Süßholz (Glycyrrhiza glabra) - Extrakt zur Regulierung von Falschem Mehltau im Öko-Gemüseanbau

A raw extract of licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) was tested against downy mildew in vegetables under semi-commercial conditions. In two greenhouse trials in cucumber, efficacies of ca. 70% were achieved (3% extract concentration) in either 7 or 10-11 day application intervals. Under open field conditions, weekly treatments resulted in ca. 2 week retardation of disease. In open field trials in lettuce, efficacies after weekly application of 5% G. glabra extract were variable, depending on disease pressure. In contrast, on lettuce seedlings in climate chambers, the extract reduced disease incidence of Bremia lactucae by 66 to 100%. In onion, applications of the extract at 6% concentration failed to control Peronospora destructor, despite of high efficacies under controlled conditions in the greenhouse. Overall, the G. glabra raw extract was highly effective in protected vegetables. Under field conditions low efficacies were most likely due to reduced rain fastness or UV-stability

Cryo-EM structure of the fully assembled elongator complex

Transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules are essential to decode messenger RNA codons during protein synthesis. All known tRNAs are heavily modified at multiple positions through post-transcriptional addition of chemical groups. Modifications in the tRNA anticodons are directly influencing ribosome decoding and dynamics during translation elongation and are crucial for maintaining proteome integrity. In eukaryotes, wobble uridines are modified by Elongator, a large and highly conserved macromolecular complex. Elongator consists of two subcomplexes, namely Elp123 containing the enzymatically active Elp3 subunit and the associated Elp456 hetero-hexamer. The structure of the fully assembled complex and the function of the Elp456 subcomplex have remained elusive. Here, we show the cryo-electron microscopy structure of yeast Elongator at an overall resolution of 4.3 Å. We validate the obtained structure by complementary mutational analyses in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we determined various structures of the murine Elongator complex, including the fully assembled mouse Elongator complex at 5.9 Å resolution. Our results confirm the structural conservation of Elongator and its intermediates among eukaryotes. Furthermore, we complement our analyses with the biochemical characterization of the assembled human Elongator. Our results provide the molecular basis for the assembly of Elongator and its tRNA modification activity in eukaryotes

CO-FREE Alternative Test Products for Copper Reduction in Agriculture

The project CO-FREE (2012-2016) aimed to develop strategies to replace/reduce copper use in organic, integrated and conventional farming. CO-FREE alternative test products (CTPs) were tested and integrated together with decision support systems, disease-tolerant varieties, and innovative breeding goals (ideotypes) into improved management strategies. CO-FREE focused on apple/apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), grape/downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola), and tomato and potato/late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Starting point of the project were ten CTPs with direct or indirect modes of action including Trichoderma atroviride SC1 and protein extract SCNB, Lysobacter spp., yeast-based derivatives, Cladosporium cladosporioides H39, the oligosaccharidic complex COS-OGA, Aneurinibacillus migulanus and Xenorhabdus bovienii, sage (Salvia officinalis) extract, liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) extract, PLEX- and seaweed plant extracts. As the project progressed, further promising CTPs were included by the partners. Field trials were performed in different European countries in 2012-2015 following EPPO standards. In the first years, stand-alone applications of CTPs were tested. In the following years these were integrated into complete strategies. Effects on main and further diseases, on yield and on non-target organisms were assessed. Here, field trial results with CTPs are summarized

Comparative Membranome Expression Analysis in Primary Tumors and Derived Cell Lines

Despite the wide use of cell lines in cancer research, the extent to which their surface properties correspond to those of primary tumors is poorly characterized. The present study addresses this problem from a transcriptional standpoint, analyzing the expression of membrane protein genes - the Membranome – in primary tumors and immortalized in-vitro cultured tumor cells. 409 human samples, deriving from ten independent studies, were analyzed. These comprise normal tissues, primary tumors and tumor derived cell lines deriving from eight different tissues: brain, breast, colon, kidney, leukemia, lung, melanoma, and ovary. We demonstrated that the Membranome has greater power than the remainder of the transcriptome when used as input for the automatic classification of tumor samples. This feature is maintained in tumor derived cell lines. In most cases primary tumors show maximal similarity in Membranome expression with cell lines of same tissue origin. Differences in Membranome expression between tumors and cell lines were analyzed also at the pathway level and biological themes were identified that were differentially regulated in the two settings. Moreover, by including normal samples in the analysis, we quantified the degree to which cell lines retain the Membranome up- and down- regulations observed in primary tumors with respect to their normal counterparts. We showed that most of the Membranome up-regulations observed in primary tumors are lost in the in-vitro cultured cells. Conversely, the majority of Membranome genes down-regulated upon tumor transformation maintain lower expression levels also in the cell lines. This study points towards a central role of Membranome genes in the definition of the tumor phenotype. The comparative analysis of primary tumors and cell lines identifies the limits of cell lines as a model for the study of cancer-related processes mediated by the cell surface. Results presented allow for a more rational use of the cell lines as a model of cancer

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Licorice, cucumber, downy mildew: tracing the secret Interactions between the plant extract, the host and the pathogen

In ancient times, right after they started to domesticate plants, humans had to become plant protectors. The first protection strategies were mainly against herbivorous animals of any kind, arthropods as well as vertebrates. Thousands of years later humans discovered microorganisms like bacteria and fungi and soon correlated them with the disease they, their livestock and their plants had to suffer. The control agents they used against plant pests were mainly inorganic substances such as sulfur, arsenic or mercury. Their own diseases, in contrast, were fought with medicinal plants for thousands of years, more or less successfully. After problems caused by chemical pesticides, like DDT, became obvious (enrichment in the food chain and with that in the human tissues as well), the search for alternatives started. In more recent times more and more scientific studies investigate the potential of medicinal plants as plant protection agents. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the potential of ethanolic extract of leaves of the medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) as a control agent against one of the main pests in cucumbers, the Oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis (downy mildew). The first question addressed was: Has the licorice extract a potential as alternative control agent, not only in the laboratory, but also under commercial conditions in greenhouses? The second question addressed was: If it shows a potential, what is the active ingredient? And the final question addressed was: What is the mode of action? Under semi-commercial conditions the licorice extract has a high potential as control agent against cucumber downy mildew (efficacy up to 83.0%, application interval 7 -11 days, 3% extract concentration). Besides this, in semi-commercial trials a dark green color of licorice extract treated plants was observed. The crude licorice extract was fractionated by shake-out procedure in 6 fractions. The active ingredient was found to be part of extract fraction F6, which contains acidic substances. This fraction reached efficacies up to 97.6% in bioassays on treated cumber plants. Three flavanoids were detected in sub-fractions of fraction F6 and identified as glabranin, licoflavanon and pinocembrin. All three are known for their antimicrobial effect and were effective against another Oomycete, Phytophthora infestans in in vitro assays. Also, it is known that G. glabra extract kills zoospores of P. cubenis in vitro (Schuster et al. 2010) which may be due to the detected flavanoids. However, the effect of fraction F6 is not explainable by the action of the antimicrobials glabranin, licoflavanon and pinocembrin alone. Sub-fractions not containing those three substances showed efficacies up to 89.2%. This together with the observed dark green color of treated plants in semi-commercial trials led to the assumption that licorice leaf extract has not only a direct effect on the pathogen but influences the plant itself. This assumption was supported by the finding of elevated chlorophyll and anthocyanin content in treated plants and a positive effect on the stress indicator chlorophyll fluorescence. Even in highly infected fraction F6 treated plants (disease severity 92.5%) the Fv/Fm value (0.80) was stable during the whole measuring period, whereas the Fv/Fm value of also highly infected water treated plants decreased (disease severity 100.0%) from 0.80 to 0.69 in the same time. Furthermore, an elevated H2O2 level in the leaf tissues of licorice extract treated uninfected cucumber plants and an up-regulation of PR-1 mRNA could be found. The level of PR-1 mRNA was approximately 4 times higher than in water treated plants. Both, an elevated H2O2 level and an up-regulation of Pr-1mRNA expression are strong indicators for induced resistance. Since PR-1 has antifungal activity, this high amount of PR-1 is a possible explanation for inhibition of germ tube growth of P. cubensis zoospores on licorice treated leaf discs found in this thesis. The germ tube length on water treated leaf discs was 17.3-26.6 µm, whereas the germ tube length on licorice treated leaf disc was only 1.6-6.4 µm. Based on these results it was concluded that the ethanolic leaf extract of G. glabra is a highly potent control agent against cucumber downy mildew (P. cubensis) and its mode of action is a combination of direct effects on the pathogen development and induced resistance

Licorice, cucumber, downy mildew: tracing the secret Interactions between the plant extract, the host and the pathogen

In ancient times, right after they started to domesticate plants, humans had to become plant protectors. The first protection strategies were mainly against herbivorous animals of any kind, arthropods as well as vertebrates. Thousands of years later humans discovered microorganisms like bacteria and fungi and soon correlated them with the disease they, their livestock and their plants had to suffer. The control agents they used against plant pests were mainly inorganic substances such as sulfur, arsenic or mercury. Their own diseases, in contrast, were fought with medicinal plants for thousands of years, more or less successfully. After problems caused by chemical pesticides, like DDT, became obvious (enrichment in the food chain and with that in the human tissues as well), the search for alternatives started. In more recent times more and more scientific studies investigate the potential of medicinal plants as plant protection agents. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the potential of ethanolic extract of leaves of the medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) as a control agent against one of the main pests in cucumbers, the Oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis (downy mildew). The first question addressed was: Has the licorice extract a potential as alternative control agent, not only in the laboratory, but also under commercial conditions in greenhouses? The second question addressed was: If it shows a potential, what is the active ingredient? And the final question addressed was: What is the mode of action? Under semi-commercial conditions the licorice extract has a high potential as control agent against cucumber downy mildew (efficacy up to 83.0%, application interval 7 -11 days, 3% extract concentration). Besides this, in semi-commercial trials a dark green color of licorice extract treated plants was observed. The crude licorice extract was fractionated by shake-out procedure in 6 fractions. The active ingredient was found to be part of extract fraction F6, which contains acidic substances. This fraction reached efficacies up to 97.6% in bioassays on treated cumber plants. Three flavanoids were detected in sub-fractions of fraction F6 and identified as glabranin, licoflavanon and pinocembrin. All three are known for their antimicrobial effect and were effective against another Oomycete, Phytophthora infestans in in vitro assays. Also, it is known that G. glabra extract kills zoospores of P. cubenis in vitro (Schuster et al. 2010) which may be due to the detected flavanoids. However, the effect of fraction F6 is not explainable by the action of the antimicrobials glabranin, licoflavanon and pinocembrin alone. Sub-fractions not containing those three substances showed efficacies up to 89.2%. This together with the observed dark green color of treated plants in semi-commercial trials led to the assumption that licorice leaf extract has not only a direct effect on the pathogen but influences the plant itself. This assumption was supported by the finding of elevated chlorophyll and anthocyanin content in treated plants and a positive effect on the stress indicator chlorophyll fluorescence. Even in highly infected fraction F6 treated plants (disease severity 92.5%) the Fv/Fm value (0.80) was stable during the whole measuring period, whereas the Fv/Fm value of also highly infected water treated plants decreased (disease severity 100.0%) from 0.80 to 0.69 in the same time. Furthermore, an elevated H2O2 level in the leaf tissues of licorice extract treated uninfected cucumber plants and an up-regulation of PR-1 mRNA could be found. The level of PR-1 mRNA was approximately 4 times higher than in water treated plants. Both, an elevated H2O2 level and an up-regulation of Pr-1mRNA expression are strong indicators for induced resistance. Since PR-1 has antifungal activity, this high amount of PR-1 is a possible explanation for inhibition of germ tube growth of P. cubensis zoospores on licorice treated leaf discs found in this thesis. The germ tube length on water treated leaf discs was 17.3-26.6 µm, whereas the germ tube length on licorice treated leaf disc was only 1.6-6.4 µm. Based on these results it was concluded that the ethanolic leaf extract of G. glabra is a highly potent control agent against cucumber downy mildew (P. cubensis) and its mode of action is a combination of direct effects on the pathogen development and induced resistance

Mobilisation of organic compounds from reservoir rocks through the injection of CO₂ - comparison of baseline characterization and laboratory experiments

In the framework of CO₂ storage activities, the aim of our investigations is mainly to evaluate the effects of supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) on the quantitative and qualitative extraction of organic compounds from reservoir rocks. Within the scope of the CO₂ storage project CO₂SINK the major task was to identify key mechanisms occurring in the reservoir as a result of the injection of CO₂ into a saline aquifer. Here, it is of special interest what types and amounts of organic matter will be extracted and mobilized from the reservoir rocks in conjunction with the injection of scCO₂. Thus, our investigations may help to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of the long-term storage of CO₂ in such a geological system. Here, we present compound-specific results from laboratory scCO₂-extraction experiments on reservoir rock samples from the CO₂ storage site in Ketzin, Germany. Low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOA) as well as polar lipid fatty acids (PLFA) extracted by scCO2 were analysed using ion chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Through the exposure to scCO₂ mainly formate and acetate, but also other LMWOA were released from the rock samples in varying amounts. PLFA profiles of scCO₂ extracts were dominated by saturated and unsaturated fatty acids with 16 and 18 carbon atoms of bacterial origin. The results of scCO₂ extraction are compared with the characterization of the organic inventory of pristine rock samples and fluid samples from observation wells of the Ketzin site to obtain information on quantitative and qualitative significance of the solvent potential of scCO₂

Erwerb von Leseflüssigkeit gering literalisierter Erwachsener : explorative Untersuchung von Lernangeboten und deren Nutzung ; (LegalitE)

Eine ausreichende Leseflüssigkeit gilt in Prozessmodellen der Lesedidaktik als zentrale Voraussetzung für die Möglichkeit der mentalen Orientierung auf das Verstehen schriftlicher Texte. Das Projekt „Erwerb von Leseflüssigkeit gering literalisierter Erwachsener: Explorative Untersuchung von Lernangeboten und deren Nutzung“ (LegelitE) ermittelte, ob und wie in Grundbildungs- und Alphabetisierungs-Kursen der Erwachsenenbildung Verfahren zur Förderung der Leseflüssigkeit integriert werden. Auf Grundlage von 64 Unterrichtsbeobachtungen, 57 Lernstandseinschätzungen und Interviews mit 23 Kursleitenden und 63 Teilnehmenden identifizierten die Projektmitarbeitenden verschiedene Hemmfaktoren und gelingende Komponenten für die Förderung der Leseflüssigkeit. Der inhaltliche Fokus des Kursgeschehens liegt nicht auf dem Aufbau von Leseflüssigkeit, obwohl sie nicht gegeben ist. Ausdruck findet diese Vernachlässigung in den vorherrschenden Förderverfahren: Überwiegend wird nicht wiederholend bzw. chorisch oder im Tandem gelesen, das Textmaterial ist meistens überfordernd, und Feedback wird nicht immer in angemessener Form geleistet. Es konnten Routinen des Leseunterrichts auf Wort-, Satz- und Textebene identifiziert und beschrieben werden, in die sich Flüssigkeitsförderung je spezifisch einpassen lässt. Auch konnten vereinzelt Unterrichtssequenzen mit Lautlese-Verfahren beobachtet werden, die exemplarisch zeigen, dass und wie sie für die unterschiedlichen Alpha-Level implementiert werden kann