Schizosaccharomyces pombe Ofd2 Is a Nuclear 2-Oxoglutarate and Iron Dependent Dioxygenase Interacting with Histones

2-oxoglutarate (2OG) dependent dioxygenases are ubiquitous iron containing enzymes that couple substrate oxidation to the conversion of 2OG to succinate and carbon dioxide. They participate in a wide range of biological processes including collagen biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, hypoxic sensing and demethylation of nucleic acids and histones. Although substantial progress has been made in elucidating their function, the role of many 2OG dioxygenases remains enigmatic. Here we have studied the 2OG and iron (Fe(II)) dependent dioxygenase Ofd2 in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a member of the AlkB subfamily of dioxygenases. We show that decarboxylation of 2OG by recombinant Ofd2 is dependent on Fe(II) and a histidine residue predicted to be involved in Fe(II) coordination. The decarboxylase activity of Ofd2 is stimulated by histones, and H2A has the strongest effect. Ofd2 interacts with all four core histones, however, only very weakly with H4. Our results define a new subclass of AlkB proteins interacting with histones, which also might comprise some of the human AlkB homologs with unknown function

Mechanical damage of half-cell cutting technologies in solar cells and module laminates

Half-cell modules are gaining an increasing market share due to their potential of increasing the module power without requiring any changes in the cell technology. However, it has turned out that different cell separation technologies can yield a similar electrical performance of the half-cells, yet leading to an entirely different mechanical behavior of the cells. Hence, the mechanical strength on solar cell and module laminate level was evaluated for thermal laser separation (TLS) and laser scribing with cleaving (LSC) cutting technologies on multicrystalline silicon Al-BSF solar cells. It could be systematically shown, that mechanical defects which are found on cell level can also be seen on module level. More precisely, the strength for the LSC batch was decreased by 35 % on cell level and 23 % on module level. The TLS process did not change significantly the strength on cell or module laminate level. Additionally, the origin of fracture was found at the edge for the laser batch and on the back side pads for the full cells and TLS cut cells. The electrical evaluation has shown minor electrical power losses of the half-cells leading to an efficiency reduction of less than 1 %rel