland of the worker bee seems to be based on a developmental program that is conserved, with slight modification, among insects for the production of dermal glands. Elaboration of the secretory cell as a unicellular seamless epithelial tube occurs by invagination of the apical membrane, its extension likely by targeted exocytosis and its expansion, and finally the reorganisation of the membrane-associated F-actin system. Our work is fundamental for future studies of environmental effects on hypopharyngeal gland morphology and development. KW - Exocrine gland KW - Insect KW - Epithelial tube KW - Organogenesis KW - Cell polarity KW - Actin cytoskeleton KW - Apoptosis KW - Invagination Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-017-0207-z SN - 1742-9994 VL - 14 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leimkühler, Silke A1 - Mendel, Ralf-Rainer T1 - Molybdenum Cofactor Biosynthesis JF - Molybdenum and tungsten enzymes: biochemistry N2 - The biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor (Moco) is highly conserved among all kingdoms of life. In all molybdoenzymes with the exception of nitrogenase, the molybdenum atom is coordinated to a dithiolene group present in the pterin-based 6-alkyl side chain of molybdopterin (MPT). In general, the biosynthesis of Moco can be divided into three steps in eukaryotes, and four steps in bacteria and archaea: (i) the starting point is the formation of the cyclic pyranopterin monophosphate (cPMP) from 5′GTP, (ii) in the second step the two sulfur molecules are inserted into cPMP leading to the formation of MPT, (iii) in the third step the molybdenum atom is inserted into molybdopterin to form Moco and (iv) additional modification of Moco occurs in bacteria and archaea with the attachment of a nucleotide (CMP or GMP) to the phosphate group of MPT, forming the dinucleotide variants of Moco. This review will focus on the biosynthesis of Moco in bacteria, humans and plants. Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-78262-391-5 SN - 978-1-78262-089-1 SN - 978-1-78262-881-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/9781782623915 VL - 5 SP - 100 EP - 116 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Zhengdong A1 - Xu, Xun A1 - Wang, Weiwei A1 - Kratz, Karl A1 - Sun, Xianlei A1 - Zou, Jie A1 - Deng, Zijun A1 - Jung, Friedrich Wilhelm A1 - Gossen, Manfred A1 - Ma, Nan A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Modulation of the mesenchymal stem cell migration capacity via preconditioning with topographic microstructure JF - Clinical hemorheology and microcirculation : blood flow and vessels N2 - Controlling mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) behavior is necessary to fully exploit their therapeutic potential. Various approaches are employed to effectively influence the migration capacity of MSCs. Here, topographic microstructures with different microscale roughness were created on polystyrene (PS) culture vessel surfaces as a feasible physical preconditioning strategy to modulate MSC migration. By analyzing trajectories of cells migrating after reseeding, we demonstrated that the mobilization velocity of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) could be promoted by and persisted after brief preconditioning with the appropriate microtopography. Moreover, the elevated activation levels of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in hADSCs were also observed during and after the preconditioning process. These findings underline the potential enhancement of in vivo therapeutic efficacy in regenerative medicine via transplantation of topographic microstructure preconditioned stem cells. KW - Mesenchymal stem cells KW - precondition KW - microstructure KW - migration KW - FAK-MAPK Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3233/CH-179208 SN - 1386-0291 SN - 1875-8622 VL - 67 SP - 267 EP - 278 PB - IOS Press CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reeg, Jette A1 - Schad, Thorsten A1 - Preuss, Thomas G. A1 - Solga, Andreas A1 - Körner, Katrin A1 - Mihan, Christine A1 - Jeltsch, Florian T1 - Modelling direct and indirect effects of herbicides on non-target grassland communities JF - Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog N2 - Natural grassland communities are threatened by a variety of factors, such as climate change and increasing land use by mankind. The use of plant protection products (synthetic or organic) is mandatory in agricultural food production. To avoid adverse effects on natural grasslands within agricultural areas, synthetic plant protection products are strictly regulated in Europe. However, effects of herbicides on non-target terrestrial plants are primarily studied on the level of individual plants neglecting interactions between species. In our study, we aim to extrapolate individual-level effects to the population and community level by adapting an existing spatio-temporal, individual-based plant community model (IBC-grass). We analyse the effects of herbicide exposure for three different grassland communities: 1) representative field boundary community, 2) Calthion grassland community, and 3) Arrhenatheretalia grassland community. Our simulations show that herbicide depositions can have effects on non-target plant communities resulting from direct and indirect effects on population level. The effect extent depends not only on the distance to the field, but also on the specific plant community, its disturbance regime (cutting frequency, trampling and grazing intensity) and resource level. Mechanistic modelling approaches such as IBC-grass present a promising novel approach in transferring and extrapolating standardized pot experiments to community level and thereby bridging the gap between ecotoxicological testing (e.g. in the greenhouse) and protection goals referring to real world conditions. KW - Plant community modelling KW - Herbicide exposure KW - Landscape KW - Non-target terrestrial plants KW - Field margins Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.01.010 SN - 0304-3800 SN - 1872-7026 VL - 348 SP - 44 EP - 55 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - THES A1 - Knecht, Volker T1 - Modeling Biomolecular Association Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Groth, Detlef T1 - Modeling a secular trend by Monte Carlo simulation of height biased migration in a spatial network JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Background: In a recent Monte Carlo simulation, the clustering of body height of Swiss military conscripts within a spatial network with characteristic features of the natural Swiss geography was investigated. In this study I examined the effect of migration of tall individuals into network hubs on the dynamics of body height within the whole spatial network. The aim of this study was to simulate height trends. Material and methods: Three networks were used for modeling, a regular rectangular fishing net like network, a real world example based on the geographic map of Switzerland, and a random network. All networks contained between 144 and 148 districts and between 265-307 road connections. Around 100,000 agents were initially released with average height of 170 cm, and height standard deviation of 6.5 cm. The simulation was started with the a priori assumption that height variation within a district is limited and also depends on height of neighboring districts (community effect on height). In addition to a neighborhood influence factor, which simulates a community effect, body height dependent migration of conscripts between adjacent districts in each Monte Carlo simulation was used to re-calculate next generation body heights. In order to determine the direction of migration for taller individuals, various centrality measures for the evaluation of district importance within the spatial network were applied. Taller individuals were favored to migrate more into network hubs, backward migration using the same number of individuals was random, not biased towards body height. Network hubs were defined by the importance of a district within the spatial network. The importance of a district was evaluated by various centrality measures. In the null model there were no road connections, height information could not be delivered between the districts. Results: Due to the favored migration of tall individuals into network hubs, average body height of the hubs, and later, of the whole network increased by up to 0.1 cm per iteration depending on the network model. The general increase in height within the network depended on connectedness and on the amount of height information that was exchanged between neighboring districts. If higher amounts of neighborhood height information were exchanged, the general increase in height within the network was large (strong secular trend). The trend in the homogeneous fishnet like network was lowest, the trend in the random network was highest. Yet, some network properties, such as the heteroscedasticity and autocorrelations of the migration simulation models differed greatly from the natural features observed in Swiss military conscript networks. Autocorrelations of district heights for instance, were much higher in the migration models. Conclusion: This study confirmed that secular height trends can be modeled by preferred migration of tall individuals into network hubs. However, basic network properties of the migration simulation models differed greatly from the natural features observed in Swiss military conscripts. Similar network-based data from other countries should be explored to better investigate height trends with Monte Carlo migration approach. KW - secular trend KW - body height KW - simulation KW - community effect KW - Monte Carlo method KW - network Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2017/0703 SN - 0003-5548 SN - 2363-7099 VL - 74 IS - 1 SP - 81 EP - 88 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Marco F. T1 - miRNA Targeting Drugs BT - the next blockbusters? JF - Drug Target miRNA: Methods and Protocols N2 - Only 20 years after the discovery of small non-coding, single-stranded ribonucleic acids, so-called microRNAs (miRNAs), as post-transcriptional gene regulators, the first miRNA-targeting drug Miravirsen for the treatment of hepatitis C has been successfully tested in clinical Phase II trials. Addressing miRNAs as drug targets may enable the cure, or at least the treatment of diseases, which presently seems impossible. However, due to miRNAs’ chemical structure, generation of potential drug molecules with necessary pharmacokinetic properties is still challenging and requires a re-thinking of the drug discovery process. Therefore, this chapter highlights the potential of miRNAs as drug targets, discusses the challenges, and tries to give a complete overview of recent strategies in miRNA drug discovery. KW - miRNA KW - Drug discovery KW - microRNA-induced silencing complex KW - Antisense agents KW - Small-molecule miRNA modulators KW - Argonaute 2 protein Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-4939-6563-2 SN - 978-1-4939-6561-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6563-2_1 SN - 1064-3745 SN - 1940-6029 VL - 1517 SP - 3 EP - 22 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Ester M. A1 - Di Cesare, Andrea A1 - Kettner, Marie Therese A1 - Arias-Andres, Maria A1 - Fontaneto, Diego A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Corno, Gianluca T1 - Microplastics increase impact of treated wastewater on freshwater microbial community JF - Environmental pollution N2 - Plastic pollution is a major global concern with several million microplastic particles entering every day freshwater ecosystems via wastewater discharge. Microplastic particles stimulate biofilm formation (plastisphere) throughout the water column and have the potential to affect microbial community structure if they accumulate in pelagic waters, especially enhancing the proliferation of biohazardous bacteria. To test this scenario, we simulated the inflow of treated wastewater into a temperate lake using a continuous culture system with a gradient of concentration of microplastic particles. We followed the effect of microplastics on the microbial community structure and on the occurrence of integrase 1 (intl), a marker associated with mobile genetic elements known as a proxy for anthropogenic effects on the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes. The abundance of intl increased in the plastisphere with increasing microplastic particle concentration, but not in the water surrounding the microplastic particles. Likewise, the microbial community on microplastic was more similar to the original wastewater community with increasing microplastic concentrations. Our results show that microplastic particles indeed promote persistence of typical indicators of microbial anthropogenic pollution in natural waters, and substantiate that their removal from treated wastewater should be prioritised. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Microplastics KW - Anthropogenic pollution KW - Treated wastewater KW - Freshwater microbial communities KW - Integrase 1 KW - Biofilm Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.11.070 SN - 0269-7491 SN - 1873-6424 VL - 234 SP - 495 EP - 502 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Raatz, Michael A1 - Weikl, Thomas R. T1 - Membrane Tubulation by Elongated and Patchy Nanoparticles JF - Advanced materials interfaces N2 - Advances in nanotechnology lead to an increasing interest in how nanoparticles interact with biomembranes. Nanoparticles are wrapped spontaneously by biomembranes if the adhesive interactions between the particles and membranes compensate for the cost of membrane bending. In the last years, the cooperative wrapping of spherical nanoparticles in membrane tubules has been observed in experiments and simulations. For spherical nanoparticles, the stability of the particle-filled membrane tubules strongly depends on the range of the adhesive particle-membrane interactions. In this article, it is shown via modeling and energy minimization that elongated and patchy particles are wrapped cooperatively in membrane tubules that are highly stable for all ranges of the particle-membrane interactions, compared to individual wrapping of the particles. The cooperative wrapping of linear chains of elongated or patchy particles in membrane tubules may thus provide an efficient route to induce membrane tubulation, or to store such particles in membranes. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201600325 SN - 2196-7350 VL - 4 IS - 1 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cabral, Juliano Sarmento A1 - Valente, Luis A1 - Hartig, Florian T1 - Mechanistic simulation models in macroecology and biogeography BT - state-of-art and prospects JF - Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology N2 - Macroecology and biogeography are concerned with understanding biodiversity patterns across space and time. In the past, the two disciplines have addressed this question mainly with correlative approaches, despite frequent calls for more mechanistic explanations. Recent advances in computational power, theoretical understanding, and statistical tools are, however, currently facilitating the development of more system-oriented, mechanistic models. We review these models, identify different model types and theoretical frameworks, compare their processes and properties, and summarize emergent findings. We show that ecological (physiology, demographics, dispersal, biotic interactions) and evolutionary processes, as well as environmental and human-induced drivers, are increasingly modelled mechanistically; and that new insights into biodiversity dynamics emerge from these models. Yet, substantial challenges still lie ahead for this young research field. Among these, we identify scaling, calibration, validation, and balancing complexity as pressing issues. Moreover, particular process combinations are still understudied, and so far models tend to be developed for specific applications. Future work should aim at developing more flexible and modular models that not only allow different ecological theories to be expressed and contrasted, but which are also built for tight integration with all macroecological data sources. Moving the field towards such a ‘systems macroecology’ will test and improve our understanding of the causal pathways through which eco-evolutionary processes create diversity patterns across spatial and temporal scales. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02480 SN - 0906-7590 SN - 1600-0587 VL - 40 IS - 2 SP - 267 EP - 280 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bhat, Javaid Y. A1 - Milicic, Goran A1 - Thieulin-Pardo, Gabriel A1 - Bracher, Andreas A1 - Maxwell, Andrew A1 - Ciniawsky, Susanne A1 - Müller-Cajar, Oliver A1 - Engen, John R. A1 - Hartl, F. Ulrich A1 - Wendler, Petra A1 - Hayer-Hartl, Manajit T1 - Mechanism of Enzyme Repair by the AAA(+) Chaperone Rubisco Activase JF - Molecular cell N2 - How AAA(+) chaperones conformationally remodel specific target proteins in an ATP-dependent manner is not well understood. Here, we investigated the mechanism of the AAA(+) protein Rubisco activase (Rca) in metabolic repair of the photosynthetic enzyme Rubisco, a complex of eight large (RbcL) and eight small (RbcS) subunits containing eight catalytic sites. Rubisco is prone to inhibition by tight-binding sugar phosphates, whose removal is catalyzed by Rca. We engineered a stable Rca hexamer ring and analyzed its functional interaction with Rubisco. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange and chemical crosslinking showed that Rca structurally destabilizes elements of the Rubisco active site with remarkable selectivity. Cryo-electron microscopy revealed that Rca docks onto Rubisco over one active site at a time, positioning the C-terminal strand of RbcL, which stabilizes the catalytic center, for access to the Rca hexamer pore. The pulling force of Rca is fine-tuned to avoid global destabilization and allow for precise enzyme repair. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2017.07.004 SN - 1097-2765 SN - 1097-4164 VL - 67 SP - 744 EP - 756 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - THES A1 - Swart, Corné T1 - Managing protein activity in A. thaliana BT - A proteomic approach to understanding SUMOylation as well as the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fayyaz, Susann A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Wigger, Dominik A1 - Schulz, Tim Julius A1 - Haubold, Kathrin A1 - Gulbins, Erich A1 - Völler, Heinz A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard T1 - Lysophosphatidic acid inhibits insulin signaling in primary rat hepatocytes via the LPA(3) receptor subtype and is increased in obesity JF - Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology N2 - Background/Aims: Obesity is a main risk factor for the development of hepatic insulin resistance and it is accompanied by adipocyte hypertrophy and an elevated expression of different adipokines such as autotaxin (ATX). ATX converts lysophosphatidylcholine to lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and acts as the main producer of extracellular LPA. This bioactive lipid regulates a broad range of physiological and pathological responses by activation of LPA receptors (LPA1-6). Methods: The activation of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) signaling (Akt and GSK-3ß) was analyzed via western blotting in primary rat hepatocytes. Incorporation of glucose into glycogen was measured by using radio labeled glucose. Real-time PCR analysis and pharmacological modulation of LPA receptors were performed. Human plasma LPA levels of obese (BMI > 30, n = 18) and normal weight individuals (BMI 18.5-25, n = 14) were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results: Pretreatment of primary hepatocytes with LPA resulted in an inhibition of insulin-mediated Gck expression, PI3K activation and glycogen synthesis. Pharmacological approaches revealed that the LPA3-receptor subtype is responsible for the inhibitory effect of LPA on insulin signaling. Moreover, human plasma LPA concentrations (16: 0 LPA) of obese participants (BMI > 30) are significantly elevated in comparison to normal weight individuals (BMI 18.5-25). Conclusion: LPA is able to interrupt insulin signaling in primary rat hepatocytes via the LPA3 receptor subtype. Moreover, the bioactive lipid LPA (16: 0) is increased in obesity. KW - Lysophosphatidic acid KW - Insulin signaling KW - Adipose tissue KW - Autotaxin KW - Hepatic insulin resistance KW - LPA(3) receptor subtype Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000480470 SN - 1015-8987 SN - 1421-9778 VL - 43 SP - 445 EP - 456 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gisder, Sebastian A1 - Schüler, Vivian A1 - Horchler, Lennart L. A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Genersch, Elke T1 - Long-Term Temporal Trends of Nosema spp. Infection Prevalence in Northeast Germany BT - Continuous Spread of Nosema ceranae, an Emerging Pathogen of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), but No General Replacement of Nosema apis JF - Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology N2 - The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is widely used as commercial pollinator in worldwide agriculture and, therefore, plays an important role in global food security. Among the parasites and pathogens threatening health and survival of honey bees are two species of microsporidia, Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. Nosema ceranae is considered an emerging pathogen of the Western honey bee. Reports on the spread of N. ceranae suggested that this presumably highly virulent species is replacing its more benign congener N. apis in the global A. mellifera population. We here present a 12 year longitudinal cohort study on the prevalence of N. apis and N. ceranae in Northeast Germany. Between 2005 and 2016, a cohort of about 230 honey bee colonies originating from 23 apiaries was sampled twice a year (spring and autumn) resulting in a total of 5,600 bee samples which were subjected to microscopic and molecular analysis for determining the presence of infections with N. apis or/and N. ceranae. Throughout the entire study period, both N. apis- and N. ceranae-infections could be diagnosed within the cohort. Logistic regression analysis of the prevalence data demonstrated a significant increase of N. ceranae-infections over the last 12 years, both in autumn (reflecting the development during the summer) and in spring (reflecting the development over winter) samples. Cell culture experiments confirmed that N. ceranae has a higher proliferative potential than N. apis at 27. and 33 degrees C potentially explaining the increase in N. ceranae prevalence during summer. In autumn, characterized by generally low infection prevalence, this increase was accompanied by a significant decrease in N. apis- infection prevalence. In contrast, in spring, the season with a higher prevalence of infection, no significant decrease of N. apis infections despite a significant increase in N. ceranae infections could be observed. Therefore, our data do not support a general advantage of N. ceranae over N. apis and an overall replacement of N. apis by N. ceranae in the studied honey bee population. KW - honey bee KW - Apis mellifera KW - Nosema spp. KW - epidemiology KW - replacement Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00301 SN - 2235-2988 VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER -