Light regulation of metabolic pathways in fungi

Light represents a major carrier of information in nature. The molecular machineries translating its electromagnetic energy (photons) into the chemical language of cells transmit vital signals for adjustment of virtually every living organism to its habitat. Fungi react to illumination in various ways, and we found that they initiate considerable adaptations in their metabolic pathways upon growth in light or after perception of a light pulse. Alterations in response to light have predominantly been observed in carotenoid metabolism, polysaccharide and carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, nucleotide and nucleoside metabolism, and in regulation of production of secondary metabolites. Transcription of genes is initiated within minutes, abundance and activity of metabolic enzymes are adjusted, and subsequently, levels of metabolites are altered to cope with the harmful effects of light or to prepare for reproduction, which is dependent on light in many cases. This review aims to give an overview on metabolic pathways impacted by light and to illustrate the physiological significance of light for fungi. We provide a basis for assessment whether a given metabolic pathway might be subject to regulation by light and how these properties can be exploited for improvement of biotechnological processes

Management and Good Laboratory Practice at the Division Biological Evaluation of Drug effects of the Central Animal Laboratory

The department BES (Biological Evaluation of Drug Effects) carries out animal studies for RIVM laboratories, whose commitment to GLP makes it necessary for BES also to comply with GLP. Compliance is assured by means of a quality system laid down in a quality handbook quaranteeing the consistent quality of the department products. The elements of the BES quality system are documented in this report under the following headings: - quality targets and management organisation - survey of areas of competence and of stoff qualifications - equipment inventory - goods and services available - standard operating procedures. Furthermore a general servey is presented of those co-operative arrangements necessary for optimal departmental organization.RIV

Which trophic discrimination factors fit the best? A combined dietary study of a coastal seabird

The use of combined conventional and stable isotope analyses to study the diet of seabirds has become very frequent. Unfortunately species and tissue-specific Trophic Discrimination Factors (TDF), necessary to run stable isotope mixing models in the most performing way, are lacking for a wide number of seabird species. We assessed the process of inspecting and selecting the most adequate TDFs by running mixing region simulations with three different TDFs scenarios. This was carried out in a combined dietary study of a widespread but poorly studied seabird from the Americas: the Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus), at a breeding colony from coastal Patagonia. The mixing models were run with the best fitting carbon and nitrogen TDFs (whole blood), which were those obtained with R package SIDER, a Bayesian inference-based model predicting the TDFs of consumers considering their ecology and phylogenetic relatedness. We found that cormorants fed on rather mobile fish of a fairly variable ecological spectrum, both benthic and pelagic, and showed low prey diversity. Our results coincide with the overall generalist and opportunistic piscivorous habit found at different coastal areas along its broad distribution range. Despite some differences found in the proportion estimates of the main prey between the two methods, their combination through the incorporation of prior information into the mixing models provides a comprehensive trophic profile. Finally, the use of SIDER, alongside the inspection and comparison of different potential TDF values, offered a simple and effective framework to calculate and select the most adequate specific TDFs to be employed in stable isotope mixing models.Bei Ernährungsuntersuchungen an Seevögeln wird immer häufger eine Kombination von konventionellen Analysen mit solchen mit Stabilen Isotopen angewandt. Leider aber fehlen uns für eine große Anzahl von Seevogelarten die art- und gewebespezifschen trophischen Unterscheidungsfaktoren (TDF), die notwendig sind, um Stabile Isotopenmischungs-Modelle mit höchstmöglicher Aussagekraft anzuwenden. Wir bewerteten das Verfahren zur Prüfung und Auswahl der bestgeeigneten TDFs, indem wir Simulationen von Mischregionen mit drei unterschiedlichen TDF-Szenarien laufen ließen. Diese Untersuchung wurde als kombinierte Ernährungsstudie an einer weitverbreiteten, aber nur wenig untersuchten amerikanischen Seevogelart, der neotropischen Humboldtscharbe (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) aus der Familie der Kormorane, in einer Brutkolonie an der Küste Patagoniens durchgeführt. Die Misch-Modelle wurden mit den am besten passenden Kohlenstofund Stickstof-TDFs (aus dem Blut) gerechnet, die wiederum mit SIDER (Stable Isotope Discrimination Estimation in R), einem Bayes’schen Inferenz-basierten Modell zur Vorhersage der TDFs von Konsumenten unter Berücksichtigung ihrer Ökologie und phylogenetischen Verwandtschaft, erstellt wurden. Wir fanden heraus, dass sich die Kormorane von Fischen aus einem breiten ökologischen Spektrum, benthisch und auch pelagisch, ernährten und eine geringe Beutevielfalt zeigten. Unsere Ergebnisse passen gut zu den an unterschiedlichen Küsten mit großen Verbreitungsgebieten gefundenen generellen Angewohnheiten von Fischfressern. Trotz einiger Unterschiede, die wir in den Schätzungen der Anteile der Hauptnahrung zwischen den beiden Methoden fanden, ergibt deren Kombination durch das Einbeziehen früher gewonnener Informationen in die Misch-Modelle doch ein umfassendes trophisches Profl. Schließlich bietet die Anwendung von SIDER zusammen mit der Prüfung und dem Vergleich unterschiedlicher potentieller TDF-Werte einen einfachen und efektiven Rahmen für die Berechnung und Auswahl der am besten passenden, spezifschen TDFs für die Anwendung in Modellen mit gemischten Stabilen Isotopen.Fil: Morgenthaler, Annick. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Caleta Olivia. Centro de Investigaciones Puerto Deseado; ArgentinaFil: Millones, Ana. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Caleta Olivia. Centro de Investigaciones Puerto Deseado; ArgentinaFil: Gandini, Patricia Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Caleta Olivia. Centro de Investigaciones Puerto Deseado; ArgentinaFil: Frere, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Caleta Olivia. Centro de Investigaciones Puerto Deseado; Argentin