@article{CrawfordKaramatLehotaietal.2020, author = {Crawford, Tim and Karamat, Fazeelat and Lehotai, N{\´o}ra and Rentoft, Matilda and Blomberg, Jeanette and Strand, {\AA}sa and Bj{\"o}rklund, Stefan}, title = {Specific functions for mediator complex subunits from different modules in the transcriptional response of arabidopsis thaliana to abiotic stress}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {10}, journal = {Scientific reports}, number = {1}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-020-61758-w}, pages = {1 -- 18}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Adverse environmental conditions are detrimental to plant growth and development. Acclimation to abiotic stress conditions involves activation of signaling pathways which often results in changes in gene expression via networks of transcription factors (TFs). Mediator is a highly conserved co-regulator complex and an essential component of the transcriptional machinery in eukaryotes. Some Mediator subunits have been implicated in stress-responsive signaling pathways; however, much remains unknown regarding the role of plant Mediator in abiotic stress responses. Here, we use RNA-seq to analyze the transcriptional response of Arabidopsis thaliana to heat, cold and salt stress conditions. We identify a set of common abiotic stress regulons and describe the sequential and combinatorial nature of TFs involved in their transcriptional regulation. Furthermore, we identify stress-specific roles for the Mediator subunits MED9, MED16, MED18 and CDK8, and putative TFs connecting them to different stress signaling pathways. Our data also indicate different modes of action for subunits or modules of Mediator at the same gene loci, including a co-repressor function for MED16 prior to stress. These results illuminate a poorly understood but important player in the transcriptional response of plants to abiotic stress and identify target genes and mechanisms as a prelude to further biochemical characterization.}, language = {en} } @article{KesslerHornemannRudovichetal.2020, author = {Kessler, Katharina and Hornemann, Silke and Rudovich, Natalia and Weber, Daniela and Grune, Tilman and Kramer, Achim and Pfeiffer, Andreas F. H. and Pivovarova-Ramich, Olga}, title = {Saliva samples as a tool to study the effect of meal timing on metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers}, series = {Nutrients}, journal = {Nutrients}, number = {2}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2072-6643}, doi = {10.3390/nu12020340}, pages = {1 -- 12}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Meal timing affects metabolic regulation in humans. Most studies use blood samples fortheir investigations. Saliva, although easily available and non-invasive, seems to be rarely used forchrononutritional studies. In this pilot study, we tested if saliva samples could be used to studythe effect of timing of carbohydrate and fat intake on metabolic rhythms. In this cross-over trial, 29 nonobese men were randomized to two isocaloric 4-week diets: (1) carbohydrate-rich meals until13:30 and high-fat meals between 16:30 and 22:00 or (2) the inverse order of meals. Stimulated salivasamples were collected every 4 h for 24 h at the end of each intervention, and levels of hormones andinflammatory biomarkers were assessed in saliva and blood. Cortisol, melatonin, resistin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 and MCP-1 demonstrated distinct diurnal variations, mirroring daytime reports inblood and showing significant correlations with blood levels. The rhythm patterns were similar forboth diets, indicating that timing of carbohydrate and fat intake has a minimal effect on metabolicand inflammatory biomarkers in saliva. Our study revealed that saliva is a promising tool for thenon-invasive assessment of metabolic rhythms in chrononutritional studies, but standardisation of sample collection is needed in out-of-lab studies.}, language = {en} }