Die Bedeutung des Thymus bei der Citrullinierung von Autoantigenen

Die Citrullinierung wird von den PADs katalysiert. In dieser Arbeit wurde untersucht, ob dagegen eine zentrale Toleranz auf T-Zell-Ebene induziert werden kann. Dazu wurden mTECs aus den Thymi von 3 Mausstämmen (NMRI, BL6 und DBA/1) analysiert und sortiert. Danach wurde die RNA isoliert und mit Hilfe der qPCR stammspezifisch die PAD-Expression untersucht. Die PAD-Gene werden in den mTECs auf RNA-Ebene exprimiert. Es wurde eine verminderte Zahl an mTECs für den anfälligen DBA/1-Mausstamm festgestellt. Des Weiteren wurde eine Korrelation zwischen der Expression von Aire und den PAD-Genen nachgewiesen

Monitoring der initialen Bodenentwicklung im künstlichen Wassereinzugsgebiet „Hühnerwasser“

Das Monitoringprogramm im künstlichen Wassereinzugsgebiet „Hühnerwasser“ umfasst u.a. relevante Parameter zur Erfassung der initialen Bodenentwicklung. Aufbau und erste Ergebnisse der initialen Zustandserfassung werden gezeig

Analyse von Wechselwirkungen zwischen Infiltration und Abfluss in Abhängigkeit von Oberflächenstrukturen mit einem komplexen Beregnungsexperiment

Unser Forschungsprojekt zielt auf die Analyse der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Iniltration und Oberflächenabfluss vor allem unter dem Aspekt der Strukturdynamik während der initialen Boden- und Ökosystementwicklung. Es wurde ein komplexes Beregnungsexperiment realisiert, mit dem sich sowohl Infiltration als auch Flüusse im und auf dem Boden sowie die Entwicklung von Strukturen im Feldversuch gleichzeitig beobachten und quantifzieren lassen. Ein Regensimulator mit zentraler FullJet-Düse erzeugt eine Niederschlagsintensität von ca. 120mm/h. Die Tropfenspektren und Fallgeschwindigkeiten entsprechen denen natürlicher Starkregen. Ein Laser-Distrometer erfasst das Tropfenspektrum; eine Digitalkamera zeichnet das Regenereignis auf; Tensiometer registrieren den Potentialverlauf im Boden und die Abflussmengen und Sedimentfrachten werden im Zeitverlauf erfasst. Oberflächenstrukturen und Bodenproben werden vor und nach dem Ereignis vermessen bzw. entnommen. Im Feldexperiment mit sandigem quartärem geschüttetem Sediment konnten alle Komponenten im zeitlichen Ablauf erfasst werden. Die Änderung der Fließpfade an der Oberfläche korrespondierte direkt mit einer Änderung in der Abussrate

The influence of cytosolic phosphorylating glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPC) on potato tuber metabolism

The aim of this work was to investigate the importance of cytosolic phosphorylating glyceralclehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPC) in potato carbohydrate metabolism. For this purpose, the cytosolic isoform of phosphorylating GAPC was cloned and used for an antisense approach to generate transgenic potato plants that exhibited constitutively decreased GAPDH activity. Potato lines with decreased activities of phosphorylating GAPC exhibited no major changes in either whole-plant or tuber morphology. However, the levels of 3-phosphoglycerate were decreased in leaves of the transformants. A broad metabolic phenotyping of tubers from the transformants revealed an increase in sucrose and UDPgiucose content, a decrease in the glycolytic intermediates 3-phosphoglycerate and phosphoenolpyruvate but little change in the levels of other metabolites. Moreover, the transformants displayed no differences in cold sweetening with respect to the wild type. Taken together these data suggest that phosphorylating GAPC plays only a minor role in the regulation of potato metabolism. The results presented here are discussed in relation to current models regarding primary metabolism in the potato tuber parenchyma

Alcohol dehydrogenase 1 of barley modulates susceptibility to the parasitic fungus Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei

Plant primary energy metabolism is profoundly reorganized under biotic stress conditions and there is increasing evidence for a role for the fermentative pathway in biotic interactions. However, the mechanisms regulating metabolic reprogramming are not well understood despite its critical function in the biotic stress response. Here the function of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in the interaction of barley with the parasitic fungus Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (Bgh) is addressed. Challenge of susceptible barley leaves with Bgh resulted in transcriptional activation of HvADH1 and an induction of ADH enzyme activity starting 24 h after infection and reaching a clear-cut effect 4 d after infection. This increase in ADH enzyme activity was not observed in the resistant near-isogenic mlo5 line. Moreover, an induction of ADH enzyme activity by Bgh was enhanced in the presence of sucrose in hydroponically grown seedlings. Transient knock-down or overexpression of HvADH1 in barley epidermal cells mediated a decrease or increase in the penetration success of Bgh, respectively. Inhibition of ADH activity by pyrazole resulted in a delay in symptoms. The pyrazole effect could be overcome by adding glucose to the incubation medium, pinpointing a nutritional effect of ADH in the barley–Bgh interaction. Taken together, misexpression of pathogen-inducible HvADH1 or variation of ADH activity modulates the pathogen response of barley to the biotrophic fungal parasite Bgh. In this way, ADH knock-down/inhibition results in reduced fungal success. The possibility is discussed that ADH activity supports biotrophy by maintaining glycolytic metabolism in pathogen-stressed barley

Human papillomavirus L1 protein expressed in tobacco chloroplasts self-assembles into virus-like particles that are highly immunogenic

Cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in women worldwide. It is linked to infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). As the virus cannot be propagated in culture, vaccines based on virus‐like particles have been developed and recently marketed. However, their high costs constitute an important drawback for widespread use in developing countries, where the incidence of cervical cancer is highest. In a search for alternative production systems, the major structural protein of the HPV‐16 capsid, L1, was expressed in tobacco chloroplasts. A very high yield of production was achieved in mature plants (~3 mg L1/g fresh weight; equivalent to 24% of total soluble protein). This is the highest expression level of HPV L1 protein reported in plants. A single mature plant synthesized ~240 mg of L1. The chloroplast‐derived L1 protein displayed conformation‐specific epitopes and assembled into virus‐like particles, visible by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, leaf protein extracts from L1 transgenic plants were highly immunogenic in mice after intraperitoneal injection, and neutralizing antibodies were detected. Taken together, these results predict a promising future for the development of a plant‐based vaccine against HPV.This work was supported by Grants BIO2005‐00155 and CPE03‐022‐C5‐2 from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia and INIA (Spain)

Transcript and metabolite profiling of the adaptive response to mild decreases in oxygen concentration in the roots of arabidopsis plants

Oxygen can fall to low concentrations within plant tissues, either because of environmental factors that decrease the external oxygen concentration or because the movement of oxygen through the plant tissues cannot keep pace with the rate of oxygen consumption. Recent studies document that plants can decrease their oxygen consumption in response to relatively small changes in oxygen concentrations to avoid internal anoxia. The molecular mechanisms underlying this response have not been identified yet. The aim of this study was to use transcript and metabolite profiling to investigate the genomic response of arabidopsis roots to a mild decrease in oxygen concentrations. Arabidopsis seedlings were grown on vertical agar plates at 21, 8, 4 and 1 % (v/v) external oxygen for 0.5, 2 and 48 h. Roots were analysed for changes in transcript levels using Affymetrix whole genome DNA microarrays, and for changes in metabolite levels using routine GC-MS based metabolite profiling. Root extension rates were monitored in parallel to investigate adaptive changes in growth. The results show that root growth was inhibited and transcript and metabolite profiles were significantly altered in response to a moderate decrease in oxygen concentrations. Low oxygen leads to a preferential up-regulation of genes that might be important to trigger adaptive responses in the plant. A small but highly specific set of genes is induced very early in response to a moderate decrease in oxygen concentrations. Genes that were down-regulated mainly encoded proteins involved in energy-consuming processes. In line with this, root extension growth was significantly decreased which will ultimately save ATP and decrease oxygen consumption. This was accompanied by a differential regulation of metabolite levels at short- and long-term incubation at low oxygen. The results show that there are adaptive changes in root extension involving large-scale reprogramming of gene expression and metabolism when oxygen concentration is decreased in a very narrow range

Identification and genetic characterization of a gibberellin 2-oxidase gene that controls tree stature and reproductive growth in plum

Several dwarf plum genotypes (Prunus salicina L.), due to deficiency of unknown gibberellin (GA) signalling, were identified. A cDNA encoding GA 2-oxidase (PslGA2ox), the major gibberellin catabolic enzyme in plants, was cloned and used to screen the GA-deficient hybrids. This resulted in the identification of a dwarf plum hybrid, designated as DGO24, that exhibits a markedly elevated PslGA2ox signal. Grafting ‘Early Golden’ (EG), a commercial plum cultivar, on DGO24 (EG/D) enhanced PslGA2ox accumulation in the scion part and generated trees of compact stature. Assessment of active GAs in such trees revealed that DGO24 and EG/D accumulated relatively much lower quantities of main bioactive GAs (GA1 and GA4) than control trees (EG/M). Moreover, the physiological function of PslGA2ox was studied by determining the molecular and developmental consequences due to ectopic expression in Arabidopsis. Among several lines, two groups of homozygous transgenics that exhibited contrasting phenotypes were identified. Group-1 displayed a dwarf growth pattern typical of mutants with a GA deficiency including smaller leaves, shorter stems, and delay in the development of reproductive events. In contrast, Group-2 exhibited a ‘GA overdose’ phenotype as all the plants showed elongated growth, a typical response to GA application, even under limited GA conditions, potentially due to co-suppression of closely related Arabidopsis homologous. The studies reveal the possibility of utilizing PslGA2ox as a marker for developing size-controlling rootstocks in Prunus