Genetische Kartierung von QTL für das Schossverhalten nach Winter in Zuckerrübe (Beta vulgaris L.)

An approach for a distinct yield increase in sugar beet could be the cultivation of autumn sown winter beets. To realize this cropping system it is required that bolting of sugar beets after winter has to be controlled genetically. The aims of my study were the identification and genetic mapping of quantitative genetic factors affecting post-winter bolting delay and post-winter bolting resistance in beet. These aims were pursued by QTL mapping in segregating populations derived from crossing parents with noticeable bolting behavior. In such a segregating sugar beet population the bolting behavior was phenotyped in F3 families as days to bolt, as well as bolting rate. This data was used in combination with the genetic map based on F2 single plants to map QTL for both traits of interest. One QTL for each trait which explained about 65 % of the phenotypic variation was successfully mapped to the same region on chromosome 9. In a further mapping population the traits of interest were transferred from a leaf beet accession. While the F2 population was segregating for both traits, in the F3 families only post-winter bolting delay could be assessed in two different experiments under natural overwintering conditions as well as after artificial cold treatment. The phenotypic data was used in combination with the developed genetic map based on F2 single plants for QTL mapping. In total, two QTL for bolting delay after artificial cold treatment could be successfully mapped to chromosomes 3 and 5 as well as three QTL for bolting delay under natural overwintering conditions (chromosome 3, 5 and 9) explaining up to 54,6 % of the observed phenotypic variation. Confidence intervals and QTL positions indicate that the QTL mapped on chromosome 3 as well as the QTL mapped on chromosome 5 reflect the same underlying genetic factors.Einen Ansatz für eine Ertragssteigerung bei Zuckerrüben könnte der Anbau von Winterrüben bieten. Für eine Umsetzung dieses Anbausystem muss jedoch das Schossen züchterisch bearbeitet werden. Ziel der Arbeit war die genetische Kartierung von QTL, die an der Ausprägung von sowohl verzögertem Schossen als auch einer vollständigen Schossresistenz beteiligt sind, da das Schossen zu gravierenden Ertragsverlusten führt. Hierfür wurden bi-parentale Populationen entwickelt. In einer so erstellten Zuckerrübenpopulation wurde das Schossverhalten als Tage bis zum Schossen, sowie als Schossrate in F3 Familien erfasst und diese phänotypischen Daten wurden zusammen mit der genetischen Karte, die auf Basis der F2 Pflanzen erstellt wurde, zur QTL-Kartierung verwendet. Dabei konnte für jedes der beiden erfassten Merkmale ein QTL, welcher 65% der beobachteten Variation genetisch erklärt, in der gleichen Region von Chromosom 9 kartiert werden. In einer weiteren Population wurden die Merkmale Schossverzögerung und Schossresistenz aus einem Mangoldelter eingekreuzt. Obwohl die F2 Population für beide Merkmale aufspaltete, konnte in der F3 Generation nur eine Aufspaltung für das Merkmal Schossverzögerung beobachtet werden. Die Schossverzögerung der F3 Familien wurde in zwei verschiedenen Experimenten, unter natürlichen Überwinterungsbedingungen sowie nach künstlicher Kältebehandlung, als Tage bis zum Schossen erfasst. Die phänotypischen Daten wurden zusammen mit der genetischen Karte zur QTL-Kartierung verwendet. Insgesamt konnten zwei QTL für Schossverzögerung nach künstlicher Kältebehandlung auf den Chromosomen 3 und 5 sowie drei QTL für Schossverzögerung unter natürlichen Überwinterungsbedingungen auf den Chromosomen 3, 5 und 9 kartiert werden. Diese erklären bis zu 55% der phänotypischen Variation. Die Konfidenzintervalle sowie die Positionen der kartierten QTL auf Chromosom 3 und der QTL auf Chromosom 5 deuten daraufhin, dass es sich hierbei um die gleichen genetischen Faktoren handelt

Modellhaftes Demonstrationsnetzwerk zur Ausweitung und Verbesserung des Anbaus und der Verwertung von Sojabohnen in Deutschland

Ziel des Verbundprojektes war die Ausweitung und Verbesserung des Anbaus und der Verarbeitung von Sojabohnen in Deutschland. Hierfür wurde ein bundesweites Netzwerk von Demonstrationsbetrieben aufgebaut, das dem Wissenstransfer zwischen Forschung, Beratung und Praxis diente. Die Arbeiten im Projekt waren erfolgreich, sodass nicht nur das Interesse, sondern auch der Sojaanbau gesteigert werden konnte. Die Bayerische Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL) war für die Gesamtkoordination des Verbundprojekts und das Datenmanagement verantwortlich. In das Netzwerk wurden insgesamt 146 Betriebe mit konventioneller und ökologischer Bewirtschaftung aus elf Bundesländern eingebunden. Auf diesen fanden zahlreiche Wissenstransfermaßnahme zwischen Forschung, Beratung und Praxis statt. Der Wissenstransfer mit Feldtagen, Fachseminaren und der Website www.sojafoerderring.de bildete das Herzstück des Projektes. Auch nach Projektende werden dort alle Erkenntnisse und Erfahrungen weiterhin für die Öffentlichkeit zur Verfügung stehen. Der Projektpartner Taifun-Tofu GmbH führte umfangreiche Literaturrecherchen sowie Expertenbefragungen durch und erstellte Videos, Schwerpunktthemen (Taifun-Sojainfos) und Veröffentlichungen rund um den Sojaanbau. Taifun konzipierte die Projektwebsite www.sojafoerderring.de sowie den Leitfaden „Anbau von Tofu-Sojabohnen – Dem Geheimnis erfolgreichen Vertragsanbaus auf der Spur - Hinweise für Landwirte und Verarbeiter“. Die Landesvereinigung für den Ökologischen Landbau in Bayern e.V. (LVÖ) betreute in Zusammenarbeit mit den Erzeugerringen die Öko-Betriebe hinsichtlich des Anbaus und der Verwertung von Öko-Futtersoja und konzipierte modellhaft eine Wertschöpfungskette. Das Landwirtschaftliche Technologiezentrum Augustenberg (LTZ) betreute neben den Demonstrationsbetrieben in Baden-Württemberg auch die Wertschöpfungskette in Baden- Württemberg und übernahm die Beratung der Betriebe in Rheinland-Pfalz. Von der Pädagogischen Hochschule in Freiburg wurden eine dynamische Unterrichtskonzeption und Unterrichtsmaterialien für den Einsatz an allgemeinbildenden und beruflichen Schulen zum Thema "Pflanzliche Eiweiße für die Ernährung des Menschen aus nachhaltiger Landwirtschaft am Beispiel Soja" erstellt. Für Fachlehrer an Berufs- und Fachschulen im Bereich Landwirtschaft wurde das Konzept „Soja – Anbau und Verwertung“ entwickelt. Mit einer praxisnahen Handreichung können sich Lehrkräfte in kurzer Zeit einen Gesamtüberblick zum Themenbereich Soja aneignen

One academic year under COVID-19 conditions: two multicenter cross-sectional evaluation studies among medical students in Bavarian medical schools, Germany students’ needs, difficulties, and concerns about digital teaching and learning

BACKGROUND: Since March 2020, COVID-19 has created a need for adaptation in many areas of life. This study explores medical students’ perspectives on digital teaching under conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on expectations and concerns about digital teaching, the evaluation of specific aspects of teaching, and requests for future teaching. METHODS: Six German faculties have joined forces within the Bavarian network for medical education to develop and deploy a common core questionnaire. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted at the end of the summer semester 2020 and winter semester 2020/21. Medical students from different semesters participated in the online survey. Data was analyzed descriptively and/or inferentially. Item differences across semesters were examined using contingency tables and Chi(2) tests. Mean values were compared using the independent samples t-test; answer frequencies in retrospective and prospective concerns were compared using contingency tables and Chi(2) tests with Yates’ correction. RESULTS: In the summer semester 2020, 1565 students and in winter semester 2020/21, 1727 students took part in the survey. Students’ main prospective concern was lack of social exchange between fellow students (70%), but also with teachers. Second and third most often concerns were a lack of practical training (68%) and lack of integration of on-site digital teaching (50%). Approximately 7% of the students lacked sufficient access to technical equipment.. Approximately 39% of the students lacked a sufficient internet connection for synchronous digital teaching, 17% for asynchronous digital teaching. On-site teaching was the preferred form of teaching (60%), and there was a preference for asynchronous (24%) over synchronous (15%) digital teaching. Teaching recordings (79%) were particularly popular to complement future on-site teaching. CONCLUSIONS: The following areas of education under COVID-19 conditions are highly important to medical students: adequacy of information sharing, integration of opportunities for exchange with fellow students and teachers, possibility to perform practical trainings. After the normalization of the pandemic situation, on-site teaching should be supplemented with blended learning concepts such as the inverted classroom model. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: Percentages of results are rounded averages from summer and winter semesters. [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03480-x

A Detailed Analysis of the BR1 Locus Suggests a New Mechanism for Bolting after Winter in Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.)

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) is a biennial, sucrose-storing plant, which is mainly cultivated as a spring crop and harvested in the vegetative stage before winter. For increasing beet yield, over-winter cultivation would be advantageous. However, bolting is induced after winter and drastically reduces yield. Thus, post-winter bolting control is essential for winter beet cultivation. To identify genetic factors controlling bolting after winter, a F2 population was previously developed by crossing the sugar beet accessions BETA 1773 with reduced bolting tendency and 93161P with complete bolting after winter. For a mapping-by-sequencing analysis, pools of 26 bolting-resistant and 297 bolting F2 plants were used. Thereby, a single continuous homozygous region of 103 kb was co-localized to the previously published BR1 QTL for post-winter bolting resistance (Pfeiffer et al., 2014). The BR1 locus was narrowed down to 11 candidate genes from which a homolog of the Arabidopsis CLEAVAGE AND POLYADENYLATION SPECIFICITY FACTOR 73-I (CPSF73-I) was identified as the most promising candidate. A 2 bp deletion within the BETA 1773 allele of BvCPSF73-Ia results in a truncated protein. However, the null allele of BvCPSF73-Ia might partially be compensated by a second BvCPSF73-Ib gene. This gene is located 954 bp upstream of BvCPSF73-Ia and could be responsible for the incomplete penetrance of the post-winter bolting resistance allele of BETA 1773. This result is an important milestone for breeding winter beets with complete bolting resistance after winter

Mitochondria-Endoplasmic Reticulum Contact Sites Dynamics and Calcium Homeostasis Are Differentially Disrupted in PINK1-PD or PRKN-PD Neurons

Background: It is generally believed that the pathogenesis of PINK1/parkin-related Parkinson's disease (PD) is due to a disturbance in mitochondrial quality control. However, recent studies have found that PINK1 and Parkin play a significant role in mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and are involved in the regulation of mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contact sites (MERCSs). Objective: The aim of our study was to perform an in-depth analysis of the role of MERCSs and impaired calcium homeostasis in PINK1/Parkin-linked PD.MethodsIn our study, we used induced pluripotent stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons from patients with PD with loss-of-function mutations in PINK1 or PRKN. We employed a split-GFP-based contact site sensor in combination with the calcium-sensitive dye Rhod-2 AM and applied Airyscan live-cell super-resolution microscopy to determine how MERCSs are involved in the regulation of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis. Results: Our results showed that thapsigargin-induced calcium stress leads to an increase of the abundance of narrow MERCSs in wild-type neurons. Intriguingly, calcium levels at the MERCSs remained stable, whereas the increased net calcium influx resulted in elevated mitochondrial calcium levels. However, PINK1-PD or PRKN-PD neurons showed an increased abundance of MERCSs at baseline, accompanied by an inability to further increase MERCSs upon thapsigargin-induced calcium stress. Consequently, calcium distribution at MERCSs and within mitochondria was disrupted. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated how the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria work together to cope with calcium stress in wild-type neurons. In addition, our results suggests that PRKN deficiency affects the dynamics and composition of MERCSs differently from PINK1 deficiency, resulting in differentially affected calcium homeostasis. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Fidelity Variants of RNA Dependent RNA Polymerases Uncover an Indirect, Mutagenic Activity of Amiloride Compounds

In a screen for RNA mutagen resistance, we isolated a high fidelity RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) variant of Coxsackie virus B3 (CVB3). Curiously, this variant A372V is also resistant to amiloride. We hypothesize that amiloride has a previously undescribed mutagenic activity. Indeed, amiloride compounds increase the mutation frequencies of CVB3 and poliovirus and high fidelity variants of both viruses are more resistant to this effect. We hypothesize that this mutagenic activity is mediated through alterations in intracellular ions such as Mg2+ and Mn2+, which in turn increase virus mutation frequency by affecting RdRp fidelity. Furthermore, we show that another amiloride-resistant RdRp variant, S299T, is completely resistant to this mutagenic activity and unaffected by changes in ion concentrations. We show that RdRp variants resist the mutagenic activity of amiloride via two different mechanisms: 1) increased fidelity that generates virus populations presenting lower basal mutation frequencies or 2) resisting changes in divalent cation concentrations that affect polymerase fidelity. Our results uncover a new antiviral approach based on mutagenesis

Social Determinants of the Mental Health of Young Migrants

Background: Young migrants face particular risks to develop mental health problems. Discrimination and social support impact mental health, yet little is known about the differential impact thereof on mental health in newcomers, non-newcomer migrants, and nonmigrants. Aim: This study sheds light on mental health (posttraumatic stress, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, emotional distress, peer relationship problems, prosocial behavior) and the overall well-being of newcomers, non-newcomer migrants, and non-migrants. Furthermore, the impact of social support and discrimination on mental health is investigated. Method: Descriptive analysis and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were applied to analyze responses of 2,320 adolescents through self-report questionnaires in Finland, Sweden, and the UK. Results: Newcomers, non-newcomer migrants, and non-migrants have different psychological profiles. While newcomers suffer more from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and peer problems, non-newcomers and non-migrants report more hyperactivity. Discrimination strongly threatens all mental health dimensions, while support from family serves as a protective factor. Support from friends has a positive impact on PTSD among newcomers. Limitations: As this study has a cross-sectional design, conclusions about causality cannot be drawn. In addition, history of traumatic life events or migration trajectory was lacking, while it may impact mental health. Conclusion: Different mental health profiles of newcomers, non-newcomer migrants, and non-migrants point to the need for a tailored and diversified approach. Discrimination remains a risk factor for mental health, while family support is a protective factor for adolescents. Interventions that foster social support from friends would be especially beneficial for newcomers.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Effects of insoluble cereal fibre on body fat distribution in the optimal fibre trial

Scope: The Optimal Fibre Trial (OptiFiT) investigates metabolic effects of insoluble cereal fibre in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), showing moderate glycemic and anti-inflammatory benefits, especially in subjects with an obesity-related phenotype. An OptiFiT sub-group is analysed for effects on body fat distribution. Methods and results: 180 participants with IGT receive a blinded, randomized supplementation with insoluble cereal fibre or placebo for 2 years. Once a year, all subjects undergo fasting blood sampling, oral glucose tolerance test, and anthropometric measurements. A subgroup (n=47) also received magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy for quantification of adipose tissue distribution and liver fat content. We compared MR, metabolic and inflammatory outcomes between fibre and placebo group metabolism and inflammation. Visceral and non-visceral fat, fasting glucose, HbA1c, fasting insulin, insulin resistance, and uric acid decrease only in the fibre group, mirroring effects of the entire cohort. However, after adjustment for weight loss, there are no significant between-group differences. There is a statistical trend for fibre-driven liver fat reduction in subjects with confirmed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD; n = 19). Conclusions: Data and evidence on beneficial effects of insoluble cereal fibre on visceral and hepatic fatstorage is limited, but warrants further research. Targeted trials are required

Understanding continent-wide variation in vulture ranging behavior to assess feasibility of Vulture Safe Zones in Africa: Challenges and possibilities

Protected areas are intended as tools in reducing threats to wildlife and preserving habitat for their long-term population persistence. Studies on ranging behavior provide insight into the utility of protected areas. Vultures are one of the fastest declining groups of birds globally and are popular subjects for telemetry studies, but continent-wide studies are lacking. To address how vultures use space and identify the areas and location of possible vulture safe zones, we assess home range size and their overlap with protected areas by species, age, breeding status, season, and region using a large continent-wide telemetry datasets that includes 163 individuals of three species of threatened Gyps vulture. Immature vultures of all three species had larger home ranges and used a greater area outside of protected areas than breeding and non-breeding adults. Cape vultures had the smallest home range sizes and the lowest level of overlap with protected areas. Rüppell\u27s vultures had larger home range sizes in the wet season, when poisoning may increase due to human-carnivore conflict. Overall, our study suggests challenges for the creation of Vulture Safe Zones to protect African vultures. At a minimum, areas of 24,000 km2 would be needed to protect the entire range of an adult African White-backed vulture and areas of more than 75,000 km2 for wider-ranging Rüppell\u27s vultures. Vulture Safe Zones in Africa would generally need to be larger than existing protected areas, which would require widespread conservation activities outside of protected areas to be successful

Дослідження структури порушених відкритою розробкою земель й пошук шляхів вдосконалення рекультивації залишкових виробок кар'єрів

Стаття присвячена дослідженням структури порушених земель, на ділянках з видобутку корисних копалин відкритим способом. Наведено площі порушень земель при розробці основних видів корисних копалин. Проаналізовано ризики, що виникають із несвоєчасною рекультивацією земель гірничого відводу, а також від покинутих гірничих виробок старих кар'єрів. Паралельно розглянуті обсяги відходів гірничого виробництва та їх повторне використання в якості заповнювача для залишкових вироблених просторів кар'єрів.The article is devoted to the research of land violation indicators at the extraction of minerals by surface mining method. Data gives about the land violations area at the mining key minerals. Ana-lyzed the risks from the not-on-time reclamation of the mining clam and abandoned excavations of the old quarries. In parallel considered the volumes of mining wastes and their reuse as aggregate for filling residual spaces of surface mines.Статья посвящена исследованиям площадей нарушения земель, связанных с добычей полезных ископаемых открытым способом. Приведены площади нарушений земель при разработке основных видов полезных ископаемых. Проанализированы риски, представляемые несвоевременной рекультивацией земель горного отвода, а также заброшенными горными выработками старых карьеров. Параллельно рассмотрены объемы отходов горного производства и их повторное использование в качестве заполнителя для остаточных выработанных пространств карьеров