TY - JOUR A1 - De Lombaerde, Emiel A1 - Verheyen, Kris A1 - Perring, Michael P. A1 - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus A1 - Van Calster, Hans A1 - Brunet, Jorg A1 - Chudomelova, Marketa A1 - Decocq, Guillaume A1 - Diekmann, Martin A1 - Durak, Tomasz A1 - Hedl, Radim A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Hommel, Patrick A1 - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan A1 - Kopecky, Martin A1 - Lenoir, Jonathan A1 - Macek, Martin A1 - Máliš, František A1 - Mitchell, Fraser J. G. A1 - Naaf, Tobias A1 - Newman, Miles A1 - Petřík, Petr A1 - Reczyńska, Kamila A1 - Schmidt, Wolfgang A1 - Swierkosz, Krzysztof A1 - Vild, Ondrej A1 - Wulf, Monika A1 - Baetena, Lander T1 - Responses of competitive understorey species to spatial environmental gradients inaccurately explain temporal changes JF - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie N2 - Understorey plant communities play a key role in the functioning of forest ecosystems. Under favourable environmental conditions, competitive understorey species may develop high abundances and influence important ecosystem processes such as tree regeneration. Thus, understanding and predicting the response of competitive understorey species as a function of changing environmental conditions is important for forest managers. In the absence of sufficient temporal data to quantify actual vegetation changes, space-for-time (SFT) substitution is often used, i.e. studies that use environmental gradients across space to infer vegetation responses to environmental change over time. Here we assess the validity of such SFT approaches and analysed 36 resurvey studies from ancient forests with low levels of recent disturbances across temperate Europe to assess how six competitive understorey plant species respond to gradients of overstorey cover, soil conditions, atmospheric N deposition and climatic conditions over space and time. The combination of historical and contemporary surveys allows (i) to test if observed contemporary patterns across space are consistent at the time of the historical survey, and, crucially, (ii) to assess whether changes in abundance over time given recorded environmental change match expectations from patterns recorded along environmental gradients in space. We found consistent spatial relationships at the two periods: local variation in soil variables and overstorey cover were the best predictors of individual species’ cover while interregional variation in coarse-scale variables, i.e. N deposition and climate, was less important. However, we found that our SFT approach could not accurately explain the large variation in abundance changes over time. We thus recommend to be cautious when using SFT substitution to infer species responses to temporal changes. KW - Temperate forest KW - Herb layer KW - Tree regeneration KW - Global change KW - Nitrogen deposition KW - Canopy KW - Spatiotemporal resurvey data KW - Cover abundance KW - Chronosequence KW - forestREplot Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2018.05.013 SN - 1439-1791 SN - 1618-0089 VL - 30 SP - 52 EP - 64 PB - Elsevier GMBH CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Muhl, Rika M. W. A1 - Roelke, Daniel L. A1 - Zohary, Tamar A1 - Moustaka-Gouni, Maria A1 - Sommer, Ulrich A1 - Borics, Gabor A1 - Gaedke, Ursula A1 - Withrow, Frances G. A1 - Bhattacharyya, Joydeb T1 - Resisting annihilation BT - relationships between functional trait dissimilarity, assemblage competitive power and allelopathy JF - Ecology letters N2 - Allelopathic species can alter biodiversity. Using simulated assemblages that are characterised by neutrality, lumpy coexistence and intransitivity, we explore relationships between within-assemblage competitive dissimilarities and resistance to allelopathic species. An emergent behaviour from our models is that assemblages are more resistant to allelopathy when members strongly compete exploitatively (high competitive power). We found that neutral assemblages were the most vulnerable to allelopathic species, followed by lumpy and then by intransitive assemblages. We find support for our modeling in real-world time-series data from eight lakes of varied morphometry and trophic state. Our analysis of this data shows that a lake's history of allelopathic phytoplankton species biovolume density and dominance is related to the number of species clusters occurring in the plankton assemblages of those lakes, an emergent trend similar to that of our modeling. We suggest that an assemblage's competitive power determines its allelopathy resistance. KW - Allelopathy KW - exploitative competition KW - interference competition KW - intransitivity KW - lumpy coexistence KW - neutrality KW - species supersaturated assemblages Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13109 SN - 1461-023X SN - 1461-0248 VL - 21 IS - 9 SP - 1390 EP - 1400 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klauschies, Toni A1 - Coutinho, Renato Mendes A1 - Gaedke, Ursula T1 - A beta distribution-based moment closure enhances the reliability of trait-based aggregate models for natural populations and communities JF - Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog N2 - Ecological communities are complex adaptive systems that exhibit remarkable feedbacks between their biomass and trait dynamics. Trait-based aggregate models cope with this complexity by focusing on the temporal development of the community’s aggregate properties such as its total biomass, mean trait and trait variance. They are based on particular assumptions about the shape of the underlying trait distribution, which is commonly assumed to be normal. However, ecologically important traits are usually restricted to a finite range, and empirical trait distributions are often skewed or multimodal. As a result, normal distribution-based aggregate models may fail to adequately represent the biomass and trait dynamics of natural communities. We resolve this mismatch by developing a new moment closure approach assuming the trait values to be beta-distributed. We show that the beta distribution captures important shape properties of both observed and simulated trait distributions, which cannot be captured by a Gaussian. We further demonstrate that a beta distribution-based moment closure can strongly enhance the reliability of trait-based aggregate models. We compare the biomass, mean trait and variance dynamics of a full trait distribution (FD) model to the ones of beta (BA) and normal (NA) distribution-based aggregate models, under different selection regimes. This way, we demonstrate under which general conditions (stabilizing, fluctuating or disruptive selection) different aggregate models are reliable tools. All three models predicted very similar biomass and trait dynamics under stabilizing selection yielding unimodal trait distributions with small standing trait variation. We also obtained an almost perfect match between the results of the FD and BA models under fluctuating selection, promoting skewed trait distributions and ongoing oscillations in the biomass and trait dynamics. In contrast, the NA model showed unrealistic trait dynamics and exhibited different alternative stable states, and thus a high sensitivity to initial conditions under fluctuating selection. Under disruptive selection, both aggregate models failed to reproduce the results of the FD model with the mean trait values remaining within their ecologically feasible ranges in the BA model but not in the NA model. Overall, a beta distribution-based moment closure strongly improved the realism of trait-based aggregate models. KW - Moment closure KW - Normal and beta distribution KW - Skewed and peaked trait distributions KW - Fitness landscape and frequency-dependent selection KW - Eco-evolutionary dynamics KW - Modelling functional diversity Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.02.001 SN - 0304-3800 SN - 1872-7026 VL - 381 SP - 46 EP - 77 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Oprzeska-Zingrebe, Ewa Anna A1 - Meyer, Susann A1 - Roloff, Alexander A1 - Kunte, Hans-Jörg A1 - Smiatek, Jens T1 - Influence of compatible solute ectoine on distinct DNA structures BT - thermodynamic insights into molecular binding mechanisms and destabilization effects JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - In nature, the cellular environment of DNA includes not only water and ions, but also other components and co-solutes, which can exert both stabilizing and destabilizing effects on particular oligonucleotide conformations. Among them, ectoine, known as an important osmoprotectant organic co-solute in a broad range of pharmaceutical products, turns out to be of particular relevance. In this article, we study the influence of ectoine on a short single-stranded DNA fragment and on double-stranded helical B-DNA in aqueous solution by means of atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in combination with molecular theories of solution. Our results demonstrate a conformation-dependent binding behavior of ectoine, which favors the unfolded state of DNA by a combination of electrostatic and dispersion interactions. In conjunction with the Kirkwood-Buff theory, we introduce a simple framework to compute the influence of ectoine on the DNA melting temperature. Our findings reveal a significant linear decrease of the melting temperature with increasing ectoine concentration, which is found to be in qualitative agreement with results from denaturation experiments. The outcomes of our computer simulations provide a detailed mechanistic rationale for the surprising destabilizing influence of ectoine on distinct DNA structures. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cp03543a SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 20 IS - 40 SP - 25861 EP - 25874 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Randall, Matthew J. A1 - Jüngel, Astrid A1 - Rimann, Markus A1 - Wuertz-Kozak, Karin T1 - Advances in the biofabrication of 3D Skin in vitro BT - healthy and pathological models JF - Frontiers in Bioengineeringand Biotechnology N2 - The relevance for in vitro three-dimensional (3D) tissue culture of skin has been present for almost a century. From using skin biopsies in organ culture, to vascularized organotypic full-thickness reconstructed human skin equivalents, in vitro tissue regeneration of 3D skin has reached a golden era. However, the reconstruction of 3D skin still has room to grow and develop. The need for reproducible methodology, physiological structures and tissue architecture, and perfusable vasculature are only recently becoming a reality, though the addition of more complex structures such as glands and tactile corpuscles require advanced technologies. In this review, we will discuss the current methodology for biofabrication of 3D skin models and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the existing systems as well as emphasize how new techniques can aid in the production of a truly physiologically relevant skin construct for preclinical innovation. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2018.00154 SN - 2296-4185 VL - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jetzschmann, Katharina J. A1 - Yarman, Aysu A1 - Rustam, L. A1 - Kielb, P. A1 - Urlacher, V. B. A1 - Fischer, A. A1 - Weidinger, I. M. A1 - Wollenberger, Ulla A1 - Scheller, Frieder W. T1 - Molecular LEGO by domain-imprinting of cytochrome P450 BM3 JF - Colloids and surfaces : an international journal devoted to fundamental and applied research on colloid and interfacial phenomena in relation to systems of biological origin ; B, Biointerfaces N2 - Hypothesis: Electrosynthesis of the MIP nano-film after binding of the separated domains or holocytochrome BM3 via an engineered anchor should result in domain-specific cavities in the polymer layer. Experiments: Both the two domains and the holo P450 BM3 have been bound prior polymer deposition via a N-terminal engineered his6-anchor to the electrode surface. Each step of MIP preparation was characterized by cyclic voltammetry of the redox-marker ferricyanide. Rebinding after template removal was evaluated by quantifying the suppression of the diffusive permeability of the signal for ferricyanide and by the NADH-dependent reduction of cytochrome c by the reductase domain (BMR). Findings: The working hypothesis is verified by the discrimination of the two domains by the respective MIPs: The holoenzyme P450 BM3 was ca. 5.5 times more effectively recognized by the film imprinted with the oxidase domain (BMO) as compared to the BMR-MIP or the non-imprinted polymer (NIP). Obviously, a cavity is formed during the imprinting process around the hiss-tag-anchored BMR which cannot accommodate the broader BMO or the P450 BM3. The affinity of the MIP towards P450 BM3 is comparable with that to the monomer in solution. The hiss-tagged P450 BM3 binds (30 percent) stronger which shows the additive effect of the interaction with the MIP and the binding to the electrode. KW - Molecularly imprinted polymers KW - Protein imprinting KW - Electropolymerization KW - Cytochrome P450 Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2018.01.047 SN - 0927-7765 SN - 1873-4367 VL - 164 SP - 240 EP - 246 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Perring, Michael P. A1 - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus A1 - Baeten, Lander A1 - Midolo, Gabriele A1 - Blondeel, Haben A1 - Depauw, Leen A1 - Landuyt, Dries A1 - Maes, Sybryn L. A1 - De Lombaerde, Emiel A1 - Caron, Maria Mercedes A1 - Vellend, Mark A1 - Brunet, Joerg A1 - Chudomelova, Marketa A1 - Decocq, Guillaume A1 - Diekmann, Martin A1 - Dirnboeck, Thomas A1 - Doerfler, Inken A1 - Durak, Tomasz A1 - De Frenne, Pieter A1 - Gilliam, Frank S. A1 - Hedl, Radim A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Hommel, Patrick A1 - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan A1 - Kirby, Keith J. A1 - Kopecky, Martin A1 - Lenoir, Jonathan A1 - Li, Daijiang A1 - Malis, Frantisek A1 - Mitchell, Fraser J. G. A1 - Naaf, Tobias A1 - Newman, Miles A1 - Petrik, Petr A1 - Reczynska, Kamila A1 - Schmidt, Wolfgang A1 - Standovar, Tibor A1 - Swierkosz, Krzysztof A1 - Van Calster, Hans A1 - Vild, Ondrej A1 - Wagner, Eva Rosa A1 - Wulf, Monika A1 - Verheyen, Kris T1 - Global environmental change effects on plant community composition trajectories depend upon management legacies JF - Global change biology N2 - The contemporary state of functional traits and species richness in plant communities depends on legacy effects of past disturbances. Whether temporal responses of community properties to current environmental changes are altered by such legacies is, however, unknown. We expect global environmental changes to interact with land-use legacies given different community trajectories initiated by prior management, and subsequent responses to altered resources and conditions. We tested this expectation for species richness and functional traits using 1814 survey-resurvey plot pairs of understorey communities from 40 European temperate forest datasets, syntheses of management transitions since the year 1800, and a trait database. We also examined how plant community indicators of resources and conditions changed in response to management legacies and environmental change. Community trajectories were clearly influenced by interactions between management legacies from over 200 years ago and environmental change. Importantly, higher rates of nitrogen deposition led to increased species richness and plant height in forests managed less intensively in 1800 (i.e., high forests), and to decreases in forests with a more intensive historical management in 1800 (i.e., coppiced forests). There was evidence that these declines in community variables in formerly coppiced forests were ameliorated by increased rates of temperature change between surveys. Responses were generally apparent regardless of sites’ contemporary management classifications, although sometimes the management transition itself, rather than historic or contemporary management types, better explained understorey responses. Main effects of environmental change were rare, although higher rates of precipitation change increased plant height, accompanied by increases in fertility indicator values. Analysis of indicator values suggested the importance of directly characterising resources and conditions to better understand legacy and environmental change effects. Accounting for legacies of past disturbance can reconcile contradictory literature results and appears crucial to anticipating future responses to global environmental change. KW - biodiversity change KW - climate change KW - disturbance regime KW - forestREplot KW - herbaceous layer KW - management intensity KW - nitrogen deposition KW - plant functional traits KW - time lag KW - vegetation resurvey Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14030 SN - 1354-1013 SN - 1365-2486 VL - 24 IS - 4 SP - 1722 EP - 1740 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Keller, Sebastian A1 - Kunze, Cindy A1 - Bommer, Martin A1 - Paetz, Christian A1 - Menezes, Riya C. A1 - Svatos, Ales A1 - Dobbek, Holger A1 - Schubert, Torsten T1 - Selective Utilization of Benzimidazolyl-Norcobamides as Cofactors by the Tetrachloroethene Reductive Dehalogenase of Sulfurospirillum multivorans JF - Journal of bacteriology N2 - The organohalide-respiring bacterium Sulfurospirillum multivorans produces a unique cobamide, namely, norpseudo-B-12, which serves as cofactor of the tetrachloroethene (PCE) reductive dehalogenase (PceA). As previously reported, a replacement of the adeninyl moiety, the lower base of the cofactor, by exogenously applied 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole led to inactive PceA. To explore the general effect of benzimidazoles on the PCE metabolism, the susceptibility of the organism for guided biosynthesis of various singly substituted benzimidazolyl-norcobamides was investigated, and their use as cofactor by PceA was analyzed. Exogenously applied 5-methylbenzimidazole (5-MeBza), 5-hydroxybenzimidazole (5-OHBza), and 5-methoxybenzimidazole (5-OMeBza) were found to be efficiently incorporated as lower bases into norcobamides (NCbas). Structural analysis of the NCbas by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy uncovered a regioselectivity in the utilization of these precursors for NCba biosynthesis. When 5-MeBza was added, a mixture of 5-MeBza-norcobamide and 6-MeBza-norcobamide was formed, and the PceA enzyme activity was affected. In the presence of 5-OHBza, almost exclusively 6-OHBza-norcobamide was produced, while in the presence of 5-OMeBza, predominantly 5-OMeBza-norcobamide was detected. Both NCbas were incorporated into PceA, and no negative effect on the PceA activity was observed. In crystal structures of PceA, both NCbas were bound in the base-off mode with the 6-OHBza and 5-OMeBza lower bases accommodated by the same solvent-exposed hydrophilic pocket that harbors the adenine as the lower base of authentic norpseudo-B-12. In this study, a selective production of different norcobamide isomers containing singly substituted benzimidazoles as lower bases is shown, and unique structural insights into their utilization as co-factors by a cobamide-containing enzyme are provided. IMPORTANCE Guided biosynthesis of norcobamides containing singly substituted benzimidazoles as lower bases by the organohalide-respiring epsilonproteobacterium Sulfurospirillum multivorans is reported. An unprecedented specificity in the formation of norcobamide isomers containing hydroxylated or methoxylated benzimidazoles was observed that implicated a strict regioselectivity of the norcobamide biosynthesis in the organism. In contrast to 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazolyl-norcobamide, the incorporation of singly substituted benzimidazolyl-norcobamides as a cofactor into the tetrachloroethene reductive dehalogenase was not impaired. The enzyme was found to be functional with different isomers and not limited to the use of adeninyl-norcobamide. Structural analysis of the enzyme equipped with either adeninyl-or benzimidazolyl-norcobamide cofactors visualized for the first time structurally different cobamides bound in base-off conformation to the cofactor-binding site of a cobamide-containing enzyme. KW - benzimidazoles KW - corrinoid-containing enzymes KW - reductive dehalogenase KW - vitamin B-12 Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00584-17 SN - 0021-9193 SN - 1098-5530 VL - 200 IS - 8 PB - American Society for Microbiology CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hilonga, S. A1 - Otieno, Joseph N. A1 - Ghorbani, Abdolbaset A1 - Pereus, D. A1 - Kocyan, Alexander A1 - de Boer, H. T1 - Trade of wild-harvested medicinal plant species in local markets of Tanzania and its implications for conservation JF - South African journal of botany : an international interdisciplinary journal for botanical sciences N2 - In Tanzania, about 10% of the reported 12,000 species of higher plants are estimated to be used as medicine for treating different human health problems. Most of the medicinal plants are collected from wild populations, but their trade and quantities are not properly recorded. Monitoring of trade in wild-harvested medicinal plants is challenging asmostmaterials are traded in various processed forms and most vendors practice informal trade. Yet, monitoring is important for conservation and sustainability. This study aims to assess the trade of wild-harvested medicinal plant species in local markets of Tanzania and its implications for conservation. Semi-structured interviews were used to record frequency, volume of trade and uses of wild-harvested medicinal plants in Arusha, Dodoma, Mbeya, Morogoro and Mwanza regions. Relative frequency of citation and informant consensus factor were calculated for each species and mentioned use category. Forty vendors were interviewed, and 400 out of 522 collected market samples were identified to 162 species from herbarium-deposited collections. Plant parts with the largest volume of trade were roots (3818 kg), bark (1163 kg) and leaves (492 kg). The most frequently traded species were Zanthoxylum chalybaeum Engl., Albizia anthelmintica Brongn., Zanha africana (Radlk.) Exell, Warburgia stuhlmannii and Vachellia nilotica (L.) P.J.H. Hurter & Mabb. The most popular medicinal plants in the markets are connected to local health problems including malaria, libido disorders or infertility. The high diversity of commercialized plants used for medicinal issues mainly relies on wild stock for local consumption and international trade, and this has significant implications for conservation concerns. (C) 2018 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Ethnobotany KW - Medicinal plants KW - Tanzania KW - Trade chain Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.08.012 SN - 0254-6299 SN - 1727-9321 VL - 122 SP - 214 EP - 224 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pereus, D. A1 - Otieno, J. N. A1 - Ghorbani, Abdolbaset A1 - Kocyan, Alexander A1 - Hilonga, S. A1 - de Boer, H. J. T1 - Diversity of Hypoxis species used in ethnomedicine in Tanzania JF - South African journal of botany : an international interdisciplinary journal for botanical sciences N2 - The corms of different Hypoxis species (Hypoxidaceae) are used for the treatment and management of a variety of human ailments and disorders in African traditional medicine. However, the used corms are morphologically similar and it is not known whether this has resulted in different species being harvested, prescribed and sold as the same species. Ethnomedicinal information regarding its use in Tanzania is scanty and the available ethnobotanical information about the plants is mostly from various studies done outside Tanzania. The objective of the study was to document the diverse uses of Hypoxis in Tanzania and study what species are used and whether preferences exist for specific species. Focus group discussions and in depth interviews with informants were done in 15 regions of Tanzania to document local uses of Hypoxis species and collect vouchers for identification. Traditional practitioners use Hypoxis to manage a variety of human illness in Tanzania, and appear to use different species indiscriminately for medicine, socio-cultural applications and for food. Medicinal uses include treatment of benign prostate hypertrophy, cancer, diabetes, gout, headache, HIV/AIDS, infertility, ringworms, stomachache, and urinary tract infections. In Tanzania, different Hypoxis species are used indiscriminately for a range of sociocultural and medicinal purposes. The reported medicinal uses could aid testing and evaluation of traditional herbal medicine and more research is needed to test their pharmacological effects. (C) 2018 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Corms KW - Ethnobotany KW - Hypoxis KW - Tanzania KW - Traditional medicine Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.03.004 SN - 0254-6299 SN - 1727-9321 VL - 122 SP - 336 EP - 341 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prat, Tomas A1 - Hajny, Jakub A1 - Grunewald, Wim A1 - Vasileva, Mina A1 - Molnar, Gergely A1 - Tejos, Ricardo A1 - Schmid, Markus A1 - Sauer, Michael A1 - Friml, Jiří T1 - WRKY23 is a component of the transcriptional network mediating auxin feedback on PIN polarity JF - PLoS Genetics : a peer-reviewed, open-access journal N2 - Auxin is unique among plant hormones due to its directional transport that is mediated by the polarly distributed PIN auxin transporters at the plasma membrane. The canalization hypothesis proposes that the auxin feedback on its polar flow is a crucial, plant-specific mechanism mediating multiple self-organizing developmental processes. Here, we used the auxin effect on the PIN polar localization in Arabidopsis thaliana roots as a proxy for the auxin feedback on the PIN polarity during canalization. We performed microarray experiments to find regulators of this process that act downstream of auxin. We identified genes that were transcriptionally regulated by auxin in an AXR3/IAA17-and ARF7/ARF19-dependent manner. Besides the known components of the PIN polarity, such as PID and PIP5K kinases, a number of potential new regulators were detected, among which the WRKY23 transcription factor, which was characterized in more detail. Gain-and loss-of-function mutants confirmed a role for WRKY23 in mediating the auxin effect on the PIN polarity. Accordingly, processes requiring auxin-mediated PIN polarity rearrangements, such as vascular tissue development during leaf venation, showed a higher WRKY23 expression and required the WRKY23 activity. Our results provide initial insights into the auxin transcriptional network acting upstream of PIN polarization and, potentially, canalization-mediated plant development. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1007177 SN - 1553-7404 VL - 14 IS - 1 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lu, Yong-Ping A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - Prehn, Cornelia A1 - von Websky, Karoline A1 - Slowinski, Torsten A1 - Chen, You-Peng A1 - Yin, Liang-Hong A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Yang, Xue-Song A1 - Adamski, Jerzy A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Fetal serum metabolites are independently associated with Gestational diabetes mellitus JF - Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology N2 - Background/Aims: Gestational diabetes (GDM) might be associated with alterations in the metabolomic profile of affected mothers and their offspring. Until now, there is a paucity of studies that investigated both, the maternal and the fetal serum metabolome in the setting of GDM. Mounting evidence suggests that the fetus is not just passively affected by gestational disease but might play an active role in it. Metabolomic studies performed in maternal blood and fetal cord blood could help to better discern distinct fetal from maternal disease interactions. Methods: At the time of birth, serum samples from mothers and newborns (cord blood samples) were collected and screened for 163 metabolites utilizing tandem mass spectrometry. The cohort consisted of 412 mother/child pairs, including 31 cases of maternal GDM. Results: An initial non-adjusted analysis showed that eight metabolites in the maternal blood and 54 metabolites in the cord blood were associated with GDM. After Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) procedure and adjustment for confounding factors for GDM, fetal phosphatidylcholine acyl-alkyl C 32:1 and proline still showed an independent association with GDM. Conclusions: This study found metabolites in cord blood which were associated with GDM, even after adjustment for established risk factors of GDM. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating an independent association between fetal serum metabolites and maternal GDM. Our findings might suggest a potential effect of the fetal metabolome on maternal GDM. (c) 2018 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel KW - Gestational diabetes KW - Metabolomics KW - Phosphatidylcholine acyl-alkyl C 32:1 KW - Proline Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000487119 SN - 1015-8987 SN - 1421-9778 VL - 45 IS - 2 SP - 625 EP - 638 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Geiger, Daniel L. A1 - Kocyan, Alexander T1 - Studies on Oberonia 3. Aberrant flowers and other floral modifications in the orchid genus Oberonia JF - Nordic Journal of botany N2 - Orchid flowers are amongst the most conspicuous attractions that plants have generated over evolutionary epochs. However, organ homology in particular of androecium and gynoecium of orchid flowers have been, and are still, the subject of long-term discussion. Studies of aberrant - teratologic - flowers have traditionally helped to clarify organ identity in orchids. We here present for the first time teratological flowers within the florally smallest and inconspicuous orchid genus Oberonia and illustrate them by light and scanning electron microscopy. Pseudopeloria with half of a lateral petal transformed into a lip was found in O. costeriana J.J.Sm. and O. mucronata (D.Don) Ormerod & Seidenf. A supernumerary lip is known from O. mucronata. Oberonia rufilabris Lindl. is documented with multiple aberrations: triple gynostemium and a total of 10 tepals, twin flowers, and duplicate lips. We interpret these aberrations in light of known floral developmental and organ identity information. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/njb.01699 SN - 0107-055X SN - 1756-1051 VL - 36 IS - 1-2 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tejos, Ricardo A1 - Rodriguez-Furlan, Cecilia A1 - Adamowski, Maciej A1 - Sauer, Michael A1 - Norambuena, Lorena A1 - Friml, Jiri T1 - PATELLINS are regulators of auxin-mediated PIN1 relocation and plant development in Arabidopsis thaliana JF - Journal of cell science N2 - Coordinated cell polarization in developing tissues is a recurrent theme in multicellular organisms. In plants, a directional distribution of the plant hormone auxin is at the core of many developmental programs. A feedback regulation of auxin on the polarized localization of PIN auxin transporters in individual cells has been proposed as a self-organizing mechanism for coordinated tissue polarization, but the molecular mechanisms linking auxin signalling to PIN-dependent auxin transport remain unknown. We used a microarray-based approach to find regulators of the auxin-induced PIN relocation in Arabidopsis thaliana root, and identified a subset of a family of phosphatidylinositol transfer proteins (PITPs), the PATELLINs (PATLs). Here, we show that PATLs are expressed in partially overlapping cell types in different tissues going through mitosis or initiating differentiation programs. PATLs are plasma membrane-associated proteins accumulated in Arabidopsis embryos, primary roots, lateral root primordia and developing stomata. Higher order patl mutants display reduced PIN1 repolarization in response to auxin, shorter root apical meristem, and drastic defects in embryo and seedling development. This suggests that PATLs play a redundant and crucial role in polarity and patterning in Arabidopsis. KW - PATELLIN KW - Auxin KW - Arabidopsis thaliana KW - Auxin transport KW - Canalization Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.204198 SN - 0021-9533 SN - 1477-9137 VL - 131 IS - 2 PB - Company of Biologists Limited CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lukan, Tjaša A1 - Machens, Fabian A1 - Coll, Anna A1 - Baebler, Špela A1 - Messerschmidt, Katrin A1 - Gruden, Kristina T1 - Plant X-tender BT - an extension of the AssemblX system for the assembly and expression of multigene constructs in plants JF - PLOS ONE N2 - Cloning multiple DNA fragments for delivery of several genes of interest into the plant genome is one of the main technological challenges in plant synthetic biology. Despite several modular assembly methods developed in recent years, the plant biotechnology community has not widely adopted them yet, probably due to the lack of appropriate vectors and software tools. Here we present Plant X-tender, an extension of the highly efficient, scar-free and sequence-independent multigene assembly strategy AssemblX, based on overlap-depended cloning methods and rare-cutting restriction enzymes. Plant X-tender consists of a set of plant expression vectors and the protocols for most efficient cloning into the novel vector set needed for plant expression and thus introduces advantages of AssemblX into plant synthetic biology. The novel vector set covers different backbones and selection markers to allow full design flexibility. We have included ccdB counterselection, thereby allowing the transfer of multigene constructs into the novel vector set in a straightforward and highly efficient way. Vectors are available as empty backbones and are fully flexible regarding the orientation of expression cassettes and addition of linkers between them, if required. We optimised the assembly and subcloning protocol by testing different scar-less assembly approaches: the noncommercial SLiCE and TAR methods and the commercial Gibson assembly and NEBuilder HiFi DNA assembly kits. Plant X-tender was applicable even in combination with low efficient homemade chemically competent or electrocompetent Escherichia coli. We have further validated the developed procedure for plant protein expression by cloning two cassettes into the newly developed vectors and subsequently transferred them to Nicotiana benthamiana in a transient expression setup. Thereby we show that multigene constructs can be delivered into plant cells in a streamlined and highly efficient way. Our results will support faster introduction of synthetic biology into plant science. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190526 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 13 IS - 1 PB - Public Library of Science CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Özer, Aydan A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Affinity to host population stimulates physical growth in adult offspring of Turkish migrants in Germany JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Because of political conflicts and climate change, migration will be increased worldwide and integration in host societies is a challenge also for migrants. We hypothesize that migrants, who take up the challenge in a new social environment are taller than migrants who do not pose this challenge. We analyze by a questionnaire possible social, nutritional and ethnic influencing factors to body height (BH) of adult offspring of Turkish migrants (n = 82, 39 males) aged from 18 to 34 years (mean age 24.6 years). The results of multiple regression (downward selection) show that the more a male adult offspring of Turkish migrants feels like belonging to the Turkish culture, the smaller he is (95% CI, -3.79, -0.323). Further, the more a male adult offspring of Turkish migrants feels like belonging to the German culture, the taller he is (95% CI, -0.152, 1.738). We discussed it comparable to primates taking up their challenge in dominance, where as a result their body size increase is associated with higher IGF-1 level. IGF-1 is associated with emotional belonging and has a fundamental role in the regulation of metabolism and growth of the human body. With all pilot characteristics of our study results show that the successful challenge of integration in a new society is strongly associated with the emotional integration and identification in the sense of a personal sense of belonging to society. We discuss taller BH as a signal of social growth adjustment. In this sense, a secular trend of BH adaptation of migrants to hosts is a sign of integration. KW - height of Turkish migrants KW - social identification KW - strategic growth adjustments Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2018/0825 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 5 SP - 359 EP - 364 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bents, Dominik A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Satake, Takashi T1 - The secular trend and network effects on height of male Japanese students from 1955 to 2015 JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Introduction: Body height is influenced by biological factors such as genetics, nutrition and health, but also by the social network, and environmental and economical factors. During centuries, the Japanese society has developed on islands. This setting provides ideal natural conditions for studying the influence of social networks on human height. Material and methods: We investigated body height of male Japanese students aged 17.5 years obtained in 47 prefectures, from the Japanese school health survey of the years 1955, 1975, 1995, and 2015. Results: Japanese students increased in height from 163.23 cm in 1955 to 170.84 cm in 1995, with no further increase thereafter (170.63 cm in 2015). Students living in neighboring prefectures were similar in height. The correlation of height between neighboring prefectures ranged between r = 0.79 and r = 0.49 among first degree neighbors, between r = 0.49 and r = 0.21 among second degree neighbors and dropped to insignificance among third degree neighbors indicating psychosocial effects of the community on body height. Tall stature and short stature prefectures did not remain tall or short throughout history. Autocorrelations of height within the same prefectures decreased from the 20 years periods of 1955-1975, 1975-1995 and 1995-2015 (r = 0.52, r = 0.61, r = 0.63, respectively) to the 40 years periods of 1955-1995 and 1975-2015 (r = 0.49, r = 0.52), down to the 60 years period of 1955-2015 (r = 0.27), indicating significant volatility of height. Conclusion: Body height of 17.5 years old Japanese students increased since 1955. Body height depended on height of the neighboring prefecture, but was volatile with decreasing autocorrelation during a period of 60 years. KW - body height KW - community effect KW - neighbor correlation KW - Japan Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2018/0838 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 5 SP - 423 EP - 429 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Yuk-Chien A1 - Groth, Detlef T1 - Body height, social dominance and the political climate BT - a comment JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Background: The association between stature and social dominance is known. Dominance within social groups and current politics are related issues. We therefore aimed to compare estimates of the opinion of a population about their current political issues, with physical growth. Material and methods: We used data on the 2012 and the 2014 elections for the Japanese House of Representatives and the percent proportion of votes of the 47 prefectures of Japan, and regional data on body height of 17.5 year old men and women. Information on capita income, possession of mobile phones, urban/rural population ratio, and age distribution were added to capture socioeconomic factors. Four political parties were present in most of the 47 prefectures: the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the New Komeito Party (Kom) that is known for their social network community, and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP). Results: A dense network of associations exists between height, age distribution, per capita income, number of smartphones, and voting results. Male and female body height was inversely related with the proportion of votes for New Komeito Party. Average stature decreases by one mm per percent votes for this political party. Medium strong positive associations were found for male body height and voting results of the DPJ and for female body height with the JCP election results. Conclusion: In modern Japan, popular preferences for conservative political structures coincide with shorter stature. KW - stature KW - social dominance KW - strategic growth adjustments Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2018/0855 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 5 SP - 445 EP - 450 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tischew, Sabine A1 - Dierschke, Hartmut A1 - Schwabe, Angelika A1 - Garve, Eckhard A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Holzel, Norbert A1 - Bergmeier, Erwin A1 - Remy, Dominique A1 - Haerdtle, Werner T1 - Pflanzengesellschaft des Jahres 2019: Die Glatthaferwiese T1 - Plant Community of the Year 2019: Oatgras Meadow JF - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft N2 - Um Themen des Schutzes von Pflanzengemeinschaften wirksamer in der breiten Öffentlichkeit zu kommunizieren wird der Vorstand der „Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft (FlorSoz)“ ab 2019 eine „Pflanzengesellschaft des Jahres“ ausrufen. Damit sollen politische und administrative Entscheidungs- und Umsetzungsprozesse zur Erhaltung der Vielfalt von Ökosystemen und Pflanzengesellschaften in Deutschlands gezielt unterstützt werden. Für das Jahr 2019 wurde die Glatthaferwiese ausgewählt. Sie zählt aktuell zu den durch Artenverarmung und Flächenrückgang besonders bedrohten Pflanzengesellschaften Deutschlands. Es sind deshalb dringend Maßnahmen zum Schutz und zur Wiederherstellung notwendig. Dieser Artikel gibt einen kurzen Überblick zur naturschutzfachlichen Bedeutung von Glatthaferwiesen und deren Ökosystemleistungen sowie zur floristisch-soziologischen Erforschung, zu Ursachen ihres Rückgangs und zu geeigneten Gegenmaßnahmen. N2 - Aiming at a better promotion of topics related to the conservation of ecosystems and plant communities, the board of the Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (FlorSoz)" has launched the initiative to announce a "Plant Community of the Year". Therewith we hope to raise awareness and stimulate civil society and politics in promoting more efficient conservation strategies. For the forthcoming year, we choose the oatgras meadow as Plant Community of the Year 2019. These lowland hay meadows belong to the most threatened plant communities in Germany. Concepts and schemes aiming at the conservation and restoration of lowland hay meadows are urgently needed. This article provides a short overview of the high nature-conservation value of lowland hay meadows and their ecosystem services as well as of the floristic-phytosociological research, reasons for their sharp decline and appropriate countermeasures. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.14471/2018.38.011 SN - 0722-494X IS - 38 SP - 287 EP - 295 PB - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhao, Liming A1 - Xia, Yan A1 - Wu, Xiao-Yuan A1 - Schippers, Jos H. M. A1 - Jing, Hai-Chun T1 - Phenotypic analysis and molecular markers of leaf senescence JF - Plant Senescence: Methods and Protocols N2 - The process of leaf senescence consists of the final stage of leaf development. It has evolved as a mechanism to degrade macromolecules and micronutrients and remobilize them to other developing parts of the plant; hence it plays a central role for the survival of plants and crop production. During senescence, a range of physiological, morphological, cellular, and molecular events occur, which are generally referred to as the senescence syndrome that includes several hallmarks such as visible yellowing, loss of chlorophyll and water content, increase of ion leakage and cell death, deformation of chloroplast and cell structure, as well as the upregulation of thousands of so-called senescence-associated genes (SAGs) and downregulation of photosynthesis-associated genes (PAGs). This chapter is devoted to methods characterizing the onset and progression of leaf senescence at the morphological, physiological, cellular, and molecular levels. Leaf senescence normally progresses in an age-dependent manner but is also induced prematurely by a variety of environmental stresses in plants. Focused on the hallmarks of the senescence syndrome, a series of protocols is described to asses quantitatively the senescence process caused by developmental cues or environmental perturbations. We first briefly describe the senescence process, the events associated with the senescence syndrome, and the theories and methods to phenotype senescence. Detailed protocols for monitoring senescence in planta and in vitro, using the whole plant and the detached leaf, respectively, are presented. For convenience, most of the protocols use the model plant species Arabidopsis and rice, but they can be easily extended to other plants. KW - Leaf senescence KW - Visible yellowing KW - Chlorophyll KW - Ion leakage KW - Cell death KW - Senescence-associated genes (SAGs) KW - Arabidopsis KW - Rice 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_3 SN - 1064-3745 SN - 1940-6029 VL - 1744 SP - 35 EP - 48 PB - Humana Press Inc. CY - Totowa ER -