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 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Dalerumb, Fredrik A1 - Noren, Karin A1 - Hofreiter, Michael T1 - Complete mitochondrial genome of a bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), along with phylogenetic considerations JF - Mitochondrial DNA. Part B N2 - The bat-eared fox, Otocyon megalotis, is the only member of its genus and is thought to occupy a basal position within the dog family. These factors can lead to challenges in complete mitochondrial reconstructions and accurate phylogenetic positioning. Here, we present the first complete mitochondrial genome of the bat-eared fox recovered using shotgun sequencing and iterative mapping to three distantly related species. Phylogenetic analyses placed the bat-eared fox basal in the Canidae family within the clade including true foxes (Vulpes) and the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes) with high support values. This position is in good agreement with previously published results based on short fragments of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, therefore adding more support to the basal positioning of the bat-eared fox within Canidae. KW - Phylogenetics KW - mitochondria KW - iterative mapping KW - Canidae Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2017.1331325 SN - 2380-2359 VL - 2 IS - 1 SP - 298 EP - 299 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - London 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 - 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 - THES A1 - Janowski, Marcin Andrzej T1 - Investigating role of the essential GTPase - AtRsgA in the assembly of the small ribosomal subunit in Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplast Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henkel, Janin A1 - Coleman, Charles Dominic A1 - Schraplau, Anne A1 - Jöhrens, Korinna A1 - Weber, Daniela A1 - Castro, Jose Pedro A1 - Hugo, Martin A1 - Schulz, Tim Julius A1 - Krämer, Stephanie A1 - Schürmann, Annette A1 - Püschel, Gerhard Paul T1 - Induction of Steatohepatitis (NASH) with Insulin Resistance in Wild-type B6 Mice by a Western-type Diet Containing Soybean Oil and Cholesterol JF - Molecular medicine N2 - Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are hepatic manifestations of the metabolic syndrome. Many currently used animal models of NAFLD/NASH lack clinical features of either NASH or metabolic syndrome such as hepatic inflammation and fibrosis (e.g., high-fat diets) or overweight and insulin resistance (e.g., methionine-choline-deficient diets), or they are based on monogenetic defects (e.g., ob/ob mice). In the current study, a Western-type diet containing soybean oil with high n-6-PUFA and 0.75% cholesterol (SOD + Cho) induced steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis accompanied by hepatic lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in livers of C57BL/6-mice, which in addition showed increased weight gain and insulin resistance, thus displaying a phenotype closely resembling all clinical features of NASH in patients with metabolic syndrome. In striking contrast, a soybean oil-containing Western-type diet without cholesterol (SOD) induced only mild steatosis but not hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, weight gain or insulin resistance. Another high-fat diet, mainly consisting of lard and supplemented with fructose in drinking water (LAD + Fru), resulted in more prominent weight gain, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis than SOD + Cho, but livers were devoid of inflammation and fibrosis. Although both LAD + Fru-and SOD + Cho-fed animals had high plasma cholesterol, liver cholesterol was elevated only in SOD + Cho animals. Cholesterol induced expression of chemotactic and inflammatory cytokines in cultured Kupffer cells and rendered hepatocytes more susceptible to apoptosis. In summary, dietary cholesterol in the SOD + Cho diet may trigger hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. SOD + Cho-fed animals may be a useful disease model displaying many clinical features of patients with the metabolic syndrome and NASH. KW - Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) KW - Typical Western Diet KW - Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) KW - Dietary Cholesterol KW - Kupffer Cells Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2119/molmed.2016.00203 SN - 1076-1551 SN - 1528-3658 VL - 23 SP - 70 EP - 82 PB - Feinstein Inst. for Medical Research CY - Manhasset ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bergholz, Kolja A1 - May, Felix A1 - Giladi, Itamar A1 - Ristow, Michael A1 - Ziv, Yaron A1 - Jeltsch, Florian T1 - Environmental heterogeneity drives fine-scale species assembly and functional diversity of annual plants in a semi-arid environment JF - Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics N2 - Spatial environmental heterogeneity is considered a fundamental factor for the maintenance of plant species richness. However, it still remains unclear whether heterogeneity may also facilitate coexistence at fine grain sizes or whether other processes, like mass effects and source sink dynamics due to dispersal, control species composition and diversity at these scales. In this study, we used two complimentary analyses to identify the role of heterogeneity within 15 m x 15 m plots for the coexistence of species-rich annual communities in a semi-arid environment along a steep precipitation gradient. Specifically, we: (a) analyzed the effect of environmental heterogeneity on species, functional and phylogenetic diversity within microsites (alpha diversity, 0.06 m(2) and 1 m(2)), across microsites (beta diversity), and diversity at the entire plot (gamma diversity); (b) further we used two null models to detect non-random trait and phylogenetic patterns in order to infer assembly processes, i.e. whether co-occurring species tend to share similar traits (trait convergence) or dissimilar traits (trait divergence). In general, our results showed that heterogeneity had a positive effect on community diversity. Specifically, for alpha diversity, the effect was significant for functional diversity, and not significant for either species or phylogenetic diversities. For beta diversity, all three measures of community diversity (species, functional, and phylogenetic) increased significantly, as they also did for gamma diversity, where functional measures were again stronger than for species or phylogenetic measures. In addition, the null model approach consistently detected trait convergence, indicating that species with similar traits tended to co-occur and had high abundances in a given microsite. While null model analysis across the phylogeny partly supported these trait findings, showing phylogenetic underdispersion at the 1m(2) grain size, surprisingly when species abundances in microsites were analyzed they were more evenly distributed across the phylogenetic tress than expected (phylogenetic overdispersion). In conclusion, our results provide compelling support that environmental heterogeneity at a relatively fine scale is an important factor for species co-existence as it positively affects diversity as well as influences species assembly. Our study underlines the need for trait-based approaches conducted at fine grain sizes in order to better understand species coexistence and community assembly. (C) 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. KW - Community assembly KW - Plant functional trait KW - Habitat heterogeneity KW - Limiting similarity KW - Environmental filtering KW - Heterogeneity species diversity relationship Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2017.01.001 SN - 1433-8319 VL - 24 SP - 138 EP - 146 PB - Elsevier CY - Jena ER - TY - THES A1 - Knecht, Volker T1 - Modeling Biomolecular Association Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Spijkerman, Elly A1 - Lukas, Marcus A1 - Wacker, Alexander T1 - Ecophysiological strategies for growth under varying light and organic carbon supply in two species of green microalgae differing in their motility JF - Phytochemistry : an international journal of plant biochemistry N2 - Mixing events in stratified lakes result in microalgae being exposed to varying conditions in light and organic carbon concentrations. Stratified lakes consist of an upper illuminated strata and a lower, darker strata where organic carbon accumulates. Therefore, in this contribution we explore the importance of dissolved organic carbon for growth under various light intensities by measuring some ecophysiological adaptations in two green microalgae. We compared the non-motile Chlorella vulgaris with the flagellated Chlamydomonas acidophila under auto-, mixo-, and heterotrophic growth conditions. In both algae the maximum photosynthetic and growth rates were highest under mixotrophy, and both algae appeared inhibited in their phosphorus acquisition under heterotrophy. Heterotrophic conditions provoked the largest differences as C. vulgaris produced chlorophyll a in darkness and grew as well as in autotrophic conditions, whereas Chl. acidophila bleached and could not grow heterotrophically. Although the fatty acid composition of both phytoplankton species differed, both species reacted in a similar way to changes in their growth conditions, mainly by a decrease of C18:3n-3 and an increase of C18:1n-9 from auto- to heterotrophic conditions. The two contrasting responses within the group of green microalgae suggest that dissolved organic carbon has a high deterministic potential to explain the survival and behaviour of green algae in the deeper strata of lakes. KW - Chlamydomonas acidophila KW - Chlorella vulgaris KW - Chlorophyceae KW - Ecophysiology on freshwater phytoplankton KW - Glucose KW - Mixotrophy KW - Osmotrophy KW - Heterotrophy KW - Photosynthesis KW - Fatty acids Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2017.08.018 SN - 0031-9422 SN - 1873-3700 VL - 144 SP - 43 EP - 51 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford 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 - Koussoroplis, Apostolos-Manuel A1 - Schwarzenberger, Anke A1 - Wacker, Alexander T1 - Diet quality determines lipase gene expression and lipase/esterase activity in Daphnia pulex JF - Biology open : BiO N2 - We studied the short- (12 h) and long-term (144 h) response of Daphnia pulex lipases to quality shifts in diets consisting of different mixtures of the green alga Scenedesmus with the cyanobacterium Synechococcus, two species with contrasting lipid compositions. The lipase/esterase activity in both the gut and the body tissues had fast responses to the diet shift and increased with higher dietary contributions of Synechococcus. When screening the Daphnia genome for TAG lipases, we discovered a large gene-family expansion of these enzymes. We used a subset of eight genes for mRNA expression analyses and distinguished between influences of time and diet on the observed gene expression patterns. We identified five diet-responsive lipases of which three showed a sophisticated short- and long-term pattern of expression in response to small changes in food-quality. Furthermore, the gene expression of one of the lipases was strongly correlated to lipase/esterase activity in the gut suggesting its potentially major role in digestion. These findings demonstrate that the lipid-related enzymatic machinery of D. pulex is finely tuned to diet and might constitute an important mechanism of physiological adaptation in nutritionally complex environments. KW - Cyanobacteria KW - Digestive enzyme activity KW - Nutritional quality KW - Lipases Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.022046 VL - 6 SP - 210 EP - 216 PB - The company of Biologists CY - Cambridge ER - TY - THES A1 - Bremer, Anne T1 - Structural and functional characterization of three closely related intrinsically disordered proteins from the model plant Arabidopsiis thaliana Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Diez Cocero, Mercedes T1 - Analysis of Rubisco – carbonic anhydrase fusions in tobacco as an approach to reduce photorespiration N2 - Rubisco catalyses the first step of CO2 assimilation into plant biomass. Despite its crucial role, it is notorious for its low catalytic rate and its tendency to fix O2 instead of CO2, giving rise to a toxic product that needs to be recycled in a process known as photorespiration. Since almost all our food supply relies on Rubisco, even small improvements in its specificity for CO2 could lead to an improvement of photosynthesis and ultimately, crop yield. In this work, we attempted to improve photosynthesis by decreasing photorespiration with an artificial CCM based on a fusion between Rubisco and a carbonic anhydrase (CA). A preliminary set of plants contained fusions between one of two CAs, bCA1 and CAH3, and the N- or C-terminus of RbcL connected by a small flexible linker of 5 amino acids. Subsequently, further fusion proteins were created between RbcL C-terminus and bCA1/CAH3 with linkers of 14, 23, 32, and 41 amino acids. The transplastomic tobacco plants carrying fusions with bCA1 were able to grow autotrophically even with the shortest linkers, albeit at a low rate, and accumulated very low levels of the fusion protein. On the other hand, plants carrying fusions with CAH3 were autotrophic only with the longer linkers. The longest linker permitted nearly wild-type like growth of the plants carrying fusions with CAH3 and increased the levels of fusion protein, but also of smaller degradation products. The fusion of catalytically inactive CAs to RbcL did not cause a different phenotype from the fusions with catalytically active CAs, suggesting that the selected CAs were not active in the fusion with RbcL or their activity did not have an effect on CO2 assimilation. However, fusions to RbcL did not abolish RbcL catalytic activity, as shown by the autotrophic growth, gas exchange and in vitro activity measurements. Furthermore, Rubisco carboxylation rate and specificity for CO2 was not altered in some of the fusion proteins, suggesting that despite the defect in RbcL folding or assembly caused by the fusions, the addition of 60-150 amino acids to RbcL does not affect its catalytic properties. On the contrary, most growth defects of the plants carrying RbcL-CA fusions are related to their reduced Rubisco content, likely caused by impaired RbcL folding or assembly. Finally, we found that fusions with RbcL C-terminus were better tolerated than with the N-terminus, and increasing the length of the linker relieved the growth impairment imposed by the fusion to RbcL. Together, the results of this work constitute considerable relevant findings for future Rubisco engineering. N2 - Rubisco katalysiert den ersten Schritt der CO2-Assimilierung. Trotz seiner bedeutenden Rolle, zeichnet sich Rubisco durch eine niedrige katalytische Geschwindigkeit aus. Außerdem, entsteht bei der Bindung von O2 anstatt CO2 ein toxisches Zwischenprodukt, welches in einem Prozess, genannt Photorespiration, aufbereitet wird. Da fast die gesamte Nahrungsmittelversorgung auf der Aktivität von Rubisco basiert, könnten schon kleine Verbesserungen in der Spezifität für CO2 zu einem großen Effekt in der Photosysntheserate und letztendlich größeren Ernteerträgen führen. In dieser Arbeit wurde versucht die Effizienz der Photosynthese zu verbessern, indem ein künstlicher CO2 konzentrierender Mechanismus aus einer Fusion von RbcL und einer Carboanhydrase (CA) gebildet wird. Als Vorversuch wurden je bCA1 und CAH3 an Rubiscos C- beziehungsweise N-Terminus mittels eines kleinen, flexiblen Linkers aus 5 Aminosäuren fusioniert. Anschließend wurden weitere Fusionsproteine zwischen dem C-Terminus von RbcL und bCA1/CAH3 mittels Linkern von 14, 23, 32 und 41 Aminosäuren Länge in Chloroplasten von Tabak eingebracht. Die entstandenen transplastomischen Pflanzen mit bCA1-Fusionen waren trotz ihres sehr langsamen Wachstums dazu fähig schon bei kurzen Linkern autotroph zu wachsen und geringe Mengen an Fusionsproteinen zu akkumulieren. Pflanzen mit CAH3 Fusionsproteinen hingegen waren nur mit längeren Linkern autotroph, zeigten aber dafür ähnliche Wachstumsraten zum Wildtyp bei Nutzung des längsten Linkers. Außerdem enthielten diese Pflanzen größere Mengen an Fusionsproteinen aber auch eine erhöhte Anreicherung von kleineren Abbauprodukten. Bei den in dieser Arbeit gewählten CA als Fusionsprotein mit RbcL konnte im Vergleich mit katalytisch inaktiven Varianten kein Effekt auf die CO2-Assimilierung gefunden werden. Wie das autotroph Wachstum sowie die Gaswechsel- und in-vitro-Aktivitätsmessungen zeigen, haben die Fusionen allerdings nicht die katalytische Aktivität von Rubisco blockiert. Ebenso verhielt sich die Carboxylierungsrate von Rubisco und deren Spezifität für CO2 unverändert. Dies weist darauf hin, dass trotz Rubiscos Faltungs- oder Assemblierungsdefekten das Anfügen von 60-150 Aminosäure an den C-Terminus von RbcL nicht die katalytische Leistung des Enzyms beeinträchtigt. Im Gegenteil, die Wachstumsdefekte waren durch die geringe Menge an Rubisco begründet, vermutlich verursacht durch Defekte in der Faltung oder Assemblierung von RbcL. Schlussendlich konnten wichtige Erkenntnisse für zukünftige gentechnische Veränderungen von Rubisco gemacht werden: Fusionen mit dem C-Terminus von RbcL wurden besser toleriert als mit dem N-Terminus und längere Linker verringerten die von der Fusion ausgelösten Wachstumsdefekte. KW - Rubisco KW - fusion Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischbach, Jens A1 - Loh, Qiuting A1 - Bier, Frank Fabian A1 - Lim, Theam Soon A1 - Frohme, Marcus A1 - Glökler, Jörn T1 - Alizarin Red S for Online Pyrophosphate Detection Identified by a Rapid Screening Method JF - Scientific reports N2 - We identified Alizarin Red S and other well known fluorescent dyes useful for the online detection of pyrophosphate in enzymatic assays, including the loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. An iterative screening was used for a selected set of compounds to first secure enzyme compatibility, evaluate inorganic pyrophosphate sensitivity in the presence of manganese as quencher and optimize conditions for an online detection. Of the selected dyes, the inexpensive alizarin red S was found to selectively detect pyrophosphate under LAMP and PCR conditions and is superior with respect to its defined red-shifted spectrum, long shelf life and low toxicity. In addition, the newly identified properties may also be useful in other enzymatic assays which do not generate nucleic acids but are based on inorganic pyrophosphate. Finally, we propose that our screening method may provide a blueprint for rapid screening of compounds for detecting inorganic pyrophosphate. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45085 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 7 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - THES A1 - Kersting, Sebastian T1 - Isothermal nucleic acid amplification for the detection of infectious pathogens Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lah, Ljerka A1 - Löber, Ulrike A1 - Hsiang, Tom A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie T1 - A genomic comparison of putative pathogenicity-related gene families in five members of the Ophiostomatales with different lifestyles JF - Fungal biology N2 - Ophiostomatoid fungi are vectored by their bark-beetle associates and colonize different host tree species. To survive and proliferate in the host, they have evolved mechanisms for detoxification and elimination of host defence compounds, efficient nutrient sequestration, and, in pathogenic species, virulence towards plants. Here, we assembled a draft genome of the spruce pathogen Ophiostoma bicolor. For our comparative and phylogenetic analyses, we mined the genomes of closely related species (Ophiostoma piceae, Ophiostoma ulmi, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, and Grosmannia clavigera). Our aim was to acquire a genomic and evolutionary perspective of gene families important in host colonization. Genome comparisons showed that both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes in our assembly were largely complete. Our O. bicolor 25.3 Mbp draft genome had 10 018 predicted genes, 6041 proteins with gene ontology (GO) annotation, 269 carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), 559 peptidases and inhibitors, and 1373 genes likely involved in pathogen-host interactions. Phylogenetic analyses of selected protein families revealed core sets of cytochrome P450 genes, ABC transporters and backbone genes involved in secondary metabolite (SM) biosynthesis (polyketide synthases (PKS) and non-ribosomal synthases), and species-specific gene losses and duplications. Phylogenetic analyses of protein families of interest provided insight into evolutionary adaptations to host biochemistry in ophiostomatoid fungi. KW - Bark beetle KW - Bluestain fungi KW - Ips typographus Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2016.12.002 SN - 1878-6146 SN - 1878-6162 VL - 121 SP - 234 EP - 252 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kehlmaier, Christian A1 - Barlow, Axel A1 - Hastings, Alexander K. A1 - Vamberger, Melita A1 - Paijmans, Johanna L. A. A1 - Steadman, David W. A1 - Albury, Nancy A. A1 - Franz, Richard A1 - Hofreiter, Michael A1 - Fritz, Uwe T1 - Tropical ancient DNA reveals relationships of the extinct bahamian giant tortoise Chelonoidis alburyorum JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London : Series B, Biological sciences N2 - Ancient DNA of extinct species from the Pleistocene and Holocene has provided valuable evolutionary insights. However, these are largely restricted to mammals and high latitudes because DNA preservation in warm climates is typically poor. In the tropics and subtropics, non-avian reptiles constitute a significant part of the fauna and little is known about the genetics of the many extinct reptiles from tropical islands. We have reconstructed the near-complete mitochondrial genome of an extinct giant tortoise from the Bahamas (Chelonoidis alburyorum) using an approximately 1000-year-old humerus from a water-filled sinkhole (blue hole) on Great Abaco Island. Phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses place this extinct species as closely related to Galapagos (C. niger complex) and Chaco tortoises (C. chilensis), and provide evidence for repeated overseas dispersal in this tortoise group. The ancestors of extant Chelonoidis species arrived in South America from Africa only after the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and dispersed from there to the Caribbean and the Galapagos Islands. Our results also suggest that the anoxic, thermally buffered environment of blue holes may enhance DNA preservation, and thus are opening a window for better understanding evolution and population history of extinct tropical species, which would likely still exist without human impact. KW - Bahamas KW - biogeography KW - extinction KW - palaeontology KW - phylogeny Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2235 SN - 0962-8452 SN - 1471-2954 VL - 284 PB - The Royal Society CY - London 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 - Romao, Maria Joao A1 - Coelho, Catarina A1 - Santos-Silva, Teresa A1 - Foti, Alessandro A1 - Terao, Mineko A1 - Garattini, Enrico A1 - Leimkühler, Silke T1 - Structural basis for the role of mammalian aldehyde oxidases in the metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics JF - Current Opinion in Chemical Biology N2 - Aldehyde oxidases (AOXs) are molybdo-flavoenzymes characterized by broad substrate specificity, oxidizing aromatic/aliphatic aldehydes into the corresponding carboxylic acids and hydroxylating various heteroaromatic rings. Mammals are characterized by a complement of species specific AOX isoenzymes, that varies from one in humans (AOX1) to four in rodents (AOX1, AOX2, AOX3 and AOX4). The physiological function of mammalian AOX isoenzymes is unknown, although human AOX1 is an emerging enzyme in phase-I drug metabolism. Indeed, the number of therapeutic molecules under development which act as AOX substrates is increasing. The recent crystallization and structure determination of human AOX1 as well as mouse AOX3 has brought new insights into the mechanisms underlying substrate/inhibitor binding as well as the catalytic activity of this class of enzymes. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2017.01.005 SN - 1367-5931 SN - 1879-0402 VL - 37 SP - 39 EP - 47 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schäfer, Merlin A1 - Menz, Stephan A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Zurell, Damaris T1 - sOAR: a tool for modelling optimal animal life-history strategies in cyclic environments JF - Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology ; research papers forum N2 - Periodic environments determine the life cycle of many animals across the globe and the timing of important life history events, such as reproduction and migration. These adaptive behavioural strategies are complex and can only be fully understood (and predicted) within the framework of natural selection in which species adopt evolutionary stable strategies. We present sOAR, a powerful and user-friendly implementation of the well-established framework of optimal annual routine modelling. It allows determining optimal animal life history strategies under cyclic environmental conditions using stochastic dynamic programming. It further includes the simulation of population dynamics under the optimal strategy. sOAR provides an important tool for theoretical studies on the behavioural and evolutionary ecology of animals. It is especially suited for studying bird migration. In particular, we integrated options to differentiate between costs of active and passive flight into the optimal annual routine modelling framework, as well as options to consider periodic wind conditions affecting flight energetics. We provide an illustrative example of sOAR where food supply in the wintering habitat of migratory birds significantly alters the optimal timing of migration. sOAR helps improving our understanding of how complex behaviours evolve and how behavioural decisions are constrained by internal and external factors experienced by the animal. Such knowledge is crucial for anticipating potential species’ response to global environmental change. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03328 SN - 0906-7590 SN - 1600-0587 VL - 41 IS - 3 SP - 551 EP - 557 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haase, Tobias A1 - Krost, Annalena A1 - Sauter, Tilman A1 - Kratz, Karl A1 - Peter, Jan A1 - Kamann, Stefanie A1 - Jung, Friedrich A1 - Lendlein, Andreas A1 - Zohlnhöfer, Dietlind A1 - Rüder, Constantin T1 - In vivo biocompatibility assessment of poly (ether imide) electrospun scaffolds JF - Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine N2 - Poly(ether imide) (PEI), which can be chemically functionalized with biologically active ligands, has emerged as a potential biomaterial for medical implants. Electrospun PEI scaffolds have shown advantageous properties, such as enhanced endothelial cell adherence, proliferation and low platelet adhesion in in vitro experiments. In this study, the in vivo behaviour of electrospun PEI scaffolds and PEI films was examined in a murine subcutaneous implantation model. Electrospun PEI scaffolds and films were surgically implanted subcutaneously in the dorsae of mice. The surrounding subcutaneous tissue response was examined via histopathological examination at 7 and 28days after implantation. No serious adverse events were observed for both types of PEI implants. The presence of macrophages or foreign body giant cells in the vicinity of the implants and the formation of a fibrous capsule indicated a normal foreign body reaction towards PEI films and scaffolds. Capsule thickness and inflammatory infiltration cells significantly decreased for PEI scaffolds during days 7-28 while remaining unchanged for PEI films. The infiltration of cells into the implant was observed for PEI scaffolds 7days after implantation and remained stable until 28days of implantation. Additionally some, but not all, PEI scaffold implants induced the formation of functional blood vessels in the vicinity of the implants. Conclusively, this study demonstrates the in vivo biocompatibility of PEI implants, with favourable properties of electrospun PEI scaffolds regarding tissue integration and wound healing. KW - poly(ether imide) KW - in vivo study KW - electrospun scaffold KW - capsule formation KW - foreign body giant cells KW - vascularization Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/term.2002 SN - 1932-6254 SN - 1932-7005 VL - 11 IS - 4 SP - 1034 EP - 1044 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koc-Januchta, Marta A1 - Höffler, Tim A1 - Thoma, Gun-Brit A1 - Prechtl, Helmut A1 - Leutner, Detlev T1 - Visualizers versus verbalizers BT - Effects of cognitive style on learning with texts and pictures - An eye-tracking study JF - Computers in human behavior N2 - This study was conducted in order to examine the differences between visualizers and verbalizers in the way they gaze at pictures and texts while learning. Using a collection of questionnaires, college students were classified according to their visual or verbal cognitive style and were asked to learn about two different, in terms of subject and type of knowledge, topics by means of text-picture combinations. Eye-tracking was used to investigate their gaze behavior. The results show that visualizers spent significantly more time inspecting pictures than verbalizers, while verbalizers spent more time inspecting texts. Results also suggest that both visualizers' and verbalizers' way of learning is active but mostly within areas providing the source of information in line with their cognitive style (pictures or text). Verbalizers tended to enter non-informative, irrelevant areas of pictures sooner than visualizers. The comparison of learning outcomes showed that the group of visualizers achieved better results than the group of verbalizers on a comprehension test. KW - Cognitive style KW - Verbalizer KW - Visualizer KW - Eye-tracking KW - Multimedia learning Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.028 SN - 0747-5632 SN - 1873-7692 VL - 68 SP - 170 EP - 179 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Musalek, Martin A1 - Kokstejn, Jakub A1 - Papez, Pavel A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Mumm, Rebekka A1 - Czernitzki, Anna-Franziska A1 - Koziel, Slawomir T1 - Impact of normal weight obesity on fundamental motor skills in pre-school children aged 3 to 6 years JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Normal weight obesity is defined as having excessive body fat, but normal BMI. Even though previous research revealed that excessive body fat in children inhibited their physical activity and decreased motor performance, there has been only little evidence about motor performance of normal weight obese children. This study aims to establish whether normal weight obese pre-school children aged 3-6 years will have a significantly worse level of fundamental motor skills compared to normal weight non-obese counterparts. The research sample consisted of 152 pre-schoolers selected from a specific district of Prague, the Czech Republic. According to values from four skinfolds: triceps, subscapula, suprailiaca, calf, and BMI three categories of children aged 3-6 years were determined: A) normal weight obese n = 51; B) normal weight non-obese n = 52; C) overweight and obese n = 49. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2) was used for the assessment of fundamental motor skills. Normal weight obese children had significantly higher amount of adipose tissue p < 0.001 than normal weight non-obese children but the same average BMI. Moreover, normal weight obese children did not have significantly less amount of subcutaneous fat on triceps and calf compared to their overweight and obese peers. In majority of MABC-2 tests, normal weight obese pre-schoolers showed the poorest performance. Moreover, normal weight obese children had significantly worse total standard score = 38.82 compared to normal weight non-obese peers = 52.27; p < 0.05. In addition, normal weight obese children had a more than three times higher frequency OR = 3.69 CI95% (1.10; 12.35) of severe motor deficit performance <= 5th centile of the MABC-2 norm. These findings are strongly alarming since indices like BMI are not able to identify normal weight obese individual. We recommend verifying real portion of normal weight obese children as they are probably in higher risk of health and motor problems than overweight and obese population due to their low lean mass. KW - normal weight obesity KW - fundamental motor skills KW - MABC-2 KW - performance KW - pre-school children KW - skinfolds KW - adipose tissue KW - lean mass Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2017/0752 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 SP - 203 EP - 212 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gomula, Aleksandra A1 - Koziel, Slawomir A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Bielicki, Tadeusz T1 - The effect of neighboring districts on body height of Polish conscripts JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation of heights of conscripts living in neighboring districts in Poland. The study used 10% of a nationally representative sample of 26,178 males 18.5-19.5 years old examined during the National survey of Polish conscripts conducted in 2001. The sample represented all regions and social strata of the country and included 354 different districts within 16 voivodships (provinces). Analyses were performed with the R statistical software. A small but significant correlation (0.24, p < 0.0001) was observed for height between 1st order neighboring districts. Correlations decreased with increased distances between neighboring districts, but remained significant for 7th node neighbors (0.18, p < 0.0001). Regarding voivodships (provinces), average height showed a geographical trend from the northwest (relatively tall) to the southeast (relatively short), and the correlation was stronger for first order neighboring provinces (0.796, p < 0.001). This study revealed clusters of tall people and short people, providing a support for hypothesis of the community effect in height. Small correlations between 1st order neighbors than in another country (Switzerland) may be associated with differences in geography, since in Poland there are no natural barriers (e.g., mountains) and road infrastructure is well-developed. KW - body height KW - community effect KW - Polish conscripts Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2017/0701 SN - 0003-5548 SN - 2363-7099 VL - 74 IS - 1 SP - 71 EP - 76 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Holzlöhner, Pamela A1 - Hanack, Katja T1 - Generation of murine monoclonal antibodies by hybridoma technology JF - JoVE : Video journal N2 - Monoclonal antibodies are universal binding molecules and are widely used in biomedicine and research. Nevertheless, the generation of these binding molecules is time-consuming and laborious due to the complicated handling and lack of alternatives. The aim of this protocol is to provide one standard method for the generation of monoclonal antibodies using hybridoma technology. This technology combines two steps. Step 1 is an appropriate immunization of the animal and step 2 is the fusion of B lymphocytes with immortal myeloma cells in order to generate hybrids possessing both parental functions, such as the production of antibody molecules and immortality. The generated hybridoma cells were then recloned and diluted to obtain stable monoclonal cell cultures secreting the desired monoclonal antibody in the culture supernatant. The supernatants were tested in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for antigen specificity. After the selection of appropriate cell clones, the cells were transferred to mass cultivation in order to produce the desired antibody molecule in large amounts. The purification of the antibodies is routinely performed by affinity chromatography. After purification, the antibody molecule can be characterized and validated for the final test application. The whole process takes 8 to 12 months of development, and there is a high risk that the antibody will not work in the desired test system. KW - Immunology KW - Issue 119 KW - monoclonal antibodies KW - hybridoma technology KW - myeloma cells KW - B lymphocytes KW - antigen KW - immunconjugate Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3791/54832 SN - 1940-087X IS - 119 PB - JoVE CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lütkecosmann, Steffi A1 - Warsinke, Axel A1 - Tschöpe, Winfried A1 - Eichler, Rüdiger A1 - Hanack, Katja T1 - A novel monoclonal antibody suitable for the detection of leukotriene B4 JF - Biochemical and biophysical research communications N2 - Leukotriene B4 as an inflammatory mediator is an important biomarker for different respiratory diseases like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cystic lung fibrosis. Therefore the detection of LTB4 is helpful in the diagnosis of these pulmonary diseases. However, until now its determination in exhaled breath condensates suffers from problems of accuracy. Reasons for that could be improper sample collection and preparation methods of condensates and the lack of consistently assay specificity and reproducibility of the used immunoassay detection system. In this study we describe the development and the characterization of a specific monoclonal antibody (S27BC6) against LTB4, its use as molecular recognition element for the development of an enzyme-linked immunoassay to detect LTB4 and discuss possible future diagnostic applications. KW - Leukotriene B4 KW - Monoclonal antibody KW - Immunosensor KW - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) KW - Hapten Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.11.157 SN - 0006-291X SN - 1090-2104 VL - 482 IS - 4 SP - 1054 EP - 1059 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - THES A1 - de Abreu e Lima, Francisco Anastacio T1 - Experimental validation of hybrid performance predictive models in Zea mays L. Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Bajdzienko, Krzysztof T1 - Analysis of Target of Rapamycin (Tor) induced changes of the Arabidopsis thaliana proteome using sub-cellular resolution Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Kubsch, Bastian T1 - Phase-specific fusion between biomembranes using SNARE mimetics Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Górka, Michal Jakub T1 - Establishing a pipeline for identification of protein- protein interactions using different native fractionation methods Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Martínez Jaime, Silvia T1 - Towards the understanding of protein function and regulation BT - organization of the mitochondrial protein complexome under different conditions and the role of SUM03 in Arabidopsis thaliana Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Yang, Lei T1 - Verification of systemic mRNAs mobility and mobile functions Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Barbirz, Stefanie T1 - Highly specific binders for bacterial polysaccharides BT - bacteriophage tailspike proteins as research models in structural thermodynamics and bacteriophage infection Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Diez Cocero, Mercedes T1 - Analysis of Rubisco - carbonic anhydrase fusions in tobacco as an approach to reduce photorespiration Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Belkius, Karolina Dorota T1 - Systems biology approach to investigate the development and degradation of the photosynthetic apparatus during leaf ontogenesis in higher plants Y1 - 2017 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 - Pandey-Pant, Pooja T1 - Comparative transcriptomics and functional genomics during phosphorus limitation in plants Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fer, Istem A1 - Tietjen, Britta A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Wolff, Christian Michael T1 - The influence of El Nino-Southern Oscillation regimes on eastern African vegetation and its future implications under the RCP8.5 warming scenario JF - Biogeosciences N2 - The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the main driver of the interannual variability in eastern African rainfall, with a significant impact on vegetation and agriculture and dire consequences for food and social security. In this study, we identify and quantify the ENSO contribution to the eastern African rainfall variability to forecast future eastern African vegetation response to rainfall variability related to a predicted intensified ENSO. To differentiate the vegetation variability due to ENSO, we removed the ENSO signal from the climate data using empirical orthogonal teleconnection (EOT) analysis. Then, we simulated the ecosystem carbon and water fluxes under the historical climate without components related to ENSO teleconnections. We found ENSO-driven patterns in vegetation response and confirmed that EOT analysis can successfully produce coupled tropical Pacific sea surface temperature-eastern African rainfall teleconnection from observed datasets. We further simulated eastern African vegetation response under future climate change as it is projected by climate models and under future climate change combined with a predicted increased ENSO intensity. Our EOT analysis highlights that climate simulations are still not good at capturing rainfall variability due to ENSO, and as we show here the future vegetation would be different from what is simulated under these climate model outputs lacking accurate ENSO contribution. We simulated considerable differences in eastern African vegetation growth under the influence of an intensified ENSO regime which will bring further environmental stress to a region with a reduced capacity to adapt effects of global climate change and food security. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4355-2017 SN - 1726-4170 SN - 1726-4189 VL - 14 IS - 18 SP - 4355 EP - 4374 PB - Copernicus CY - Katlenburg-Lindau ER - TY - THES A1 - Wu, Si T1 - Exploring the Arabidopsis metabolic landscape by genetic mapping integrated with network analysis Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Loiacono, Filomena Vanessa T1 - Transfer of chloroplast RNA editing events between species BT - faithful reconstitution and fateful effects Y1 - 2017 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 - 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 - Machens, Fabian A1 - Balazadeh, Salma A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Messerschmidt, Katrin T1 - Synthetic Promoters and Transcription Factors for Heterologous Protein Expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae JF - Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology N2 - Orthogonal systems for heterologous protein expression as well as for the engineering of synthetic gene regulatory circuits in hosts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae depend on synthetic transcription factors (synTFs) and corresponding cis-regulatory binding sites. We have constructed and characterized a set of synTFs based on either transcription activator-like effectors or CRISPR/Cas9, and corresponding small synthetic promoters (synPs) with minimal sequence identity to the host’s endogenous promoters. The resulting collection of functional synTF/synP pairs confers very low background expression under uninduced conditions, while expression output upon induction of the various synTFs covers a wide range and reaches induction factors of up to 400. The broad spectrum of expression strengths that is achieved will be useful for various experimental setups, e.g., the transcriptional balancing of expression levels within heterologous pathways or the construction of artificial regulatory networks. Furthermore, our analyses reveal simple rules that enable the tuning of synTF expression output, thereby allowing easy modification of a given synTF/synP pair. This will make it easier for researchers to construct tailored transcriptional control systems. KW - JUB1 KW - synthetic biology KW - transcriptional regulation KW - gene expression KW - synthetic circuits KW - dead Cas9 KW - chimeric transcription factors Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2017.00063 SN - 2296-4185 VL - 5 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne ER - TY - THES A1 - Sedaghatmehr, Mastoureh T1 - Unraveling the regulatory mechanisms of heat stress memory in Arabidopsis thaliana Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reinicke, Stefan A1 - Rees, Huw C. A1 - Espeel, Pieter A1 - Vanparijs, Nane A1 - Bisterfeld, Carolin A1 - Dick, Markus A1 - Rosencrantz, Ruben R. A1 - Brezesinski, Gerald A1 - de Geest, Bruno G. A1 - Du Prez, Filip E. A1 - Pietruszka, Jörg A1 - Böker, Alexander T1 - Immobilization of 2-Deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate Aldolase in Polymeric Thin Films via the Langmuir-Schaefer Technique JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - A synthetic protocol for the fabrication of ultrathin polymeric films containing the enzyme 2-deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase from Escherichia coli (DERA(EC)) is presented. Ultrathin enzymatically active films are useful for applications in which only small quantities of active material are needed and at the same time quick response and contact times without diffusion limitation are wanted. We show how DERA as an exemplary enzyme can be immobilized in a thin polymer layer at the air-water interface and transferred to a suitable support by the Langmuir-Schaefer technique under full conservation of enzymatic activity. The polymer in use is a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-2-thiolactone acrylamide) (P(NIPAAm-co-TlaAm)) statistical copolymer in which the thiolactone units serve a multitude of purposes including hydrophobization of the polymer, covalent binding of the enzyme and the support and finally cross-linking of the polymer matrix. The application of this type of polymer keeps the whole approach simple as additional cocomponents such as cross-linkers are avoided. KW - Langmuir-Schaefer KW - enzyme immobilization KW - 2-deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase KW - polymeric thin film KW - poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) KW - thiolactone Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b13632 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 9 SP - 8317 EP - 8326 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Koziel, Slawomir A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Gomula, Alexandra A1 - Swanson, James A1 - Kaczmarek, Maria A1 - El-Shabrawi, Mortada A1 - Elhusseini, Mona A1 - Satake, Takashi A1 - Martinovic Klaric, Irena A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Morkuniene, Ruta A1 - Godina, Elena A1 - Sasa, Missoni A1 - Tutkuviene, Janina A1 - Siniarska, Anna A1 - Nieczuja-Dwojacka, Joanna A1 - Nunez, Javier A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Barbieri, Davide T1 - Adolescence - a Transition to Adulthood Proceedings of the 24th Aschauer Soiree, held at Jurata, Poland, November 5th 2016 T2 - Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews N2 - Eighteen scientists met at Jurata, Poland, to discuss various aspects of the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This transition is a delicate period facing complex interactions between the adolescents and the social group they belong to. Social identity, group identification and identity signalling, but also stress affecting basal salivary cortisol rhythms, hypertension, inappropriate nutrition causing latent and manifest obesity, moreover, in developing and under-developed countries, parasitosis causing anaemia thereby impairing growth and development, are issues to be dealt with during this period of the human development. In addition, some new aspects of the association between weight, height and head circumference in the newborns were discussed, as well as intrauterine head growth and head circumference as health risk indicators. KW - Strategic growth adjustment KW - BMI KW - Growth faltering KW - Secular trend KW - Obesity KW - Growth modelling Y1 - 2017 SN - 1565-4753 VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 326 EP - 334 PB - Medical Media CY - Netanya ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - Global effects of income and income inequality on adult height and sexual dimorphism in height JF - American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council N2 - Objectives: Average adult height of a population is considered a biomarker of the quality of the health environment and economic conditions. The causal relationships between height and income inequality are not well understood. We analyze data from 169 countries for national average heights of men and women and national-level economic factors to test two hypotheses: (1) income inequality has a greater association with average adult height than does absolute income; and (2) neither income nor income inequality has an effect on sexual dimorphism in height. Methods: Average height data come from the NCD-RisC health risk factor collaboration. Economic indicators are derived from the World Bank data archive and include gross domestic product (GDP), Gross National Income per capita adjusted for personal purchasing power (GNI_ PPP), and income equality assessed by the Gini coefficient calculated by the Wagstaff method. Results: Hypothesis 1 is supported. Greater income equality is most predictive of average height for both sexes. GNI_ PPP explains a significant, but smaller, amount of the variation. National GDP has no association with height. Hypothesis 2 is rejected. With greater average adult height there is greater sexual dimorphism. Conclusions: Findings support a growing literature on the pernicious effects of inequality on growth in height and, by extension, on health. Gradients in height reflect gradients in social disadvantage. Inequality should be considered a pollutant that disempowers people from the resources needed for their own healthy growth and development and for the health and good growth of their children. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22980 SN - 1042-0533 SN - 1520-6300 VL - 29 IS - 2 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Greil, Holle A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - The association between weight, height, and head circumference reconsidered JF - Pediatric Research N2 - BACKGROUND: Under normal nutritional and health conditions, body height, weight and head circumference are significantly related. We hypothesize that the apparent general association between weight, height, and head circumference of the growing child might be misleading. METHODS: We reanalyzed data of 7,444 boys and 7,375 girls measured in East-Germany between 1986 and 1990, aged from 0 to 7 y with measurements of body length/height, leg length, sitting height, biacromial shoulder breadth, thoracic breadth, thoracic depth, thoracic circumference, body weight, head volume, percentage of body fat, and hip skinfold vertical, using principal component analysis. RESULTS: Strong associations exist between skeletal growth, fat accumulation, and head volume increments. Yet in spite of this general proportionality, skeletal growth, fat acquisition, and head growth exhibit different patterns. Three components explain between almost 60% and more than 75% of cumulative variance between birth and age 7 y. Parameters of skeletal growth predominantly load on the first component and clearly separate from indicators of fat deposition. After age of 2 y, head volume loads on a separate third component in both sexes indicating independence of head growth. CONCLUSION: Under appropriate nutritional and health circumstances, nutritional status, body size, and head circumference are not related. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2017.3 SN - 0031-3998 SN - 1530-0447 VL - 81 SP - 825 EP - 830 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - New York ER - TY - THES A1 - Radon, Christin T1 - Analyse der Funktion der dualen Lokalisation der 3-Mercaptopyruvat Sulfurtransferase im Menschen Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - THES A1 - Weiß, Lina T1 - Understanding the emergence and maintenance of biodiversity in grasslands BT - linking individual plant responses to community patterns Y1 - 2017 ER -