Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Article (1133)
- Doctoral Thesis (831)
- Preprint (69)
- Book (59)
- Contribution to a Periodical (44)
- Conference Proceeding (10)
- Diploma Thesis (10)
- Review (8)
- diplomthesis (4)
- Report (3)
Has Fulltext
- yes (2172)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2172)
Keywords
- Podospora anserina (17)
- aging (17)
- mitochondria (12)
- autophagy (10)
- Archaea (9)
- Haloferax volcanii (9)
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae (9)
- Phylogeny (8)
- heat stress (8)
- Mitochondria (7)
Institute
- Biowissenschaften (2172) (remove)
Echolocating bats exhibit remarkable auditory behaviors, enabled by adaptations within and outside their auditory system. Yet, research in echolocating bats has focused mostly on brain areas that belong to the classic ascending auditory pathway. This study provides direct evidence linking the cerebellum, an evolutionarily ancient and non-classic auditory structure, to vocalization and hearing. We report that in the fruit-eating bat Carollia perspicillata, external sounds can evoke cerebellar responses with latencies below 20 ms. Such fast responses are indicative of early inputs to the bat cerebellum. In vocalizing bats, distinct spike train patterns allow the prediction with over 85% accuracy of the sound they are about to produce, or have just produced, i.e., communication calls or echolocation pulses. Taken together, our findings provide evidence of specializations for vocalization and hearing in the cerebellum of an auditory specialist.
Abstract
Seed harvesting from wild plant populations is key for ecological restoration, but may threaten the persistence of source populations. Consequently, several countries have set guidelines limiting the proportions of harvestable seeds. However, these guidelines are so far inconsistent, and they lack a solid empirical basis. Here, we use high-resolution data from 298 plant species to model the demographic consequences of seed harvesting. We find that the current guidelines do not protect populations of annuals and short-lived perennials, while they are overly restrictive for long-lived plants. We show that the maximum possible fraction of seed production – what can be harvested without compromising the long-term persistence of populations – is strongly related to the generation time of the target species. When harvesting every year, this safe seed fraction ranges from 80% in long-lived species to 2% in most annuals. Less frequent seed harvesting substantially increases the safe seed fraction: In the most vulnerable annual species, it is safe to harvest 5%, 10% or 30% of population seed production when harvesting every two, five or ten years, respectively. Our results provide a quantitative basis for seed harvesting legislations worldwide, based on species’ generation time and harvesting regime.
Significance The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 2021-2030, foresees upscaling restoration, and the demand for native seed is skyrocketing. Seeds for restoring native vegetation are often harvested in wild, but too intensive harvest can threaten the donor populations. Existing guidelines that set limits to wild seed harvest are mostly based on expert opinions, yet they commonly lack empirical basis and vary among regions in one order of magnitude. We show that the current guidelines urgently need to be reformulated, because they are overly restrictive in long-lived species, while they do not protect annual plants from extinction. Using matrix population models of nearly 300 plant species, we provide a quantitative basis for a new seed harvesting legislation world-wide.
Cyclin CLB2 mRNA localization and protein synthesis link cell cycle progression to bud growth
(2024)
Clb2 is a conserved mitotic B-type cyclin, the levels of which are finely controlled to drive progression through the cell cycle. While it is known that CLB2 transcription and Clb2 protein degradation are important for precise control of its expression, it remains unclear whether the synthesis of Clb2 is also regulated. To address whether and how Clb2 expression levels respond to cell growth changes and adapt cell cycle progression, we combined single-cell and single-molecule imaging methods to measure CLB2 mRNA and protein expression throughout the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell cycle. We found that the CLB2 mRNA was efficiently localized to the yeast bud as soon as this compartment was formed, but strikingly the Clb2 protein accumulated in the mother nucleus. The CLB2 mRNA localization in the yeast bud by the She2-3 complex did not control protein localization but rather promoted CLB2 translation. Moreover, CLB2 mRNA bud localization and protein synthesis were coupled and dependent on a single secondary structure -a ZIP code-located in the coding sequence. In a CLB2 ZIP code mutant, mRNA localization was impaired and Clb2 protein synthesis decreased, resulting in changes in cell cycle distribution and increased size of daughter cells at birth. Finally, while in WT cells the Clb2 protein concentration followed bud growth, this relationship was impaired in the ZIP code mutant. We propose that S. cerevisiae couples the control of CLB2 mRNA bud localization and protein synthesis to coordinate cell growth and cell cycle progression. This mechanism extends our knowledge of CLB2 expression regulation, and constitutes a novel function for mRNA localization.
Research on the human and animal microbiome has become increasingly important in recent years. It is now widely accepted the gut microbiome is of crucial importance to health, as it is involved in a large number of physiological processes. The term ‘microbiome’ refers to the all living microorganisms including their genes and metabolites in a defined environment, while the specific composition of microorganisms consisting of bacteria, archaea and protozoa is referred to as the ‘microbiota’ (Lane-Petter, 1962; Lederberg and McCray, 2001).
In recent years, research has focused on various of these communities in the soil (Fierer, 2017), water (Sunagawa et al., 2015), air (Leung et al., 2014) and especially in the human gut. However, this topic is also becoming increasingly relevant for the conservation of endangered species. In the face of global mass extinctions and the listing of over 42,000 animal species as ‘critically endangered’, conservation breeding programmes are more important than ever (Díaz et al., 2019; IUCN, 2022). The responsibility for these tasks lies with zoological institutions, which are dedicated to animal conservation and the continuous monitoring of animal welfare. Microbiome research offers a non-invasive method to support species conservation. By analysing faecal samples, microbial markers can be identified that provide important information about the health status and reproductive cycle of animals (Weingrill et al., 2004; Antwis et al., 2019). Zoological facilities also provide an ideal research environment for comparing individuals from different habitats. In addition, all necessary metadata such as age, sex, kinship or medical treatment are documented and can be used for the analysis.
This is the starting point for this thesis. In order to identify such microbial markers, it is necessary to understand the microbiome of a variety of animal species. The first aim is therefore to characterise the faecal microbiota of 31 mammalian species, focusing on herbivores and carnivores. It could be shown that they differ significantly in terms of both microbial diversity and microbiota composition. Herbivorous species express a very diverse microbial composition, consisting mainly of cellulose-degrading taxa of the families Fibrobacteraceae or Spirochaetaceae. In contrast, the microbiota of carnivorous species is less diverse and is dominated by protein-degrading Fusobacteriaceae and Clostridiaceae. In addition, this thesis proves that the microbiota of herbivorous species is highly consistent, whereas the microbiota of carnivorous species is highly variable. The results of this study provide important insights for the sampling scheme of future projects. Especially when analysing carnivorous species, single samples are not sufficient to capture the full variability of the microbiome.
These results lead to the question of whether this variability can be explained by daily fluctuations in the individual microbiome and whether this can be used to distinguish between species or individuals. Using individual longitudinal data and a combined approach of clustering algorithms and dynamic time warping, it is shown that such a distinction is possible at the species and individual level. This was confirmed for both a carnivorous (Panthera tigris) and a herbivorous (Connochaetes taurinus) species. These results confirm the influence of the host individual on the faecal microbiota, in addition to the often described influence of diet (Ley et al., 2008a; Kartzinel et al., 2019).
Based on the knowledge gained from these studies, a methodology has been developed that will enable the conservation of species in the field to be supported by microbiome research in the future. The focus here lays on the identification of host-specific metadata based on the faecal microbiota. The developed regression model is able to distinguish between carnivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous hosts with up to 99% accuracy. In addition, a more accurate phylogenetic classification of the family (Canidae, Felidae, Ursidae, Herpestidae) can be made for carnivorous hosts. For herbivorous hosts, the model can predict the respective digestive system with up to 100% accuracy, distinguishing between ruminants, hindgut fermenters and a simple digestive system. The acquisition of host-specific metadata from an unknown faecal sample is an important step towards establishing microbiome research in species conservation. Field studies in particular will benefit from such new methods. Usually, costly microsatellite analysis and high-quality host DNA are required to obtain host-specific information from faecal samples. The newly developed method offers a less costly and labour-intensive alternative to conventional techniques and opens up a more accessible field for microbiome research in the field.
The negative effect of fossil-based industrial processes on the environment, especially the contribution to global warming by emitting greenhouse gases such as CO2 causes a global threat to mankind. Therefore, technologies are demanded by the society for a sustainable and environmentally friendly economy. The biotechnological use of sugar-based feedstocks to produce valuable products are in conflict with, for example, food production. In order to overcome this issue, waste products such as syngas (H2, CO and CO2) or CO2 taken from the atmosphere are of increasing interest for biotechnological applications. Acetogenic bacteria are already used at industrial scale to produce sustainable and environmentally friendly biofuels from syngas. A promising candidate due to its physiological flexibility is the thermophilic acetogen Moorella thermoacetica. In contrast to most acetogens M. thermoacetica is not restricted to one energy conserving system. In addition to the Ech complex, cytochromes and quinones may be involved in energy conservation by, for example, DMSO respiration. The extra energy conserved can be used to form highly valuable but energy demanding products. In this review we give insights into the physiology of this acetogen, the current state of the art of M. thermoacetica as a platform for biotechnological applications and discuss future perspectives.
The ability of wild animals to navigate and survive in complex and dynamic environments depends on their ability to store relevant information and place it in a spatial context. Despite the centrality of spatial memory, and given our increasing ability to observe animal movements in the wild, it is perhaps surprising how difficult it is to demonstrate spatial memory empirically. We present a cognitive analysis of movements of several wolves (Canis lupus) in Finland during a summer period of intensive hunting and den-centered pup-rearing. We tracked several wolves in the field by visiting nearly all GPS locations outside the den, allowing us to identify the species, location and timing of nearly all prey killed. We then developed a model that assigns a spatially explicit value based on memory of predation success and territorial marking. The framework allows for estimation of multiple cognitive parameters, including temporal and spatial scales of memory. For most wolves, fitted memory-based models outperformed null models by 20 to 50% at predicting locations where wolves chose to forage. However, there was a high amount of individual variability among wolves in strength and even direction of responses to experiences. Some wolves tended to return to locations with recent predation success—following a strategy of foraging site fidelity—while others appeared to prefer a site switching strategy. These differences are possibly explained by variability in pack sizes, numbers of pups, and features of the territories. Our analysis points toward concrete strategies for incorporating spatial memory in the study of animal movements while providing nuanced insights into the behavioral strategies of individual predators.
Argonaute 2 (AGO2) is an indispensable component of the RNA-induced silencing complex, operating at the translational or posttranscriptional level. It is compartmentalized into structures such as GW- and P-bodies, stress granules and adherens junctions as well as the midbody. Here we show using immunofluorescence, image and bioinformatic analysis and cytogenetics that AGO2 also resides in membrane protrusions such as open- and close-ended tubes. The latter are cytokinetic bridges where AGO2 colocalizes at the midbody arms with cytoskeletal components such as α-Τubulin and Aurora B, and various kinases. AGO2, phosphorylated on serine 387, is located together with Dicer at the midbody ring in a manner dependent on p38 MAPK activity. We further show that AGO2 is stress sensitive and important to ensure the proper chromosome segregation and cytokinetic fidelity. We suggest that AGO2 is part of a regulatory mechanism triggered by cytokinetic stress to generate the appropriate micro-environment for local transcript homeostasis.
Neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders (NPDs) like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and schizophrenia, affect millions of people worldwide. Despite recent progress in NPD research, much remains to be discovered about their underpinnings, therapeutic targets, effects of biological sex and age. Risk factors influencing brain development and signalling include prenatal inflammation and genetic variation. This dissertation aimed to build upon these findings by combining behavioural, molecular, and neuromorphological investigations in mouse models of such risk factors, i.e. maternal immune activation (MIA), neuron-specific overexpression (OE) of the cytoplasmatic isoforms of the RNA-binding protein RBFOX1, and neuronal deletion of the small Ras GTPase DIRAS2.
Maternal infections during pregnancy pose an increased risk for NPDs in the offspring. While viral-like MIA has been previously established elsewhere, this study was the first in our institution to implement the model. I validated NPD-relevant deficits in anxiety- and depression-like behaviours, as well as dose- and sex-specific social deficits in mouse offspring following MIA in early gestation. Proteomic analyses in embryonic and adult hippocampal (HPC) synaptoneurosomes highlighted novel and known targets affected by MIA. Analysis of the embryonic dataset implicated neurodevelopmental disruptions of the lipid, polysaccharide, and glycoprotein metabolism, important for proper membrane function, signalling, and myelination, for NPD-pertinent sequelae. In adulthood, the observed changes encompassed transmembrane trafficking and intracellular signalling, apoptosis, and cytoskeletal organisation pathways. Importantly, 50 proteins altered by MIA in embryonic and adult HPC were enriched in the NPD-relevant synaptic vesicle cycle. A persistently upregulated protein cluster formed a functional network involved in presynaptic signalling and proteins downregulated in embryos but upregulated in adults by MIA were correlated with observed social deficits. 49/50 genes encoding these proteins were significantly associated with NPD- and comorbidity-relevant traits in human phenome-wise association study data for psychiatric phenotypes. These findings highlight NPD-relevant targets for future study and early intervention in at-risk individuals. MIA-evoked changes in the neuroarchitecture of the NPD-relevant HPC and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of male and female mice highlighted sex- and region-specific alterations in dendritic and spine morphology, possibly underlining behavioural phenotypes.
To further investigate genetic risk factors of NPDs, I performed a study based on the implications of RBFOX1’s pleiotropic role in neuropsychiatric disorders and previous preclinical findings. Cytoplasmatic OE of RBFOX1, which affects the stability and translation of thousands of targets, was used to disseminate its role in morphology and behaviour. RBFOX1 OE affected dendritic length and branching in the male PFC and led to spine alterations in both PFC and HPC. Due to previously observed ASD-like endophenotypes in our Rbfox1 KO mice and the importance of gene × environment effects on NPD susceptibility, I probed the interaction of cytoplasmatic OE and a low-dose MIA on offspring. Both RBFOX1 OE alone and with MIA led to increased offspring loss during the perinatal period. Preliminary data suggested that RBFOX1 OE × MIA might increase anxiety- and anhedonia-like behaviours. Morphological changes in the adult male OE HPC and PFC suggested increased spine density and reduced dendritic complexity. A small post-mortem study in human dorsolateral PFC of older adults did not reveal significant effects of a common risk variant on RBFOX1 abundance.
To expand upon NPD genetic risks, I evaluated the effects of a homo- (KO) or heterozygous (HET) Diras2 deletion in a novel, neuron-specific mouse model. DIRAS2’s function is largely unknown, but it has been associated with ADHD in humans and neurodevelopment in vitro. In adult mice, there were subtle sex-specific effects on behaviour, i.e. more pronounced NPD-relevant deficits in males, in keeping with human data. KO mice had subtly improved cognitive performance, while HET mice exhibited behaviours in line with core ADHD symptoms, e.g. earning difficulties (females), response inhibition deficits and hyperactivity (males), suggesting Diras2 dose-sensitivity and sex-specificity. The morphological findings revealed multiple aberrations in dendritic and spine morphology in the adult PFC, HPC, and amygdala of HET males. KOs changes in spine and dendritic morphology were exclusively in the PFC and largely opposite to those in HETs and NPD-like phenotypes. Region- and genotype-specific expression changes in Diras2 and Diras1 were observed in six relevant brain regions of adult HET and KO females, also revealing differences in the survival and morphology regulator mTOR, which might underlie observed differences.
In conclusion, the effects of MIA and partial Diras2 knockdown resembled each other in core, NPD-associated behavioural and morphological phenotypes, while cytoplasmatic RBFOX1 OE and full Diras2 KO differed from those. My findings suggest complex dose- and sex-dependent relationships between these prenatal and genetic interventions, whose NPD-relevant influences might converge onto neurodevelopmental molecular pathways. An assessment of such putative overlap, based on available data from the MIA proteomic analyses of embryonic and adult HPC, suggested the three models might be linked via downstream targets, interactions, and upstream regulators. Future studies should disseminate both distinct and shared aspects of MIA, RBFOX1, and DIRAS2 relevant to NPDs and build upon these findings.
It is widely acknowledged that biodiversity change is affecting human well-being by altering the supply of Nature's Contributions to People (NCP). Nevertheless, the role of individual species in this relationship remains obscure. In this article, we present a framework that combines the cascade model from ecosystem services research with network theory from community ecology. This allows us to quantitatively link NCP demanded by people to the networks of interacting species that underpin them. We show that this “network cascade” framework can reveal the number, identity and importance of the individual species that drive NCP and of the environmental conditions that support them. This information is highly valuable in demonstrating the importance of biodiversity in supporting human well-being and can help inform the management of biodiversity in social-ecological systems.