TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kraus, Amelie J.
A1  - Brink, Benedikt G.
A1  - Siegel, T. Nicolai
T1  - Efficient and specific oligo-based depletion of rRNA
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - In most organisms, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) contributes to >85% of total RNA. Thus, to obtain useful information from RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses at reasonable sequencing depth, typically, mature polyadenylated transcripts are enriched or rRNA molecules are depleted. Targeted depletion of rRNA is particularly useful when studying transcripts lacking a poly(A) tail, such as some non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), most bacterial RNAs and partially degraded or immature transcripts. While several commercially available kits allow effective rRNA depletion, their efficiency relies on a high degree of sequence homology between oligonucleotide probes and the target RNA. This restricts the use of such kits to a limited number of organisms with conserved rRNA sequences. In this study we describe the use of biotinylated oligos and streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads for the efficient and specific depletion of trypanosomal rRNA. Our approach reduces the levels of the most abundant rRNA transcripts to less than 5% with minimal off-target effects. By adjusting the sequence of the oligonucleotide probes, our approach can be used to deplete rRNAs or other abundant transcripts independent of species. Thus, our protocol provides a useful alternative for rRNA removal where enrichment of polyadenylated transcripts is not an option and commercial kits for rRNA are not available.
KW  - parasite biology
KW  - RNA sequencing
KW  - transcriptomics
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-224829
VL  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kim, Bo-Mi
A1  - Amores, Angel
A1  - Kang, Seunghyun
A1  - Ahn, Do-Hwan
A1  - Kim, Jin-Hyoung
A1  - Kim, Il-Chan
A1  - Lee, Jun Hyuck
A1  - Lee, Sung Gu
A1  - Lee, Hyoungseok
A1  - Lee, Jungeun
A1  - Kim, Han-Woo
A1  - Desvignes, Thomas
A1  - Batzel, Peter
A1  - Sydes, Jason
A1  - Titus, Tom
A1  - Wilson, Catherine A.
A1  - Catchen, Julian M.
A1  - Warren, Wesley C.
A1  - Schartl, Manfred
A1  - Detrich, H. William III
A1  - Postlethwait, John H.
A1  - Park, Hyun
T1  - Antarctic blackfin icefish genome reveals adaptations to extreme environments
JF  - Nature Ecology & Evolution
N2  - Icefishes (suborder Notothenioidei; family Channichthyidae) are the only vertebrates that lack functional haemoglobin genes and red blood cells. Here, we report a high-quality genome assembly and linkage map for the Antarctic blackfin icefish Chaenocephalus aceratus, highlighting evolved genomic features for its unique physiology. Phylogenomic analysis revealed that Antarctic fish of the teleost suborder Notothenioidei, including icefishes, diverged from the stickleback lineage about 77 million years ago and subsequently evolved cold-adapted phenotypes as the Southern Ocean cooled to sub-zero temperatures. Our results show that genes involved in protection from ice damage, including genes encoding antifreeze glycoprotein and zona pellucida proteins, are highly expanded in the icefish genome. Furthermore, genes that encode enzymes that help to control cellular redox state, including members of the sod3 and nqo1 gene families, are expanded, probably as evolutionary adaptations to the relatively high concentration of oxygen dissolved in cold Antarctic waters. In contrast, some crucial regulators of circadian homeostasis (cry and per genes) are absent from the icefish genome, suggesting compromised control of biological rhythms in the polar light environment. The availability of the icefish genome sequence will accelerate our understanding of adaptation to extreme Antarctic environments.
KW  - animal physiology
KW  - evolutionary genetics
KW  - genomics
KW  - ichthyology
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-325811
VL  - 3
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hines, Rochelle M.
A1  - Maric, Hans Michael
A1  - Hines, Dustin J.
A1  - Modgil, Amit
A1  - Panzanelli, Patrizia
A1  - Nakamura, Yasuko
A1  - Nathanson, Anna J.
A1  - Cross, Alan
A1  - Deeb, Tarek
A1  - Brandon, Nicholas J.
A1  - Davies, Paul
A1  - Fritschy, Jean-Marc
A1  - Schindelin, Hermann
A1  - Moss, Stephen J.
T1  - Developmental seizures and mortality result from reducing GABAA receptor α2-subunit interaction with collybistin
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Fast inhibitory synaptic transmission is mediated by γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs) that are enriched at functionally diverse synapses via mechanisms that remain unclear. Using isothermal titration calorimetry and complementary methods we demonstrate an exclusive low micromolar binding of collybistin to the α2-subunit of GABAARs. To explore the biological relevance of collybistin-α2-subunit selectivity, we generate mice with a mutation in the α2-subunit-collybistin binding region (Gabra2-1). The mutation results in loss of a distinct subset of inhibitory synapses and decreased amplitude of inhibitory synaptic currents. Gabra2–1 mice have a striking phenotype characterized by increased susceptibility to seizures and early mortality. Surviving Gabra2-1 mice show anxiety and elevations in electroencephalogram δ power, which are ameliorated by treatment with the α2/α3-selective positive modulator, AZD7325. Taken together, our results demonstrate an α2-subunit selective binding of collybistin, which plays a key role in patterned brain activity, particularly during development.
KW  - cellular neuroscience
KW  - ion channels in the nervous system
KW  - neurotransmitters
KW  - synaptic development
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-320719
VL  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hennrich, Marco L.
A1  - Romanov, Natalie
A1  - Horn, Patrick
A1  - Jaeger, Samira
A1  - Eckstein, Volker
A1  - Steeples, Violetta
A1  - Ye, Fei
A1  - Ding, Ximing
A1  - Poisa-Beiro, Laura
A1  - Mang, Ching Lai
A1  - Lang, Benjamin
A1  - Boultwood, Jacqueline
A1  - Luft, Thomas
A1  - Zaugg, Judith B.
A1  - Pellagatti, Andrea
A1  - Bork, Peer
A1  - Aloy, Patrick
A1  - Gavin, Anne-Claude
A1  - Ho, Anthony D.
T1  - Cell-specific proteome analyses of human bone marrow reveal molecular features of age-dependent functional decline
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Diminishing potential to replace damaged tissues is a hallmark for ageing of somatic stem cells, but the mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we present proteome-wide atlases of age-associated alterations in human haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HPCs) and five other cell populations that constitute the bone marrow niche. For each, the abundance of a large fraction of the ~12,000 proteins identified is assessed in 59 human subjects from different ages. As the HPCs become older, pathways in central carbon metabolism exhibit features reminiscent of the Warburg effect, where glycolytic intermediates are rerouted towards anabolism. Simultaneously, altered abundance of early regulators of HPC differentiation reveals a reduced functionality and a bias towards myeloid differentiation. Ageing causes alterations in the bone marrow niche too, and diminishes the functionality of the pathways involved in HPC homing. The data represent a valuable resource for further analyses, and for validation of knowledge gained from animal models.
KW  - ageing
KW  - haematopoietic stem cells
KW  - mesenchymal stem cells
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319877
VL  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heil, Hannah S.
A1  - Schreiber, Benjamin
A1  - Götz, Ralph
A1  - Emmerling, Monika
A1  - Dabauvalle, Marie-Christine
A1  - Krohne, Georg
A1  - Höfling, Sven
A1  - Kamp, Martin
A1  - Sauer, Markus
A1  - Heinze, Katrin G.
T1  - Sharpening emitter localization in front of a tuned mirror
JF  - Light: Science & Applications
N2  - Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) aims for maximized precision and a high signal-to-noise ratio1. Both features can be provided by placing the emitter in front of a metal-dielectric nanocoating that acts as a tuned mirror2,3,4. Here, we demonstrate that a higher photon yield at a lower background on biocompatible metal-dielectric nanocoatings substantially improves SMLM performance and increases the localization precision by up to a factor of two. The resolution improvement relies solely on easy-to-fabricate nanocoatings on standard glass coverslips and is spectrally and spatially tunable by the layer design and wavelength, as experimentally demonstrated for dual-color SMLM in cells.
KW  - imaging and sensing
KW  - super-resolution microscopy
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228080
VL  - 7
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gröbner, Susanne N.
A1  - Worst, Barbara C.
A1  - Weischenfeldt, Joachim
A1  - Buchhalter, Ivo
A1  - Kleinheinz, Kortine
A1  - Rudneva, Vasilisa A.
A1  - Johann, Pascal D.
A1  - Balasubramanian, Gnana Prakash
A1  - Segura-Wang, Maia
A1  - Brabetz, Sebastian
A1  - Bender, Sebastian
A1  - Hutter, Barbara
A1  - Sturm, Dominik
A1  - Pfaff, Elke
A1  - Hübschmann, Daniel
A1  - Zipprich, Gideon
A1  - Heinold, Michael
A1  - Eils, Jürgen
A1  - Lawerenz, Christian
A1  - Erkek, Serap
A1  - Lambo, Sander
A1  - Waszak, Sebastian
A1  - Blattmann, Claudia
A1  - Borkhardt, Arndt
A1  - Kuhlen, Michaela
A1  - Eggert, Angelika
A1  - Fulda, Simone
A1  - Gessler, Manfred
A1  - Wegert, Jenny
A1  - Kappler, Roland
A1  - Baumhoer, Daniel
A1  - Stefan, Burdach
A1  - Kirschner-Schwabe, Renate
A1  - Kontny, Udo
A1  - Kulozik, Andreas E.
A1  - Lohmann, Dietmar
A1  - Hettmer, Simone
A1  - Eckert, Cornelia
A1  - Bielack, Stefan
A1  - Nathrath, Michaela
A1  - Niemeyer, Charlotte
A1  - Richter, Günther H.
A1  - Schulte, Johannes
A1  - Siebert, Reiner
A1  - Westermann, Frank
A1  - Molenaar, Jan J.
A1  - Vassal, Gilles
A1  - Witt, Hendrik
A1  - Burkhardt, Birgit
A1  - Kratz, Christian P.
A1  - Witt, Olaf
A1  - van Tilburg, Cornelis M.
A1  - Kramm, Christof M.
A1  - Fleischhack, Gudrun
A1  - Dirksen, Uta
A1  - Rutkowski, Stefan
A1  - Frühwald, Michael
A1  - Hoff, Katja von
A1  - Wolf, Stephan
A1  - Klingebeil, Thomas
A1  - Koscielniak, Ewa
A1  - Landgraf, Pablo
A1  - Koster, Jan
A1  - Resnick, Adam C.
A1  - Zhang, Jinghui
A1  - Liu, Yanling
A1  - Zhou, Xin
A1  - Waanders, Angela J.
A1  - Zwijnenburg, Danny A.
A1  - Raman, Pichai
A1  - Brors, Benedikt
A1  - Weber, Ursula D.
A1  - Northcott, Paul A.
A1  - Pajtler, Kristian W.
A1  - Kool, Marcel
A1  - Piro, Rosario M.
A1  - Korbel, Jan O.
A1  - Schlesner, Matthias
A1  - Eils, Roland
A1  - Jones, David T. W.
A1  - Lichter, Peter
A1  - Chavez, Lukas
A1  - Zapatka, Marc
A1  - Pfister, Stefan M.
T1  - The landscape of genomic alterations across childhood cancers
JF  - Nature
N2  - Pan-cancer analyses that examine commonalities and differences among various cancer types have emerged as a powerful way to obtain novel insights into cancer biology. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of genetic alterations in a pan-cancer cohort including 961 tumours from children, adolescents, and young adults, comprising 24 distinct molecular types of cancer. Using a standardized workflow, we identified marked differences in terms of mutation frequency and significantly mutated genes in comparison to previously analysed adult cancers. Genetic alterations in 149 putative cancer driver genes separate the tumours into two classes: small mutation and structural/copy-number variant (correlating with germline variants). Structural variants, hyperdiploidy, and chromothripsis are linked to TP53 mutation status and mutational signatures. Our data suggest that 7–8% of the children in this cohort carry an unambiguous predisposing germline variant and that nearly 50% of paediatric neoplasms harbour a potentially druggable event, which is highly relevant for the design of future clinical trials.
KW  - cancer genomics
KW  - oncogenesis
KW  - paediatric cancer
KW  - predictive markers
KW  - translational research
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229579
VL  - 555
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Franchini, Paolo
A1  - Jones, Julia C.
A1  - Xiong, Peiwen
A1  - Kneitz, Susanne
A1  - Gompert, Zachariah
A1  - Warren, Wesley C.
A1  - Walter, Ronald B.
A1  - Meyer, Axel
A1  - Schartl, Manfred
T1  - Long-term experimental hybridisation results in the evolution of a new sex chromosome in swordtail fish
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - The remarkable diversity of sex determination mechanisms known in fish may be fuelled by exceptionally high rates of sex chromosome turnovers or transitions. However, the evolutionary causes and genomic mechanisms underlying this variation and instability are yet to be understood. Here we report on an over 30-year evolutionary experiment in which we tested the genomic consequences of hybridisation and selection between two Xiphophorus fish species with different sex chromosome systems. We find that introgression and imposing selection for pigmentation phenotypes results in the retention of an unexpectedly large maternally derived genomic region. During the hybridisation process, the sex-determining region of the X chromosome from one parental species was translocated to an autosome in the hybrids leading to the evolution of a new sex chromosome. Our results highlight the complexity of factors contributing to patterns observed in hybrid genomes, and we experimentally demonstrate that hybridisation can catalyze rapid evolution of a new sex chromosome.
KW  - evolutionary genetics
KW  - experimental evolution
KW  - genome evolution
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228396
VL  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Letunic, Ivica
A1  - Khedkar, Supriya
A1  - Bork, Peer
T1  - SMART: recent updates, new developments and status in 2020
JF  - Nucleic Acids Research
N2  - SMART (Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool) is a web resource (https://smart.embl.de) for the identification and annotation of protein domains and the analysis of protein domain architectures. SMART version 9 contains manually curatedmodels formore than 1300 protein domains, with a topical set of 68 new models added since our last update article (1). All the new models are for diverse recombinase families and subfamilies and as a set they provide a comprehensive overview of mobile element recombinases namely transposase, integrase, relaxase, resolvase, cas1 casposase and Xer like cellular recombinase. Further updates include the synchronization of the underlying protein databases with UniProt (2), Ensembl (3) and STRING (4), greatly increasing the total number of annotated domains and other protein features available in architecture analysis mode. Furthermore, SMART's vector-based protein display engine has been extended and updated to use the latest web technologies and the domain architecture analysis components have been optimized to handle the increased number of protein features available.
KW  - SMART
KW  - SMART version 9
KW  - protein domains
KW  - protein domain architectures
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-363816
VL  - 49
IS  - D1
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Loos, Jacqueline
A1  - Krauss, Jochen
A1  - Lyons, Ashley
A1  - Föst, Stephanie
A1  - Ohlendorf, Constanze
A1  - Racky, Severin
A1  - Röder, Marina
A1  - Hudel, Lennart
A1  - Herfert, Volker
A1  - Tscharntke, Teja
T1  - Local and landscape responses of biodiversity in calcareous grasslands
JF  - Biodiversity and Conservation
N2  - Across Europe, calcareous grasslands become increasingly fragmented and their quality deteriorates through abandonment and land use intensification, both affecting biodiversity. Here, we investigated local and landscape effects on diversity patterns of several taxonomic groups in a landscape of highly fragmented calcareous grassland remnants. We surveyed 31 grassland fragments near Göttingen, Germany, in spring and summer 2017 for vascular plants, butterflies and birds, with sampling effort adapted to fragment area. Through regression modelling, we tested relationships between species richness and fragment size (from 314 to 51,395 m\(^2\)), successional stage, habitat connectivity and the per cent cover of arable land in the landscape at several radii. We detected 283 plant species, 53 butterfly species and 70 bird species. Of these, 59 plant species, 19 butterfly species and 9 bird species were grassland specialists. Larger fragments supported twice the species richness of plants than small ones, and hosted more species of butterflies, but not of birds. Larger grassland fragments contained more grassland specialist plants, but not butterfly or bird specialists. Increasing amounts of arable land in the landscape from 20 to 90% was related to the loss of a third of species of plants, and less so, of butterflies, but not of birds. Per cent cover of arable land negatively correlated to richness of grassland specialist plants and butterflies, but positively to grassland specialist birds. We found no effect by successional stages and habitat connectivity. Our multi-taxa approach highlights the need for conservation management at the local scale, complemented by measures at the landscape scale.
KW  - abandonment
KW  - birds
KW  - butterflies
KW  - land use intensification
KW  - nature conservation
KW  - vascular plants
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308595
SN  - 0960-3115
SN  - 1572-9710
VL  - 30
IS  - 8-9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Eckert, Johanna
A1  - Bohn, Manuel
A1  - Spaethe, Johannes
T1  - Does quantity matter to a stingless bee?
JF  - Animal Cognition
N2  - Quantitative information is omnipresent in the world and a wide range of species has been shown to use quantities to optimize their decisions. While most studies have focused on vertebrates, a growing body of research demonstrates that also insects such as honeybees possess basic quantitative abilities that might aid them in finding profitable flower patches. However, it remains unclear if for insects, quantity is a salient feature relative to other stimulus dimensions, or if it is only used as a “last resort” strategy in case other stimulus dimensions are inconclusive. Here, we tested the stingless bee Trigona fuscipennis, a species representative of a vastly understudied group of tropical pollinators, in a quantity discrimination task. In four experiments, we trained wild, free-flying bees on stimuli that depicted either one or four elements. Subsequently, bees were confronted with a choice between stimuli that matched the training stimulus either in terms of quantity or another stimulus dimension. We found that bees were able to discriminate between the two quantities, but performance differed depending on which quantity was rewarded. Furthermore, quantity was more salient than was shape. However, quantity did not measurably influence the bees' decisions when contrasted with color or surface area. Our results demonstrate that just as honeybees, small-brained stingless bees also possess basic quantitative abilities. Moreover, invertebrate pollinators seem to utilize quantity not only as "last resort" but as a salient stimulus dimension. Our study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on quantitative cognition in invertebrate species and adds to our understanding of the evolution of numerical cognition.
KW  - numerical cognition
KW  - insects
KW  - Trigona fuscipennis
KW  - associative learning
KW  - quantity discrimination
KW  - behavioral experiments
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307696
SN  - 1435-9448
SN  - 1435-9456
VL  - 25
IS  - 3
ER  -