Soil water content data from the Jena-Ecotron (12 soil monoliths with 4-species and 16-species mixtures, up to 140 m depth, year 2012)

This dataset contains measurements of soil water content from the 12 macrocosms used in the Jena-Ecotron Experiment in 2012. This experiment was conducted in the Montpellier European Ecotron (CNRS, France), an advanced controlled environment facility for ecosystem research, and aimed at understanding the impact of plant species richness (4 vs. 16 species) for ecosystem carbon and water fluxes. The soil monoliths used in this experiment contained plant communities originating from the long- term Jena Experiment (50°57.1' N, 11°37.5' E, 130 m above sea level; mean annual temperature 9.3°C, mean annual precipitation 587 mm) established in May 2002. Twelve plots from the Jena Experiment were selected for the Jena-Ecotron study according to the following criteria: (1) the four functional groups grasses, legumes, small and tall herbs were present, (2) realized species numbers were close to sown species richness, and (3) plots were equally distributed across the experimental field site to account for different soil textures. Large monoliths (2 m² surface area, diameter of 1.6 m, 2 m depth with a weight of 7 to 8 tons) including intact soil and vegetation were excavated from the twelve plots in December 2011 and placed in lysimeters. In March 2012, before the start of the vegetation growth, the lysimeters were transported and installed in the Macrocosms platform of the Montpellier European Ecotron. Soil water contents used for estimating root water uptake was measured with time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors TRIME-PICO 32 (IMKO Micromodultechnik GmbH, Germany), which were placed horizontally in six soil depths into the soil monoliths (one sensor at 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, 60 cm, 100 cm, and 140 cm, respectively). The used sensors had a rod length of 110 mm and a rod diameter of 3.5 mm. The total length of the sensor was 328 mm. The measurements were taken every minute from mid of June to end of July (13.06.-28.07.2012). The sensors were installed with a minimum distance of 22 cm to other sensor installations, and the edge of the lysimeter steel wall. As with the other climatic variables in the Jena-Ecotron experiment, we aimed to recreate the environmental conditions measured in the field at the Jena Experiment site in year 2007

Refining genotype–phenotype correlations in 304 patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease and PKHD1 gene variants

International audienceAutosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a severe disease of early childhood that is clinically characterized by fibrocystic changes of the kidneys and the liver. The main cause of ARPKD are variants in the PKHD1 gene encoding the large transmembrane protein fibrocystin. The mechanisms underlying the observed clinical heterogeneity in ARPKD remain incompletely understood, partly due to the fact that genotype-phenotype correlations have been limited to the association of biallelic null variants in PKHD1 with the most severe phenotypes. In this observational study we analyzed a deep clinical dataset of 304 patients with ARPKD from two independent cohorts and identified novel genotype-phenotype correlations during childhood and adolescence. Biallelic null variants frequently show severe courses. Additionally, our data suggest that the affected region in PKHD1 is important in determining the phenotype. Patients with two missense variants affecting amino acids 709-1837 of fibrocystin or a missense variant in this region and a null variant less frequently developed chronic kidney failure, and patients with missense variants affecting amino acids 1838-2624 showed better hepatic outcome. Variants affecting amino acids 2625-4074 of fibrocystin were associated with poorer hepatic outcome. Thus, our data expand the understanding of genotype-phenotype correlations in pediatric ARPKD patients and can lay the foundation for more precise and personalized counselling and treatment approaches