E+E-Projekt „Integration von Naturschutzzielen in den Ökologischen Landbau am Beispiel der Hessischen Staatsdomäne Frankenhausen“ - Maßnahmen in der bewirtschafteten Fläche

On the Hessian state domain Frankenhausen near Kassel the project “The Integration of Nature Conservation into Organic Farming” (supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with funds of the Federal Environmental Ministry) aims to support biodiversity not only by restoring biotopes on the farmland. The focus lies on measures to enhance the diversity on the arable land and the pastures of the farm. A participatory approach is striven for, in which the scientists and planners take the role of a companion catalyst or moderator

Strong electron-phonon coupling and enhanced phonon Gr\"uneisen parameters in valence-fluctuating metal EuPd2_2Si2_2

We study the valence crossover and strong electron-phonon coupling of EuPd$_2$Si$_2$ by polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy. The fully-symmetric phonon mode shows strongly asymmetric lineshape at low temperature, indicating Fano-type interaction between this mode and a continuum of electron-hole excitations. Moreover, the frequency and linewidth of the phonon modes exhibit anomalies across the valence-crossover temperature, suggesting the coupling between valence fluctuations and lattice vibration. In particular, two phonon modes show significantly enhanced Gr\"uneisen parameter, suggesting proximity to a critical elasticity regime. The relative contribution of the structural change and valence change to the phonon anomalies is evaluated by density functional theory calculations

Clonal evolution in tyrosine kinase inhibitor-resistance: lessons from in vitro-models

IntroductionResistance in anti-cancer treatment is a result of clonal evolution and clonal selection. In chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the hematopoietic neoplasm is predominantly caused by the formation of the BCR::ABL1 kinase. Evidently, treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is tremendously successful. It has become the role model of targeted therapy. However, therapy resistance to TKIs leads to loss of molecular remission in about 25% of CML patients being partially due to BCR::ABL1 kinase mutations, while for the remaining cases, various other mechanisms are discussed.MethodsHere, we established an in vitro-TKI resistance model against the TKIs imatinib and nilotinib and performed exome sequencing.ResultsIn this model, acquired sequence variants in NRAS, KRAS, PTPN11, and PDGFRB were identified in TKI resistance. The well-known pathogenic NRAS p.(Gln61Lys) variant provided a strong benefit for CML cells under TKI exposure visible by increased cell number (6.2-fold, p < 0.001) and decreased apoptosis (-25%, p < 0.001), proving the functionality of our approach. The transfection of PTPN11 p.(Tyr279Cys) led to increased cell number (1.7-fold, p = 0.03) and proliferation (2.0-fold, p < 0.001) under imatinib treatment.DiscussionOur data demonstrate that our in vitro-model can be used to study the effect of specific variants on TKI resistance and to identify new driver mutations and genes playing a role in TKI resistance. The established pipeline can be used to study candidates acquired in TKI-resistant patients, thereby providing new options for the development of new therapy strategies to overcome resistance

Spatio-temporal drivers of soil and ecosystem carbon fluxes at field scale in an upland grassland in Germany

Ecosystem carbon (C) fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems are affected by varying environmental conditions (e.g. soil heterogeneity and the weather) and land management. However, the interactions between soil respiration (Rs) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and their spatio-temporal dependence on environmental conditions and land management at field scale is not well understood. We performed repeated C flux measurement at 21 sites during the 2013 growing season in a temperate upland grassland in Germany, which was fertilized and cut three times according to the agricultural practice typical of the region. Repeated measurements included determination of NEE, Rs, leaf area index (LAI), meteorological conditions as well as physical and chemical soil properties. Temporal variability of Rs was controlled by air temperature, while LAI influenced the temporal variability of NEE. The three grass cuts reduced LAI and affected NEE markedly. More than 50% of NEE variability was explained by defoliation at field scale. Additionally, soil heterogeneity affected NEE, but to a lower extent (>30%), while Rs remained unaffected. We conclude that grassland management (i.e. repeated defoliation) and soil heterogeneity affects the spatio-temporal variability of NEE at field scale

Genomic basis of a social polymorphism in a halictid bee

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Genomic and transcriptomic changes complement each other in the pathogenesis of sporadic Burkitt lymphoma

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is the most common B-cell lymphoma in children. Within the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), we performed whole genome and transcriptome sequencing of 39 sporadic BL. Here, we unravel interaction of structural, mutational, and transcriptional changes, which contribute to MYC oncogene dysregulation together with the pathognomonic IG-MYC translocation. Moreover, by mapping IGH translocation breakpoints, we provide evidence that the precursor of at least a subset of BL is a B-cell poised to express IGHA. We describe the landscape of mutations, structural variants, and mutational processes, and identified a series of driver genes in the pathogenesis of BL, which can be targeted by various mechanisms, including IG-non MYC translocations, germline and somatic mutations, fusion transcripts, and alternative splicing