Terrestrische Arthropoden-Assoziationen als ökologische Indikatoren von Umweltveränderungen

Anhand verschiedener Fallbeispiele wird auf das Informationspotenzial von Arthropoden-Assoziationen als ökologische Indikatoren im Zusammenhang mit komplexen Umweltveränderungen aufmerksam gemacht. In 11 Manuskripten werden die Reaktionen von Arthropoden-Assoziationen auf (i) Störungen durch landwirtschaftliche Nutzung oder Schadstoffimmissionen und auf die damit verbundenen Regenerations- und Sukzessionsprozesse analysiert, sowie (ii) deren Sensitivität gegenüber Klimadynamik und Arten-Invasionen untersucht. Außerdem wird (iii) das Konzept der funktionellen Gruppen und dessen Verwendbarkeit im Zusammenhang mit Bioindikation überprüft sowie (iv) ein breites methodisches Spektrum bezüglich der Erhebung und insbesondere der Analyse von komplexen Freilanddaten präsentiert. The value of information associated with using arthropod assemblages as ecological indicators in the context of complex environmental changes was highlighted by presenting a series of case studies. Based on the work reported in eleven manuscripts, the responses of arthropod assemblages to (i) disturbances caused by agricultural management or industrial pollutions, and the associated regeneration and/or succession processes, and (ii) their sensitivity to climate dynamics and species invasions were analysed. Furthermore, (iii) the appropriateness of using a functional group approach within the context of bioindication was evaluated. Finally, (iv) a broad methodological spectrum of sampling and analysing complex field data of arthropods was presented

Resource Heterogeneity Moderates the Biodiversity-Function Relationship in Real World Ecosystems

Numerous recent studies have tested the effects of plant, pollinator, and predator diversity on primary productivity, pollination, and consumption, respectively. Many have shown a positive relationship, particularly in controlled experiments, but variability in results has emphasized the context-dependency of these relationships. Complementary resource use may lead to a positive relationship between diversity and these processes, but only when a diverse array of niches is available to be partitioned among species. Therefore, the slope of the diversity-function relationship may change across differing levels of heterogeneity, but empirical evaluations of this pattern are lacking. Here we examine three important functions/properties in different real world (i.e., nonexperimental) ecosystems: plant biomass in German grasslands, parasitism rates across five habitat types in coastal Ecuador, and coffee pollination in agroforestry systems in Indonesia. We use general linear and structural equation modeling to demonstrate that the effect of diversity on these processes is context dependent, such that the slope of this relationship increases in environments where limiting resources (soil nutrients, host insects, and coffee flowers, respectively) are spatially heterogeneous. These real world patterns, combined with previous experiments, suggest that biodiversity may have its greatest impact on the functioning of diverse, naturally heterogeneous ecosystems

Changes in cortical cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix gene expression in prostate cancer are related to oncogenic ERG deregulation

Abstract Background The cortical cytoskeleton network connects the actin cytoskeleton to various membrane proteins, influencing cell adhesion, polarity, migration and response to extracellular signals. Previous studies have suggested changes in the expression of specific components in prostate cancer, especially of 4.1 proteins (encoded by EPB41 genes) which form nodes in this network. Methods Expression of EPB41L1, EPB41L2, EPB41L3 (protein: 4.1B), EPB41L4B (EHM2), EPB41L5, EPB49 (dematin), VIL2 (ezrin), and DLG1 (summarized as „cortical cytoskeleton" genes) as well as ERG was measured by quantitative RT-PCR in a well-characterized set of 45 M0 prostate adenocarcinoma and 13 benign tissues. Hypermethylation of EPB41L3 and GSTP1 was compared in 93 cancer tissues by methylation-specific PCR. Expression of 4.1B was further studied by immunohistochemistry. Results EPB41L1 and EPB41L3 were significantly downregulated and EPB41L4B was upregulated in cancer tissues. Low EPB41L1 or high EPB41L4B expression were associated with earlier biochemical recurrence. None of the other cortical cytoskeleton genes displayed expression changes, in particular EPB49 and VIL2, despite hints from previous studies. EPB41L3 downregulation was significantly associated with hypermethylation of its promoter and strongly correlated with GSTP1 hypermethylation. Protein 4.1B was detected most strongly in the basal cells of normal prostate epithelia. Its expression in carcinoma cells was similar to the weaker one in normal luminal cells. EPB41L3 downregulation and EPB41L4B upregulation were essentially restricted to the 22 cases with ERG overexpression. Expression changes in EPB41L3 and EPB41L4B closely paralleled those previously observed for the extracellular matrix genes FBLN1 and SPOCK1, respectively. Conclusions Specific changes in the cortical cytoskeleton were observed during prostate cancer progression. They parallel changes in the expression of extracellular matrix components and all together appear to be associated with oncogenic ERG overexpression. We hypothesize that these alterations may contribute to the increased invasivity conferred to prostate cancer cells by ERG deregulation.</p

Identification of novel fusion genes in lung cancer using breakpoint assembly of transcriptome sequencing data

Genomic translocation events frequently underlie cancer development through generation of gene fusions with oncogenic properties. Identification of such fusion transcripts by transcriptome sequencing might help to discover new potential therapeutic targets. We developed TRUP (Tumor-specimen suited RNA-seq Unified Pipeline) (https://github.com/ruping/TRUP), a computational approach that combines split-read and read-pair analysis with de novo assembly for the identification of chimeric transcripts in cancer specimens. We apply TRUP to RNA-seq data of different tumor types, and find it to be more sensitive than alternative tools in detecting chimeric transcripts, such as secondary rearrangements in EML4-ALK-positive lung tumors, or recurrent inactivating rearrangements affecting RASSF8

Bodenschutzberatung auf erosionsgefährdeten Ackerflächen in Thüringen – Konzeption und Abschätzung der Wirkungseffizienz von Erosionsschutzmaßnahmen

Die Wirkungseffizienz von Erosionsschutzmaßnahmen auf ackerbaulich genutzten Flächen lässt sich oft nur schwer quantifizieren. Im Rahmen der Thüringer Gewässerschutzkooperation werden daher unterschiedliche Gis-Tools wie AVErosion, AccumPlus sowie Drohnenbefliegungen als bildgebendes Monitoring genutzt, um Erosionsschutzmaßnahmen zu planen und die umgesetzte Erosionsschutzmaßnahme zu bewerten. GIS-gestützten Analysen zeigen, dass deutliche Reduktionen des Bodenabtragsrisikos auf erosionsgefährdeten ackerbaulich genutzten Flächen oftmals nur durch eine Kombination von mehreren Erosionsschutzmaßnahmen möglich sind. So kann beispielsweise durch den pfluglosen Anbau von Mais in Kombination mit der Begrünung von dominanten Abflussbahnen aber auch durch eine Maisaussaat im Mulchsaatverfahren im Vergleich zur betriebsüblichen Variante (pflugloser Maisanbau ohne Winterbedeckung) der potenzielle Bodenabtrag um 30 % reduziert werden. Durch Auswertung von Luftbildaufnahmen aus Drohnenbefliegungen nach Starkniederschlägen können einerseits on- und off-site Schäden dokumentiert und andererseits auch Wirksamkeiten umgesetzter Maßnahmen im Feld überprüft werden

Effects of plant diversity, community composition and environmental parameters on productivity in montane European grasslands

In the past years, a number of studies have used experimental plant communities to test if biodiversity influences ecosystem functioning such as productivity. It has been argued, however, that the results achieved in experimental studies may have little predictive value for species loss in natural ecosystems. Studies in natural ecosystems have been equivocal, mainly because in natural ecosystems differences in diversity are often confounded with differences in land use history or abiotic parameters. In this study, we investigated the effect of plant diversity on ecosystem functioning in semi-natural grasslands. In an area of 10x20 km, we selected 78 sites and tested the effects of various measures of diversity and plant community composition on productivity. We separated the effects of plant diversity on ecosystem functioning from potentially confounding effects of community composition, management or environmental parameters, using multivariate statistical analyses. In the investigated grasslands, simple measures of biodiversity were insignificant predictors of productivity. However, plant community composition explained productivity very well (R2=0.31) and was a better predictor than environmental variables (soil and site characteristics) or management regime. Thus, complex measures such as community composition and structure are important drivers for ecosystem functions in semi-natural grasslands. Furthermore, our data show that it is difficult to extrapolate results from experimental studies to semi-natural ecosystems, although there is a need to investigate natural ecosystems to fully understand the relationship of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning