Pflanzenzüchtung im Gartenbaustudium in den Hochschulen in Deutschland

In Deutschland wird Gartenbau an neun Hochschulen, davon sieben für Angewandte – und zwei für Grundlagenwissenschaften, gelehrt. Innerhalb des Agrarstudienganges bieten die Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn und die Universität Hohenheim neben dem Fach Pflanzenzüchtung Module aus dem Fach Gemüse- und Obstbau bzw. Obstbau an. Diese beiden Universitätsstandorte werden daher in die berichtete Analyse einbezogen. Das Angebot im Fach Pflanzenzüchtung in den einzelnen Hochschulen kann an der erzielbaren Anzahl Leistungspunkte (LP’s) bei Wahl entsprechender Module und dem Thema der B.Sc.- und M.Sc.-Arbeit erfasst und verglichen werden. Aus dem Angebot lässt sich weiter ableiten, welchen Anteil das Fach Pflanzenzüchtung an dem gesamten Fächerangebot hat. Dieses ist ein Hinweis auf die Spezialisierungsmöglichkeit im Fach Pflanzenzüchtung in der entsprechenden Hochschule. In den B.Sc.-Studiengängen werden, außer in einer Hochschule, Module mit Pflanzenzüchtungsinhalt angeboten. Der Umfang ist mit anderen Fächern vergleichbar und erlaubt, dem klaren Ziel eines B.Sc.-Abschlusses entsprechend, eine Spezialisierung in dem Fach Pflanzenzüchtung nicht. Im M.Sc.-Studium können grundlegende, umfassende Erkenntnisse im Fach Pflanzenzüchtung aufgrund des Angebotes nur an den genannten vier Hochschulen für Grundlagenwissenschaften erworben werden. Entscheidend ist dabei eine eigenständig vertretene Professur für Pflanzenzüchtung. Im Studienfach Gartenbau existiert diese nur in der LU Hannover. In den drei anderen Hochschulen wird das Angebot Pflanzenzüchtung aus dem Studiengang Agrarwissenschaften importiert. Traditionell streben Pflanzenzüchter zur weiteren Ausbildung eine Promotion an. Bis die Universitäten für Angewandte Wissenschaften ein Promotionsrecht und die entsprechende Ausstattung erhalten, stehen dafür nur die „alten Universitäten“ in der Verantwortung. Eine sehr prekäre Situation ist bereits bei der Ausbildung des Hochschullehrernachwuchses eingetreten. Aktuell ist es nahezu ausgeschlossen, geeignete Kandidaten/Kandidatinnen für das Fach Pflanzenzüchtung zu finden. Vielfältige Anstrengungen werden von Parteien, Ländern, Hochschulen, wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften und dem Berufsstand unternommen, um dem Abbau von Lehre und Forschung im Gartenbau und der Gartenbaulichen Pflanzenzüchtung entgegenzutreten. Die Erfolge sind sehr gering und können den sich eher beschleunigenden Abbau von Lehre und Forschung im Gartenbau nicht aufhalten

Hard x-ray photon-in-photon-out spectroscopy with lifetime resolution – of XAS, XES, RIXSS and HERFD

Spectroscopic techniques that aim to resolve the electronic configuration and local coordination of a central atom by detecting inner-shell radiative decays following photoexcitation using hard X-rays are presented. The experimental setup requires an X-ray spectrometer based on perfect crystal Bragg optics. The possibilities arising from non-resonant (X-Ray Emission Spectroscopy - XES) and resonant excitation (Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering Spectroscopy – RIXSS, High-Energy-Resolution Fluorescence Detected (HERFD) XAS) are discussed when the instrumental energy broadenings of the primary (beamline) monochromator and the crystal spectrometer for x-ray emission detection are on the order of the core hole lifetimes of the intermediate and final electronic states. The small energy bandwidth in the emission detection yields line-sharpened absorption features. In transition metal compounds, electron-electron interactions as well as orbital splittings and fractional population can be revealed. Combination with EXAFS spectroscopy enables to extent the k-range beyond unwanted absorption edges in the sample that limit the EXAFS range in conventional absorption spectroscopy

Production of Siderophores by an Apple Root-Associated Streptomyces ciscaucasicus Strain GS2 Using Chemical and Biological OSMAC Approaches

Apple Replant Disease (ARD) is a significant problem in apple orchards that causes root tissue damage, stunted plant growth, and decline in fruit quality, size, and overall yield. Dysbiosis of apple root-associated microbiome and selective richness of Streptomyces species in the rhizosphere typically concurs root impairment associated with ARD. However, possible roles of Streptomyces secondary metabolites within these observations remain unstudied. Therefore, we employed the One Strain Many Compounds (OSMAC) approach coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMSn) to evaluate the chemical ecology of an apple root-associated Streptomyces ciscaucasicus strain GS2, temporally over 14 days. The chemical OSMAC approach comprised cultivation media alterations using six different media compositions, which led to the biosynthesis of the iron-chelated siderophores, ferrioxamines. The biological OSMAC approach was concomitantly applied by dual-culture cultivation for microorganismal interactions with an endophytic Streptomyces pulveraceus strain ES16 and the pathogen Cylindrocarpon olidum. This led to the modulation of ferrioxamines produced and further triggered biosynthesis of the unchelated siderophores, desferrioxamines. The structures of the compounds were elucidated using HRMSn and by comparison with the literature. We evaluated the dynamics of siderophore production under the combined influence of chemical and biological OSMAC triggers, temporally over 3, 7, and 14 days, to discern the strain’s siderophore-mediated chemical ecology. We discuss our results based on the plausible chemical implications of S. ciscaucasicus strain GS2 in the rhizosphere

Molecular identification of Nectriaceae in infections of apple replant disease affected roots collected by Harris Uni-Core punching or laser microdissection

Apple replant disease (ARD) negatively affects growth and yield of apple plants worldwide. Fungi belonging to the Nectriaceae have often been isolated from roots grown in replant soils and thus are proposed among others as one biotic cause of the disease complex. Microscopic analyses of ARD-affected roots revealed characteristic symptoms associated with fungal infection sites. Here, two extraction methods of such tissue sites were applied to directly identify an unknown fungus that forms typical cauliflower-like structures in diseased root cortex cells. Punching small tissue samples of about 0.5 mm3 volume with the Harris Uni-Core is a quick and easy method to harvest symptomatic material. Secondly, a laser microdissection (LMD) protocol for apple roots was established. This technique allows the extraction of defined cell or tissue fractions from thin cryo-sections. Tissue harvesting was followed by the identification of fungi via PCR amplification of two gene fragments and Sanger sequencing. For Harris samples, Chelex was used for DNA stabilization, while LMD samples were directly submitted to PCR. In Harris samples, mainly the Nectriaceae species Dactylonectria torresensis, Ilyonectria robusta and Rugonectria rugulosa were identified. In addition to these, in LMD samples Cylindrocladiella sp. and Ilyonectria europaea were detected. Thus, the intracellular CF structures contained different species of Nectriaceae in the ARD-affected cortex cells. These results contribute considerably to the etiology of the ARD. Both protocols offer the possibility to identify fungi from selected symptomatic small root sections by molecular tools avoiding isolation and subsequent axenic pure cultures of single fungal isolates

Author Correction: Observations on early fungal infections with relevance for replant disease in fine roots of the rose rootstock Rosa corymbifera 'Laxa'

The Supplementary Table 2 file published with this Article was incomplete. The Gene Bank Accessions numbers for genes Histone 3 (HIS), partial ß-tubulin (TUB) and translation elongation factor 1-a (TEF) were omitted. The original Supplementary Table 2 file is provided below. This error has now been corrected in the Supplementary Information file that accompanies the original Article

Observations on early fungal infections with relevance for replant disease in fine roots of the rose rootstock Rosa corymbifera 'Laxa'.

Replant disease is a worldwide phenomenon affecting various woody plant genera and species, especially within the Rosaceae. Compared to decades of intensive studies regarding replant disease of apple (ARD), the replant disease of roses (RRD) has hardly been investigated. The etiology of RRD is also still unclear and a remedy desperately needed. In greenhouse pot trials with seedlings of the RRD-sensitive rootstock Rosa corymbifera ‘Laxa’ cultured in replant disease affected soils from two different locations, early RRD symptom development was studied in fine roots. In microscopic analyses we found similarities to ARD symptoms with regards to structural damages, impairment in the root hair status, and necroses and blackening in the cortex tissue. Examinations of both whole mounts and thin sections of fine root segments revealed frequent conspicuous fungal infections in association with the cellular disorders. Particularly striking were fungal intracellular structures with pathogenic characteristics that are described for the first time. Isolated fungi from these tissue areas were identified by means of ITS primers, and many of them were members of the Nectriaceae. In a next step, 35 of these isolates were subjected to a multi-locus sequence analysis and the results revealed that several genera and species were involved in the development of RRD within a single rose plant. Inoculations with selected single isolates (Rugonectria rugulosa and Ilyonectria robusta) in a Perlite assay confirmed their pathogenic relationship to early necrotic host plant reactions, and symptoms were similar to those exhibited in ARD

Cognitive outcomes in children and adolescents born very preterm:A meta-analysis

Aim To estimate the association between very preterm birth (<32wks' gestation) and intelligence, executive functioning, and processing speed throughout childhood and adolescence, and to examine the effects of gestational age, birthweight, and age at assessment. Method Studies were included if children were born at earlier than 32 weeks’ gestation, aged 4 to 17 years, had an age-matched term control group, and if the studies used standardized measures, were published in an English-language peer-reviewed journal, and placed no restrictions on participants based on task performance. Results We evaluated 6163 children born very preterm and 5471 term-born controls from 60 studies. Children born very preterm scored 0.82 SDs (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74–0.90; p<0.001) lower on intelligence tests, 0.51 SDs (95% CI 0.44–0.58; p<0.001) lower on measures of executive functioning, and 0.49 SDs (95% CI 0.39–0.60; p<0.001) lower on measures of processing speed than term-born controls. Gestational age and birthweight were associated with study effect size in intelligence and executive functioning of younger children only. Age at assessment was not associated with study effect size. Interpretation Children born very preterm have medium to large deficits in these cognitive domains. What this paper adds This meta-analysis is centred on very preterm birth and three cognitive domains. The three critical cognitive domains are intelligence, executive functioning, and processing speed

Mathematics difficulties in children born very preterm: current research and future directions

This article was published in the journal, Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition [BMJ Publishing Group / © the authors]. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2013-303777Children born very preterm have poorer attainment in all school subjects, and a markedly greater reliance on special educational support than their term-born peers. In particular, difficulties with mathematics are especially common and account for the vast majority of learning difficulties in this population. In this paper, we review research relating to the causes of mathematics learning difficulties in typically developing children, and the impact of very preterm birth on attainment in mathematics. Research is needed to understand the specific nature and origins of mathematics difficulties in very preterm children to target the development of effective intervention strategies

Was ist "Populäre Musik"? : Überlegungen in eigener Sache

Many common disorders across the lifespan feature impaired working memory (WM). Reported benefits of a WM training program include improving inattention in daily life, but this has not been evaluated in a meta-analysis. This study aimed to evaluate whether one WM training method has benefits for inattention in daily life by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis.We searched Medline and PsycINFO, relevant journals and contacted authors for studies with an intervention and control group reporting post-training estimates of inattention in daily life. To reduce the influence of different WM training methods on the findings, the review was restricted to trials evaluating the Cogmed method. A meta-analysis calculated the pooled standardised difference in means (SMD) between intervention and control groups.A total of 622 studies were identified and 12 studies with 13 group comparisons met inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed a significant training effect on inattention in daily life, SMD=-0.47, 95% CI -0.65, -0.29, p<.00001. Subgroup analyses showed this significant effect was observed in groups of children and adults as well as users with and without ADHD, and in studies using control groups that were active and non-adaptive, wait-list and passive as well as studies using specific or general measures. Seven of the studies reported follow-up assessment and a meta-analysis showed persisting training benefits for inattention in daily life, SMD=-0.33, 95% CI -0.57 -0.09, p=.006. Additional meta-analyses confirmed improvements after training on visuospatial WM, SMD=0.66, 95% CI 0.43, 0.89, p<.00001, and verbal WM tasks, SMD=0.40, 95% CI 0.18, 0.62, p=.0004.Benefits of a WM training program generalise to improvements in everyday functioning. Initial evidence shows that the Cogmed method has significant benefits for inattention in daily life with a clinically relevant effect size