Public acceptance of renewable energies: Results from case studies in Germany

This article addresses the public acceptance of certain renewable energies (grid-connected larger PV ground-installed systems, biomass plants and wind turbines) from a socio-scientific perspective. Using an environmental-psychological approach to investigate the social factors relevant to the formation of public acceptance towards renewable energies in four different regions, recommendations for the further implementation of renewable energy systems were to be derived. The present study has been conducted in a multi-modal research design combining a standardised questionnaire and qualitative interviews and focused on the residents' views and perceptions. Especially within the quantitative analyses, the results indicate that economic consideration of the respective renewable energy system, understood as a positive cost-benefit calculation made by the individual, is the strongest predictor for a reported acceptance. Furthermore, the importance of landscape evaluation and a strong connection between procedural justice criteria, such as transparency, early and accurate information as well as possibilities to participate during the planning and installation process, and a reported public acceptance became evident. Qualitative data were analysed in reference to the grounded theory and showed the relevance of the operating company's commitment on the local level, participation of the general public and the choice of the location for the plant were among the relevant aspects for acceptance in the implementation process. This survey is part of a 3-year project funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).Public acceptance Environmental psychology Multi-modal research design

The Holstein Friesian Lethal Haplotype 5 (HH5) Results from a Complete Deletion of <i>TBF1M</i> and Cholesterol Deficiency (CDH) from an ERV-(LTR) Insertion into the Coding Region of <i>APOB</i>

<div><p>Background</p><p>With the availability of massive SNP data for several economically important cattle breeds, haplotype tests have been performed to identify unknown recessive disorders. A number of so-called lethal haplotypes, have been uncovered in Holstein Friesian cattle and, for at least seven of these, the causative mutations have been identified in candidate genes. However, several lethal haplotypes still remain elusive. Here we report the molecular genetic causes of lethal haplotype 5 (HH5) and cholesterol deficiency (CDH). A targeted enrichment for the known genomic regions, followed by massive parallel sequencing was used to interrogate for causative mutations in a case/control approach.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Targeted enrichment for the known genomic regions, followed by massive parallel sequencing was used in a case/control approach. PCRs for the causing mutations were developed and compared to routine imputing in 2,100 (HH5) and 3,100 (CDH) cattle.</p><p>Results</p><p>HH5 is caused by a deletion of 138kbp, spanning position 93,233kb to 93,371kb on chromosome 9 (BTA9), harboring only dimethyl-adenosine transferase 1 (<i>TFB1M</i>). The deletion breakpoints are flanked by bovine long interspersed nuclear elements Bov-B (upstream) and L1ME3 (downstream), suggesting a homologous recombination/deletion event. TFB1M di-methylates adenine residues in the hairpin loop at the 3’-end of mitochondrial 12S rRNA, being essential for synthesis and function of the small ribosomal subunit of mitochondria. Homozygous <i>TFB1M</i>^-/- mice reportedly exhibit embryonal lethality with developmental defects. A 2.8% allelic frequency was determined for the German HF population. CDH results from a 1.3kbp insertion of an endogenous retrovirus (ERV2-1-LTR_BT) into exon 5 of the <i>APOB</i> gene at BTA11:77,959kb. The insertion is flanked by 6bp target site duplications as described for insertions mediated by retroviral integrases. A premature stop codon in the open reading frame of <i>APOB</i> is generated, resulting in a truncation of the protein to a length of only <140 amino acids. Such early truncations have been shown to cause an inability of chylomicron excretion from intestinal cells, resulting in malabsorption of cholesterol. The allelic frequency of this mutation in the German HF population was 6.7%, which is substantially higher than reported so far. Compared to PCR assays inferring the genetic variants directly, the routine imputing used so far showed a diagnostic sensitivity of as low as 91% (HH5) and 88% (CDH), with a high specificity for both (≥99.7%).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>With the availability of direct genetic tests it will now be possible to more effectively reduce the carrier frequency and ultimately eliminate the disorders from the HF populations. Beside this, the fact that repetitive genomic elements (RE) are involved in both diseases, underline the evolutionary importance of RE, which can be detrimental as here, but also advantageous over generations.</p></div

Schematic drawing of the most likely homologous hybridization between the two repetitive elements within the deleted sequence.

<p>A stable dsDNA structure is formed with a free Gibbs energy (∆G³⁷°) of -13.5 kcal/mol and further downstream a stable secondary structure within the single strand is formed (∆G³⁷° = -4.3 kcal/mol), shown as insert. The fusion points are marked with red lines, based retained after fusion of the sequences are shown as capital letters, small letters depict the sequence parts that are deleted. Calculations and drawings are created using UNAfold (<a href="http://unafold.rna.albany.edu/" target="_blank">http://unafold.rna.albany.edu</a>) [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0154602#pone.0154602.ref046" target="_blank">46</a>].</p

Schematic drawing of the retroviral insertion in <i>APOB</i> exon 5 causing CDH.

<p>The wind-type sequence and amino acid translation is shown on top (location on BosTaurus_UMD3.1/bosTau6). The insertion breakpoints of the ERV2-1-LTR_BT are shown below. The insertion causes a premature stop codon. The 6bp target site duplication indicative of an integrase mediated insertion is highlighted in blue. The chromatograms are obtained from Sanger-sequencing of a 1,461bp amplicon that was obtained with primers unique to the flanking region of the putative insertion site. As shown in the agarose gel image this band was amplified in CDH homozygous/heterozygous animals but is not present in the wild-type control animal.</p

Lipid status of cattle grouped by CD mutation.

<p>Lipid status of cattle grouped by CD mutation.</p

Overview over lethal haplotype frequencies in a subset of the German HF population.

<p>Overview over lethal haplotype frequencies in a subset of the German HF population.</p