The presence of air sac nematodes in passerines and near-passerines in southern Germany

Major climatic changes in conjunction with animal movement may be associated with the spread of parasites and their vectors into new populations, with potentially important consequences for population persistence. Parasites can evolve to adapt to unsuitable ecological conditions and take up refuge within new host species, with consequences for the population growth of the new host species. One parasite species that has likely been increasing its geographic range, and potentially infecting new hosts, is the recently described air sac nematode Serratospiculoides amaculata, in great tits (Parus major) in Slovakia. In this study, we screened wild birds for potential air sac nematode infection in a woodland area of southern Germany. We identified four additional host species: Eurasian nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, greenfinch and robin. As infection by this group of nematodes can be highly pathogenic, we recommend further investigation into its potential risk to these populations

The Dichotomous Pattern of IL-12R and IL-23R Expression Elucidates the Role of IL-12 and IL-23 in Inflammation

IL-12 and IL-23 cytokines respectively drive Th1 and Th17 type responses. Yet, little is known regarding the biology of these receptors. As the IL-12 and IL-23 receptors share a common subunit, it has been assumed that these receptors are co-expressed. Surprisingly, we find that the expression of each of these receptors is restricted to specific cell types, in both mouse and human. Indeed, although IL-12Rβ2 is expressed by NK cells and a subset of γδ T cells, the expression of IL-23R is restricted to specific T cell subsets, a small number of B cells and innate lymphoid cells. By exploiting an IL-12- and IL-23-dependent mouse model of innate inflammation, we demonstrate an intricate interplay between IL-12Rβ2 NK cells and IL-23R innate lymphoid cells with respectively dominant roles in the regulation of systemic versus local inflammatory responses. Together, these findings support an unforeseen lineage-specific dichotomy in the in vivo role of both the IL-12 and IL-23 pathways in pathological inflammatory states, which may allow more accurate dissection of the roles of these receptors in chronic inflammatory diseases in humans

A glimmer of hope - ash genotypes with increased resistance to ash dieback pathogen show cross-resistance to emerald ash borer

Plants rely on cross-resistance traits to defend against multiple, phylogenetically distinct enemies. These traits are often the result of long co-evolutionary histories. Biological invasions can force naive plants to cope with novel, coincident pests, and pathogens. For example, European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is substantially threatened by the emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, a wood-boring beetle, and the ash dieback (ADB) pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Yet, plant cross-resistance traits against novel enemies are poorly explored and it is unknown whether na_ive ash trees can defend against novel enemy complexes via cross-resistance mechanisms.To gain mechanistic insights, we quantified EAB performance on grafted replicates of ash genotypes varying in ADB resistance and characterized ash phloem chemistry with targeted and untargeted metabolomics.Emerald ash borer performed better on ADB-susceptible than on ADB-resistant genotypes. Moreover, changes in EAB performance aligned with differences in phloem chemical profiles between ADB-susceptible and ADB-resistant genotypes.We show that intraspecific variation in phloem chemistry in European ash can confer increased cross-resistance to invasive antagonists from different taxonomic kingdoms. Our study suggests that promotion of ADB-resistant ash genotypes may simultaneously help to control the ADB disease and reduce EAB-caused ash losses, which may be critical for the long-term stability of this keystone tree species

Entwicklung und Erprobung eines neuartigen modularen Biofiltersystems zur Reinigung schadstoffhaltiger Abluft mit einem auf Textilien basierenden Traegermaterial Abschlussbericht

Development of a novel biofilter system for purification of solvent-burdened off-air currents. The system has an inert textile carrier whose properties depend on the fibres that are used. The carriers are light, tear-resistant, and can be customised to meet specific requirements. Degradation of the filter medium is not expected, and the textiles can be recycled completely after use. The performance of the new system was assessed in a direct comparison of conventional biofilters and BioFilTex.Entwicklung eines neuartigen Biofiltersystemes zur Reinigung von loesemittelhaltigen Abluftstroemen mit einem inerten textilen Traeger, mit dem die Staerken von Biotropfkoerperreaktoren, eine sehr hohe Leistungsdichte unter Beseitigung der wesentlichen Schwaeche dieser Festbettreaktoren (Clogging) vermieden werden sollen. Je nach eingesetzter Faser koennen die Traeger in ihren Eigenschaften stark variieren. Die erstellten Traeger sind sehr leicht, sehr hoch reissfest und koennen in der Strukturierung, Oberflaechenbeschaffenheit und Anordnung variieren. Eine Veraenderung bzw. Kompaktierung des Filtermediums durch Verrottung, anlog zu org. Filtermaterialien, sind nicht zu erwarten. Nach Beendigung der Nutzung kann das Textil vollstaendig recycelt werden. Ziel des Forschungsvorhabens ist die Entwicklung eines Hochleistungsbiofiltersystems mit diesem neuartigen Filtermaterial. Die Leistungsfaehigkeit des neuen Systems wird in einem direkten Vergleich konventioneller Biofilter und BioFilTex untersucht und gezeigt. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F00B1387 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDeutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Osnabrueck (Germany)DEGerman

The presence of air sac nematodes in passerines and near-passerines in southern Germany

Major climatic changes in conjunction with animal movement may be associated with the spread of parasites and their vectors into new populations, with potentially important consequences for population persistence. Parasites can evolve to adapt to unsuitable ecological conditions and take up refuge within new host species, with consequences for the population growth of the new host species. One parasite species that has likely been increasing its geographic range, and potentially infecting new hosts, is the recently described air sac nematode Serratospiculoides amaculata, in great tits (Parus major) in Slovakia. In this study, we screened wild birds for potential air sac nematode infection in a woodland area of southern Germany. We identified four additional host species: Eurasian nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, greenfinch and robin. As infection by this group of nematodes can be highly pathogenic, we recommend further investigation into its potential risk to these populations