TY - JOUR A1 - Diekmann, Martin A1 - Andres, Christian A1 - Becker, Thomas A1 - Bennie, Jonathan A1 - Blueml, Volker A1 - Bullock, James M. A1 - Culmsee, Heike A1 - Fanigliulo, Miriam A1 - Hahn, Annett A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Leuschner, Christoph A1 - Luka, Stefanie A1 - Meissner, Justus A1 - Müller, Josef A1 - Newton, Adrian A1 - Peppler-Lisbach, Cord A1 - Rosenthal, Gert A1 - van den Berg, Leon J. L. A1 - Vergeer, Philippine A1 - Wesche, Karsten T1 - Patterns of long-term vegetation change vary between different types of semi-natural grasslands in Western and Central Europe JF - Journal of vegetation science N2 - Questions Has plant species richness in semi-natural grasslands changed over recent decades? Do the temporal trends of habitat specialists differ from those of habitat generalists? Has there been a homogenization of the grassland vegetation? Location Different regions in Germany and the UK. Methods We conducted a formal meta-analysis of re-survey vegetation studies of semi-natural grasslands. In total, 23 data sets were compiled, spanning up to 75 years between the surveys, including 13 data sets from wet grasslands, six from dry grasslands and four from other grassland types. Edaphic conditions were assessed using mean Ellenberg indicator values for soil moisture, nitrogen and pH. Changes in species richness and environmental variables were evaluated using response ratios. Results In most wet grasslands, total species richness declined over time, while habitat specialists almost completely vanished. The number of species losses increased with increasing time between the surveys and were associated with a strong decrease in soil moisture and higher soil nutrient contents. Wet grasslands in nature reserves showed no such changes or even opposite trends. In dry grasslands and other grassland types, total species richness did not consistently change, but the number or proportions of habitat specialists declined. There were also considerable changes in species composition, especially in wet grasslands that often have been converted into intensively managed, highly productive meadows or pastures. We did not find a general homogenization of the vegetation in any of the grassland types. Conclusions The results document the widespread deterioration of semi-natural grasslands, especially of those types that can easily be transformed to high production grasslands. The main causes for the loss of grassland specialists are changed management in combination with increased fertilization and nitrogen deposition. Dry grasslands are most resistant to change, but also show a long-term trend towards an increase in more mesotrophic species. KW - dry grasslands KW - fragmentation KW - homogenization KW - management KW - meta-analysis KW - nitrogen deposition KW - quasi-permanent plot KW - re-survey KW - species richness KW - wet grasslands Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12727 SN - 1100-9233 SN - 1654-1103 VL - 30 IS - 2 SP - 187 EP - 202 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Heike A1 - Kamitz, Anne A1 - Hallahan, Nicole A1 - Lebek, Sandra A1 - Schallschmidt, Tanja A1 - Jonas, Wenke A1 - Jähnert, Markus A1 - Gottmann, Pascal A1 - Zellner, Lisa A1 - Kanzleiter, Timo A1 - Damen, Mareike A1 - Altenhofen, Delsi A1 - Burkhardt, Ralph A1 - Renner, Simone A1 - Dahlhoff, Maik A1 - Wolf, Eckhard A1 - Müller, Timo Dirk A1 - Blüher, Matthias A1 - Joost, Hans-Georg A1 - Chadt, Alexandra A1 - Al-Hasani, Hadi A1 - Schürmann, Annette T1 - A collective diabetes cross in combination with a computational framework to dissect the genetics of human obesity and Type 2 diabetes JF - Human molecular genetics N2 - To explore the genetic determinants of obesity and Type 2 diabetes (T2D), the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) conducted crossbreedings of the obese and diabetes-prone New Zealand Obese mouse strain with four different lean strains (B6, DBA, C3H, 129P2) that vary in their susceptibility to develop T2D. Genome-wide linkage analyses localized more than 290 quantitative trait loci (QTL) for obesity, 190 QTL for diabetes-related traits and 100 QTL for plasma metabolites in the out-cross populations. A computational framework was developed that allowed to refine critical regions and to nominate a small number of candidate genes by integrating reciprocal haplotype mapping and transcriptome data. The efficiency of the complex procedure was demonstrated for one obesity QTL. The genomic interval of 35 Mb with 502 annotated candidate genes was narrowed down to six candidates. Accordingly, congenic mice retained the obesity phenotype owing to an interval that contains three of the six candidate genes. Among these the phospholipase PLA2G4A exhibited an elevated expression in adipose tissue of obese human subjects and is therefore a critical regulator of the obesity locus. Together, our broad and complex approach demonstrates that combined- and comparative-cross analysis exhibits improved mapping resolution and represents a valid tool for the identification of disease genes. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddy217 SN - 0964-6906 SN - 1460-2083 VL - 27 IS - 17 SP - 3099 EP - 3112 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiese, Heike A1 - Mayr, Katharina A1 - Krämer, Philipp A1 - Seeger, Patrick A1 - Müller, Hans-Georg A1 - Mezger, Verena T1 - Changing teachers' attitudes towards linguistic diversity BT - effects of an anti-bias programme JF - International Journal of Applied Linguistics N2 - We discuss an intervention programme for kindergarten and school teachers' continuing education in Germany that targets biases against language outside a perceived monolingual ‘standard’ and its speakers. The programme combines anti-bias methods relating to linguistic diversity with objectives of raising critical language awareness. Evaluation through teachers' workshops in Berlin and Brandenburg points to positive and enduring attitudinal changes in participants, but not in control groups that did not attend workshops, and effects were independent of personal variables gender and teaching subject and only weakly associated with age. We relate these effects to such programme features as indirect and inclusive methods that foster active engagement, and the combination of ‘safer’ topics targeting attitudes towards linguistic structures with more challenging ones dealing with the discrimination of speakers. N2 - Der Beitrag diskutiert ein Interventionsprogramm fur die Weiterbildung von Lehrer/inne/n und Erzieher/inne/n, das Vorurteile gegenuber sprachlichen Praktiken au ss erhalb eines vermeintlichen monolingualen Standarddeutschen und seinen Sprecher/inne/n fokussiert (). Das Programm verbindet Anti-bias -Methoden zur sprachlichen Vielfalt mit solchen, die auf eine Verstarkung kritischer Sprachbewusstheit abheben. Die Evaluation der Materialien in Lehrerfortbildungen in Berlin und Brandenburg weist auf positive und anhaltende Einstellungsveranderungen bei den Teilnehmer/inne/n, aber nicht bei Mitgliedern einer Kontrollgruppe, die nicht an den Fortbildungen teilnahm; die Effekte waren unabhangig von den personenbezogen Variablen Geschlecht und Lehrfach und nur schwach mit Alter assoziiert. Wir diskutieren diese Effekte im Zusammenhang mit Eigenschaften des Programms wie der Verwendung indirekter und inklusiver Methoden, die eine aktive Auseinandersetzung fordern, und der Verbindung von weniger bedrohlichen Themen, die sich auf Einstellungen gegenuber sprachlichen Strukturen beziehen, mit solchen, die die Diskrimierung von Sprecher/inne/n behandeln und daher eine gro ss ere Herausforderung darstellen KW - anti-bias KW - critical language awareness KW - language and education in multilingual settings KW - language attitudes KW - linguistic discrimination Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12121 SN - 0802-6106 SN - 1473-4192 VL - 27 IS - 1 SP - 198 EP - 220 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Hans-Georg A1 - Wiese, Heike A1 - Mayr, Katharina A1 - Krämer, Philipp A1 - Seeger, Patrick A1 - Mezger, Verena T1 - Changing teachers' attitudes towards linguistic diversity BT - effects of an anti‐bias programme JF - International Journal of Applied Linguistics N2 - We discuss an intervention programme for kindergarten and school teachers' continuing education in Germany that targets biases against language outside a perceived monolingual ‘standard’ and its speakers. The programme combines anti-bias methods relating to linguistic diversity with objectives of raising critical language awareness. Evaluation through teachers' workshops in Berlin and Brandenburg points to positive and enduring attitudinal changes in participants, but not in control groups that did not attend workshops, and effects were independent of personal variables gender and teaching subject and only weakly associated with age. We relate these effects to such programme features as indirect and inclusive methods that foster active engagement, and the combination of ‘safer’ topics targeting attitudes towards linguistic structures with more challenging ones dealing with the discrimination of speakers. N2 - Der Beitrag diskutiert ein Interventionsprogramm für die Weiterbildung von Lehrer/inne/n und Erzieher/inne/n, das Vorurteile gegenüber sprachlichen Praktiken außerhalb eines vermeintlichen monolingualen „Standarddeutschen“ und seinen Sprecher/inne/n fokussiert (www.deutsch-ist-vielseitig.de). Das Programm verbindet Anti-bias -Methoden zur sprachlichen Vielfalt mit solchen, die auf eine Verstärkung kritischer Sprachbewusstheit abheben. Die Evaluation der Materialien in Lehrerfortbildungen in Berlin und Brandenburg weist auf positive und anhaltende Einstellungsveränderungen bei den Teilnehmer/inne/n, aber nicht bei Mitgliedern einer Kontrollgruppe, die nicht an den Fortbildungen teilnahm; die Effekte waren unabhängig von den personenbezogen Variablen Geschlecht und Lehrfach und nur schwach mit Alter assoziiert. Wir diskutieren diese Effekte im Zusammenhang mit Eigenschaften des Programms wie der Verwendung indirekter und inklusiver Methoden, die eine aktive Auseinandersetzung fördern, und der Verbindung von weniger „bedrohlichen“ Themen, die sich auf Einstellungen gegenüber sprachlichen Strukturen beziehen, mit solchen, die die Diskrimierung von Sprecher/inne/n behandeln und daher eine größere Herausforderung darstellen KW - Mehrsprachigkeit Y1 - 2015 VL - 27 IS - 1 SP - 198 EP - 220 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Batsios, Petros A1 - Ishikawa-Ankerhold, Hellen Christina A1 - Roth, Heike A1 - Schleicher, Michael A1 - Wong, Catherine C. L. A1 - Müller-Taubenberger, Annette T1 - Ate1-mediated posttranslational arginylation affects substrate adhesion and cell migration in Dictyostelium discoideum JF - Molecular biology of the cell : the official publication of the American Society for Cell Biology N2 - The highly conserved enzyme arginyl-tRNA-protein transferase (Ate1) mediates arginylation, a posttranslational modification that is only incompletely understood at its molecular level. To investigate whether arginylation affects actin-dependent processes in a simple model organism, Dictyostelium discoideum, we knocked out the gene encoding Ate1 and characterized the phenotype of ate1-null cells. Visualization of actin cytoskeleton dynamics by live-cell microscopy indicated significant changes in comparison to wild-type cells. Ate1-null cells were almost completely lacking focal actin adhesion sites at the substrate-attached surface and were only weakly adhesive. In two-dimensional chemotaxis assays toward folate or cAMP, the motility of ate1-null cells was increased. However, in three-dimensional chemotaxis involving more confined conditions, the motility of ate1-null cells was significantly reduced. Live-cell imaging showed that GFP-tagged Ate1 rapidly relocates to sites of newly formed actin-rich protrusions. By mass spectrometric analysis, we identified four arginylation sites in the most abundant actin isoform of Dictyostelium, in addition to arginylation sites in other actin isoforms and several actin-binding proteins. In vitro polymerization assays with actin purified from ate1-null cells revealed a diminished polymerization capacity in comparison to wild-type actin. Our data indicate that arginylation plays a crucial role in the regulation of cytoskeletal activities. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E18-02-0132 SN - 1059-1524 SN - 1939-4586 VL - 30 IS - 4 SP - 453 EP - 466 PB - American Society for Cell Biology CY - Bethesda ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hinz, Carsten A1 - Guzmán, Renán A. Oliva A1 - Müller, Heike T1 - Zur Förderung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses in der haushaltsbezogenen Bildung BT - Situationsbeschreibung aus einer Perspektive der HaBiFo-NEO Nachwuchsgruppe JF - Haushalt in Bildung und Forschung N2 - Wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs ist bedeutsam für den Erhalt und Ausbau jeder Disziplin. Aktuell gibt es nur wenige empirische Erkenntnisse zur Situation in der haushaltsbezogenen Bildung. Im Beitrag werden ausgewählte Aspekte zur Situation der Nachwuchsförderung skizziert und Anknüpfungspunkte für die haushaltsbezogene Bildung vor dem Hintergrund erster Erfahrungen aus der 2019 gegründeten Nachwuchsgruppe HaBiFo-NEO diskutiert. N2 - Junior researchers are important for securing and expanding any discipline. Currently, there is little empirical evidence on their situation in household education. This article outlines selected aspects of promoting junior researchers and discusses focal points for household education against the backdrop of initial experiences from the HaBiFo-NEO junior researcher group founded in 2019. T2 - On the promotion of junior researchers in household education KW - Akademischer Nachwuchs KW - Nachwuchswissenschaftler KW - haushaltsbezogene Bildung KW - Ernährungs- und Verbraucherbildung KW - Fachdidaktik KW - junior scholars KW - early career scientists KW - food and nutrition education KW - consumer studies KW - subject-matter didactics Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3224/hibifo.v10i1.01 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 3 EP - 23 PB - Budrich CY - Opladen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wöhl-Bruhn, Stefanie A1 - Badar, Muhammad A1 - Bertz, Andreas A1 - Tiersch, Brigitte A1 - Koetz, Joachim A1 - Menzel, Henning A1 - Müller, Peter P. A1 - Bunjes, Heike T1 - Comparison of in vitro and in vivo protein release from hydrogel systems JF - Journal of controlled release N2 - Hydrogel systems based on hydroxyethyl starch-polyethylene glycol methacrylate (HES-P(EG)(6)MA) or hydroxyethyl starch methacrylate (HES-MA) were used to assess the protein release behavior. Here, we analyzed the in vitro release of FITC-anti-human antibodies incorporated in either HES-P(EG)(6)MA or HES-MA hydrogel delivery systems in PBS or human serum. In addition, hydrogel disks and microparticles prepared from the two polymers were subcutaneously implanted in BALB/c mice. The in vivo release of FITC-IgG was non-invasively monitored by an in vivo imaging system (IVIS 200) over a time period of up to 3 months. The imaging system allowed to asses individual animals over time, therefore only a small number of animals was required to obtain high quality data. The reduction in fluorescence intensity at the site of administration was compared to in vitro release profiles. These investigations demonstrated a sustained release from HES-MA hydrogel disks compared to rapidly degrading HES-P(EG)(6)MA disks and microparticles. The sustained release from HES-MA disks could be further optimized by using increased polymer concentrations. Human serum as in vitro release medium reflected better the in vivo release from HES-P(EG)(6)MA systems than PBS, suggesting that the presence of organic substances like proteins or lipids may play a significant role for the release kinetics. KW - In vivo imaging system (IVIS) KW - Hydrogel disks KW - Hydrogel microparticles KW - Release KW - In vivo-in vitro correlation KW - Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.05.049 SN - 0168-3659 VL - 162 IS - 1 SP - 127 EP - 133 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Penning, Isabelle A1 - Müller, Heike ED - SchoolEducationGateway. Europe's online platform for school education, T1 - Consumer education BT - coping with everyday life – shaping society JF - SchoolEducationGateway Y1 - 2021 UR - https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/latest/news/consumer-education.htm ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartsch, Silke A1 - Bauer, Katharina A1 - Müller, Heike A1 - Penning, Isabelle T1 - Verbraucherkompetenzen für morgen und durch Lehrkräfteweiterbildung heute BT - Professionalisierung von Lehrpersonen in der Verbraucherbildung JF - Haushalt in Bildung und Forschung (HiBiFo) N2 - Verbraucherbildung ist bundesweit vielfältig in curricularen Vorgaben verankert. Fachfremde Lehrpersonen benötigen Professionalisierungsangebote, um die Verbraucherbildung als Querschnittsaufgabe in ihren Fächern implementieren zu können. Erkenntnisse aus der Professionalisierungsforschung werden daher im Beitrag in Bezug auf das cLEVER-Projekt zusammengetragen, um sie für Fortbildungsangebote nutzbar zu machen. N2 - Consumer education is anchored in a variety of curricular guidelines throughout Germany. Teachers from outside the subject area need professionalization offers in order to be able to implement consumer education as a cross-sectional task in their subjects. Findings from professionalization research will, therefore, be compiled in the article relating to the cLEV ER-project to make them usable for further training courses. KW - Verbraucherbildung KW - Consumer Literacy KW - Professionalisierung KW - Lehrerbildung KW - Fortbildung KW - consumer education KW - consumer literacy KW - professionalization KW - eacher training KW - continuing education Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3224/hibifo.v8i4.06 SN - 2193-8806 SN - 2196-1662 VL - 8 IS - 4 SP - 90 EP - 103 PB - Budrich CY - Leverkusen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szameitat, Ulrike A1 - Kampe, Heike A1 - Eckardt, Barbara A1 - Görlich, Petra A1 - Haller, Silja A1 - Rost, Sophia A1 - Müller, Sarah A1 - Sütterlin, Sabine A1 - Winter, Nora A1 - Jäger, Sophie A1 - Zimmermann, Matthias T1 - Portal = Gesellschaft im Wandel: Zukunftsaufgabe Inklusion BT - Das Potsdamer Universitätsmagazin N2 - Aus dem Inhalt: - Gesellschaft im Wandel: Zukunftsaufgabe Inklusion - Mit Kopf und Füßen - Du bist, was du guckst T3 - Portal: Das Potsdamer Universitätsmagazin - 03/2013 Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-440531 SN - 1618-6893 IS - 03/2013 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Müller, Juliane A1 - Stein, Ruediger A1 - Tiedemann, Ralf A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Changes in the composition of marine and sea-ice diatoms derived from sedimentary ancient DNA of the eastern Fram Strait over the past 30 000 years JF - Ocean science N2 - The Fram Strait is an area with a relatively low and irregular distribution of diatom microfossils in surface sediments, and thus microfossil records are scarce, rarely exceed the Holocene, and contain sparse information about past richness and taxonomic composition. These attributes make the Fram Strait an ideal study site to test the utility of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding. Amplifying a short, partial rbcL marker from samples of sediment core MSM05/5-712-2 resulted in 95.7% of our sequences being assigned to diatoms across 18 different families, with 38.6% of them being resolved to species and 25.8% to genus level. Independent replicates show a high similarity of PCR products, especially in the oldest samples. Diatom sedaDNA richness is highest in the Late Weichselian and lowest in Mid- and Late Holocene samples. Taxonomic composition is dominated by cold-water and sea-ice-associated diatoms and suggests several reorganisations - after the Last Glacial Maximum, after the Younger Dryas, and after the Early and after the Mid-Holocene. Different sequences assigned to, amongst others, Chaetoceros socialis indicate the detectability of intra-specific diversity using sedaDNA. We detect no clear pattern between our diatom sedaDNA record and the previously published IP25 record of this core, although proportions of pennate diatoms increase with higher IP25 concentrations and proportions of Nitzschia cf. frigida exceeding 2% of the assemblage point towards past sea-ice presence. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-1017-2020 SN - 1812-0784 VL - 16 IS - 5 SP - 1017 EP - 1032 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Müller, Juliane A1 - Stein, Ruediger A1 - Tiedemann, Ralf A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Changes in the composition of marine and sea-ice diatoms derived from sedimentary ancient DNA of the eastern Fram Strait over the past 30 000 years JF - Ocean Science N2 - The Fram Strait is an area with a relatively low and irregular distribution of diatom microfossils in surface sediments, and thus microfossil records are scarce, rarely exceed the Holocene, and contain sparse information about past richness and taxonomic composition. These attributes make the Fram Strait an ideal study site to test the utility of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding. Amplifying a short, partial rbcL marker from samples of sediment core MSM05/5-712-2 resulted in 95.7 % of our sequences being assigned to diatoms across 18 different families, with 38.6 % of them being resolved to species and 25.8 % to genus level. Independent replicates show a high similarity of PCR products, especially in the oldest samples. Diatom sedaDNA richness is highest in the Late Weichselian and lowest in Mid- and Late Holocene samples. Taxonomic composition is dominated by cold-water and sea-ice-associated diatoms and suggests several reorganisations – after the Last Glacial Maximum, after the Younger Dryas, and after the Early and after the Mid-Holocene. Different sequences assigned to, amongst others, Chaetoceros socialis indicate the detectability of intra-specific diversity using sedaDNA. We detect no clear pattern between our diatom sedaDNA record and the previously published IP25 record of this core, although proportions of pennate diatoms increase with higher IP25 concentrations and proportions of Nitzschia cf. frigida exceeding 2 % of the assemblage point towards past sea-ice presence. KW - last glacial maximum KW - surface temperatures KW - species composition KW - greenland shelf KW - Disko Bay KW - phytoplankton KW - communities KW - variability KW - diversity KW - Svalbard Y1 - 2019 VL - 16 IS - 5 PB - Springer CY - Tokyo ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Muckelbauer, Rebecca A1 - Englert, Heike A1 - Rieckmann, Nina A1 - Chen, Chih-Mei A1 - Wegscheider, Karl A1 - Völler, Heinz A1 - Katus, Hugo A. A1 - Willich, Stefan N. A1 - Müller-Nordhorn, Jacqueline T1 - Long-term effect of a low-intensity smoking intervention embedded in an adherence program for patients with hypercholesterolemia: Randomized controlled trial JF - Preventive medicine : an international journal devoted to practice and theory N2 - Objective. We evaluated the long-term effect of a smoking intervention embedded in an adherence program in patients with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Method. Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial: In 2002-2004,8108 patients with hypercholesterolemia were enrolled from general practices in Germany. Patients received a 12-month adherence program and statin medication (intervention) or statin medication only (control). The program aimed to improve adherence to medication and lifestyle by educational material, mailings, and phone calls. Smoking was self-reported at baseline and every 6 months during the 3-year follow-up. Results. In total, 7640 patients were analyzed. At baseline, smoking prevalence was 21.7% in the intervention and 21.5% in the control group. Prevalence decreased in both groups to 16.6% vs. 19.5%, 153% vs. 16.8%, and 14.2% vs. 15.6% at the 12-, 24-, and 36-month follow-up. The intervention had a beneficial effect on smoking differing over time (group x time: P = 0.005). The effect was largest after 6 and 12 months [odds ratios (95% confidence intervals): 0.67 (0.54-0.82) and 0.63 (0.51-0.78)]. The effect decreased until the 18-month follow-up [0.72 (0.58-0.90)] and was not significant after 24 months. Conclusion. A low-intensity smoking intervention embedded in an adherence program can contribute to smoking cessation although the intervention effect diminished over time. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. KW - Smoking KW - Smoking cessation KW - Cardiovascular risk factors KW - Health promotion KW - Randomized controlled trial KW - Multiple risk factor intervention KW - Hypercholesterolemia Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.05.026 SN - 0091-7435 SN - 1096-0260 VL - 77 SP - 155 EP - 161 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Zimmermann, Matthias A1 - Eckardt, Barbara A1 - Jäger, Heidi A1 - Kampe, Heike A1 - Horn-Conrad, Antje A1 - Jäger, Sophie T1 - Portal Wissen = Paths BT - The Research Magazine of the University of Potsdam N2 - How traits are inherited from one generation to the next, how mutations change genetic information and consequently contribute to the development of new characteristics and emergence of new species – all these are exciting biological questions. Over millions of years, genetic differentiation has brought about an incredible diversity of species. Evolution has followed many different paths. It has led to an awesome natural biodiversity – to organisms that have adapted to very different environments and are sometimes oddly shaped or behave strangely. Humanmade biodiversity is stunning, too. Just think of the 10,000 rose varieties whose beauty delights, or the myriad wheat, barley, and corn variations; plants that had all once been plain grasses feed us today. We humans create our own biodiversity unknown to nature. And it is serving us well. Thanks to genome research we are now able to read the complete genetic information of organisms within a few hours or days. It takes much longer, however, to functionally map the many genomic sequences. Researchers achieve this through various methods: Activating or deactivating genes systematically, modifying their code, and exchanging genetic information between organisms have become standard procedures worldwide. The path to knowledge is often intricate, though. Elaborate experimental approaches are often necessary to gain insight into biological processes. Methods of genomic research enable us to investigate not only what is “out there” in nature, but also to ask, “How does a living organism, like a moss, react when sent to the International Space Station (ISS)? Can we gain knowledge about the adaptation strategies of living beings in harsh environmental conditions or even for colonizing the Moon or Mars?” Can we use synthetic biology to precisely alter microorganisms, planned on a drawing board so to speak, to create new options for treating diseases or for making innovative biology-based products? The answer to both questions is a resounding Yes! (Although moving to other planets is not on our present agenda.) Human land use determines biodiversity. On the other hand, organisms influence the formation of landscapes and, sooner or later, the composition of our atmosphere. This also leads to exciting scientific questions. Researchers have to strike new paths to reach new conclusions. Paths often cross other paths. A few years ago it was still unforeseeable that ecological research would substantially benefit from fast DNA sequencing methods. Genome researchers could hardly assume that the same techniques would lead to new possibilities for examining the highly complex cellular regulation and optimizing biotechnological processes. You will find examples of the multi-faceted research in biology as well as other very interesting articles in the latest edition of Portal Wissen. I wish you an enjoyable read! Prof. Dr. Bernd Müller-Röber Professor of Molecular Biology T3 - Portal Wissen: The research magazine of the University of Potsdam [Englische Ausgabe] - 01/2015 Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-441506 SN - 2198-9974 IS - 01/2015 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Carpinteiro, Alexander A1 - Becker, Katrin Anne A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Hessler, Gabriele A1 - Keitsch, Simone A1 - Pozgajova, Miroslava A1 - Schmid, Kurt W. A1 - Adams, Constantin A1 - Müller, Stefan A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Edwards, Michael J. A1 - Grassme, Heike A1 - Helfrich, Iris A1 - Gulbins, Erich T1 - Regulation of hematogenous tumor metastasis by acid sphingomyelinase JF - EMBO molecular medicine N2 - Metastatic dissemination of cancer cells is the ultimate hallmark of malignancy and accounts for approximately 90% of human cancer deaths. We investigated the role of acid sphingomyelinase (Asm) in the hematogenous metastasis of melanoma cells. Intravenous injection of B16F10 melanoma cells into wild-type mice resulted in multiple lung metastases, while Asm-deficient mice (Smpd1(-/-) mice) were protected from pulmonary tumor spread. Transplanting wild-type platelets into Asm-deficient mice reinstated tumor metastasis. Likewise, Asm-deficient mice were protected from hematogenous MT/ret melanoma metastasis to the spleen in a mouse model of spontaneous tumor metastasis. Human and mouse melanoma cells triggered activation and release of platelet secretory Asm, in turn leading to ceramide formation, clustering, and activation of 51 integrins on melanoma cells finally leading to adhesion of the tumor cells. Clustering of integrins by applying purified Asm or C-16 ceramide to B16F10 melanoma cells before intravenous injection restored trapping of tumor cells in the lung in Asm-deficient mice. This effect was revertable by arginine-glycine-aspartic acid peptides, which are known inhibitors of integrins, and by antibodies neutralizing 1 integrins. These findings indicate that melanoma cells employ platelet-derived Asm for adhesion and metastasis. KW - acid sphingomyelinase KW - ceramide KW - integrins KW - platelets KW - tumor-metastasis Y1 - 2015 SN - 1757-4676 SN - 1757-4684 VL - 7 IS - 6 SP - 714 EP - 734 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - GEN A1 - Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Müller, Juliane A1 - Stein, Ruediger A1 - Tiedemann, Ralf A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Changes in the composition of marine and sea-ice diatoms derived from sedimentary ancient DNA of the eastern Fram Strait over the past 30 000 years T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The Fram Strait is an area with a relatively low and irregular distribution of diatom microfossils in surface sediments, and thus microfossil records are scarce, rarely exceed the Holocene, and contain sparse information about past richness and taxonomic composition. These attributes make the Fram Strait an ideal study site to test the utility of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding. Amplifying a short, partial rbcL marker from samples of sediment core MSM05/5-712-2 resulted in 95.7 % of our sequences being assigned to diatoms across 18 different families, with 38.6 % of them being resolved to species and 25.8 % to genus level. Independent replicates show a high similarity of PCR products, especially in the oldest samples. Diatom sedaDNA richness is highest in the Late Weichselian and lowest in Mid- and Late Holocene samples. Taxonomic composition is dominated by cold-water and sea-ice-associated diatoms and suggests several reorganisations – after the Last Glacial Maximum, after the Younger Dryas, and after the Early and after the Mid-Holocene. Different sequences assigned to, amongst others, Chaetoceros socialis indicate the detectability of intra-specific diversity using sedaDNA. We detect no clear pattern between our diatom sedaDNA record and the previously published IP25 record of this core, although proportions of pennate diatoms increase with higher IP25 concentrations and proportions of Nitzschia cf. frigida exceeding 2 % of the assemblage point towards past sea-ice presence. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1195 KW - last glacial maximum KW - surface temperatures KW - species composition KW - greenland shelf KW - Disko Bay KW - phytoplankton KW - communities KW - variability KW - diversity KW - Svalbard Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-525154 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 5 ER -