TY - JOUR A1 - Gupta, Shishir K. A1 - Srivastava, Mugdha A1 - Osmanoglu, Özge A1 - Xu, Zhuofei A1 - Brakhage, Axel A. A1 - Dandekar, Thomas T1 - Aspergillus fumigatus versus genus Aspergillus: conservation, adaptive evolution and specific virulence genes JF - Microorganisms N2 - Aspergillus is an important fungal genus containing economically important species, as well as pathogenic species of animals and plants. Using eighteen fungal species of the genus Aspergillus, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of conserved genes and their evolution. This also allows us to investigate the selection pressure driving the adaptive evolution in the pathogenic species A. fumigatus. Among single-copy orthologs (SCOs) for A. fumigatus and the closely related species A. fischeri, we identified 122 versus 50 positively selected genes (PSGs), respectively. Moreover, twenty conserved genes of unknown function were established to be positively selected and thus important for adaption. A. fumigatus PSGs interacting with human host proteins show over-representation of adaptive, symbiosis-related, immunomodulatory and virulence-related pathways, such as the TGF-β pathway, insulin receptor signaling, IL1 pathway and interfering with phagosomal GTPase signaling. Additionally, among the virulence factor coding genes, secretory and membrane protein-coding genes in multi-copy gene families, 212 genes underwent positive selection and also suggest increased adaptation, such as fungal immune evasion mechanisms (aspf2), siderophore biosynthesis (sidD), fumarylalanine production (sidE), stress tolerance (atfA) and thermotolerance (sodA). These genes presumably contribute to host adaptation strategies. Genes for the biosynthesis of gliotoxin are shared among all the close relatives of A. fumigatus as an ancient defense mechanism. Positive selection plays a crucial role in the adaptive evolution of A. fumigatus. The genome-wide profile of PSGs provides valuable targets for further research on the mechanisms of immune evasion, antimycotic targeting and understanding fundamental virulence processes. KW - molecular evolution KW - phylogenetic analysis KW - adaptation KW - recombination KW - positive selection KW - human pathogenic fungi KW - genus Aspergillus KW - Aspergillus fumigatus Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-246318 SN - 2076-2607 VL - 9 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheiner, Ricarda A1 - Lim, Kayun A1 - Meixner, Marina D. A1 - Gabel, Martin S. T1 - Comparing the appetitive learning performance of six European honeybee subspecies in a common apiary JF - Insects N2 - The Western honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) is one of the most widespread insects with numerous subspecies in its native range. How far adaptation to local habitats has affected the cognitive skills of the different subspecies is an intriguing question that we investigate in this study. Naturally mated queens of the following five subspecies from different parts of Europe were transferred to Southern Germany: A. m. iberiensis from Portugal, A. m. mellifera from Belgium, A. m. macedonica from Greece, A. m. ligustica from Italy, and A. m. ruttneri from Malta. We also included the local subspecies A. m. carnica in our study. New colonies were built up in a common apiary where the respective queens were introduced. Worker offspring from the different subspecies were compared in classical olfactory learning performance using the proboscis extension response. Prior to conditioning, we measured individual sucrose responsiveness to investigate whether possible differences in learning performances were due to differential responsiveness to the sugar water reward. Most subspecies did not differ in their appetitive learning performance. However, foragers of the Iberian honeybee, A. m. iberiensis, performed significantly more poorly, despite having a similar sucrose responsiveness. We discuss possible causes for the poor performance of the Iberian honeybees, which may have been shaped by adaptation to the local habitat. KW - adaptation KW - Apis mellifera KW - olfactory learning KW - proboscis extension response KW - sucrose responsiveness KW - genetic diversity Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245180 SN - 2075-4450 VL - 12 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gupta, Shishir K. A1 - Minocha, Rashmi A1 - Thapa, Prithivi Jung A1 - Srivastava, Mugdha A1 - Dandekar, Thomas T1 - Role of the pangolin in origin of SARS-CoV-2: an evolutionary perspective JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - After the recent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, unanswered questions remain related to its evolutionary history, path of transmission or divergence and role of recombination. There is emerging evidence on amino acid substitutions occurring in key residues of the receptor-binding domain of the spike glycoprotein in coronavirus isolates from bat and pangolins. In this article, we summarize our current knowledge on the origin of SARS-CoV-2. We also analyze the host ACE2-interacting residues of the receptor-binding domain of spike glycoprotein in SARS-CoV-2 isolates from bats, and compare it to pangolin SARS-CoV-2 isolates collected from Guangdong province (GD Pangolin-CoV) and Guangxi autonomous regions (GX Pangolin-CoV) of South China. Based on our comparative analysis, we support the view that the Guangdong Pangolins are the intermediate hosts that adapted the SARS-CoV-2 and represented a significant evolutionary link in the path of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. We also discuss the role of intermediate hosts in the origin of Omicron. KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - origin KW - evolution KW - intermediate host KW - pangolin KW - mutation KW - recombination KW - adaptation KW - transmission KW - comparative sequence analysis Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285995 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 23 IS - 16 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cull, Benjamin A1 - Lima Prado Godinho, Joseane A1 - Fernandes Rodrigues, Juliany Cola A1 - Frank, Benjamin A1 - Schurigt, Uta A1 - Williams, Roderick AM A1 - Coombs, Graham H A1 - Mottram, Jeremy C T1 - Glycosome turnover in Leishmania major is mediated by autophagy JF - Autophagy N2 - Autophagy is a central process behind the cellular remodeling that occurs during differentiation of Leishmania, yet the cargo of the protozoan parasite's autophagosome is unknown. We have identified glycosomes, peroxisome-like organelles that uniquely compartmentalize glycolytic and other metabolic enzymes in Leishmania and other kinetoplastid parasitic protozoa, as autophagosome cargo. It has been proposed that the number of glycosomes and their content change during the Leishmania life cycle as a key adaptation to the different environments encountered. Quantification of RFP-SQL-labeled glycosomes showed that promastigotes of L. major possess ~20 glycosomes per cell, whereas amastigotes contain ~10. Glycosome numbers were significantly greater in promastigotes and amastigotes of autophagy-defective L. major Δatg5 mutants, implicating autophagy in glycosome homeostasis and providing a partial explanation for the previously observed growth and virulence defects of these mutants. Use of GFP-ATG8 to label autophagosomes showed glycosomes to be cargo in ~15% of them; glycosome-containing autophagosomes were trafficked to the lysosome for degradation. The number of autophagosomes increased 10-fold during differentiation, yet the percentage of glycosome-containing autophagosomes remained constant. This indicates that increased turnover of glycosomes was due to an overall increase in autophagy, rather than an upregulation of autophagosomes containing this cargo. Mitophagy of the single mitochondrion was not observed in L. major during normal growth or differentiation; however, mitochondrial remnants resulting from stress-induced fragmentation colocalized with autophagosomes and lysosomes, indicating that autophagy is used to recycle these damaged organelles. These data show that autophagy in Leishmania has a central role not only in maintaining cellular homeostasis and recycling damaged organelles but crucially in the adaptation to environmental change through the turnover of glycosomes. KW - ATG8 KW - Leishmania KW - TEM KW - glycosome KW - protozoan parasite KW - ATG KW - autophagy-related KW - GFP KW - green fluorescent protein KW - MVT KW - multivesicular tubule KW - RFP KW - red fluorescent protein KW - transmission electron microscopy KW - adaptation KW - autophagy KW - mC KW - mCherry KW - fluorescent protein Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-150277 VL - 10 IS - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Anne A1 - Weick, Stefan A1 - Krieger, Thomas A1 - Exner, Florian A1 - Kellner, Sonja A1 - Polat, Bülent A1 - Flentje, Michael T1 - Evaluation of a software module for adaptive treatment planning and re-irradiation JF - Radiation Oncology N2 - Background: The aim of this work is to validate the Dynamic Planning Module in terms of usability and acceptance in the treatment planning workflow. Methods: The Dynamic Planning Module was used for decision making whether a plan adaptation was necessary within one course of radiation therapy. The Module was also used for patients scheduled for re-irradiation to estimate the dose in the pretreated region and calculate the accumulated dose to critical organs at risk. During one year, 370 patients were scheduled for plan adaptation or re-irradiation. All patient cases were classified according to their treated body region. For a sub-group of 20 patients treated with RT for lung cancer, the dosimetric effect of plan adaptation during the main treatment course was evaluated in detail. Changes in tumor volume, frequency of re-planning and the time interval between treatment start and plan adaptation were assessed. Results: The Dynamic Planning Tool was used in 20% of treated patients per year for both approaches nearly equally (42% plan adaptation and 58% re-irradiation). Most cases were assessed for the thoracic body region (51%) followed by pelvis (21%) and head and neck cases (10%). The sub-group evaluation showed that unintended plan adaptation was performed in 38% of the scheduled cases. A median time span between first day of treatment and necessity of adaptation of 17 days (range 4–35 days) was observed. PTV changed by 12 ± 12% on average (maximum change 42%). PTV decreased in 18 of 20 cases due to tumor shrinkage and increased in 2 of 20 cases. Re-planning resulted in a reduction of the mean lung dose of the ipsilateral side in 15 of 20 cases. Conclusion: The experience of one year showed high acceptance of the Dynamic Planning Module in our department for both physicians and medical physicists. The re-planning can potentially reduce the accumulated dose to the organs at risk and ensure a better target volume coverage. In the re-irradiation situation, the Dynamic Planning Tool was used to consider the pretreatment dose, to adapt the actual treatment schema more specifically and to review the accumulated dose. KW - re-irradiation KW - lung cancer KW - adaptation KW - re-planning Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158711 VL - 12 IS - 205 ER - TY - THES A1 - Sieber, Jeannette T1 - Impacts of Extreme Hydro-Meteorological Events on Electricity Generation and Possible Adaptation Measures – A GIS-based Approach for Corporate Risk Management and Enhanced Climate Mitigation Concepts in Germany T1 - Einflüsse extremer hydro-meteorologischer Ereignisse auf Elektrizitätserzeugung und mögliche Anpassungsmaßnahmen – ein GIS-basierter Ansatz für ein betriebliches Umweltrisikomanagement und erweiterte Klimaschutzkonzepte in Deutschland N2 - This thesis on the “Impacts of extreme hydro-meteorological events on electricity generation and possible adaptation measures – a GIS-based approach for corporate risk management and enhanced climate mitigation concepts in Germany” presents an identification of hydro-meteorological extreme events in Germany and their effects on electricity generating units, i.e. on conventional thermal and nuclear power plants as well as on installations of the renewable energies of hydropower, wind energy and photovoltaic installations. In addition, adaptation measures and strategies are named that help power plant operators to prepare for a changing climate. Due to the different requirements of large facility operators and local planners and owners of renewable energies, the work contains the two approaches of corporate risk management and climate mitigation concepts. A changing climate not only consists of a shift in mean values of weather parameters such as global and regional air temperature and precipitation, but may also result in more frequent and more severe single events such as extreme precipitation, tornadoes and thunderstorms. In two case studies, these findings are implemented into an adjusted general risk management structure. This is enhanced by the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to accomplish a localisation of events and infrastructure. The first example gives insight into the consequences of ice throw from wind turbines and how climate mitigation concepts can act as a framework for an adapted, sustainable energy planning. The second example on the other hand highlights a GIS-based flood risk management for thermal power plants and the benefits of an adjusted corporate risk management cycle. The described approach leads to an integrated management of extreme hydro-meteorological events at power plant site respectively district level by combining two cycles of site-related and local planning in addition to GIS-based analyses. This is demonstrated as an example by the comparison of two districts in Germany. The practical outcome is a comprehensive support for decision-making processes. N2 - Die vorliegende Arbeit zum Thema “Einflüsse extremer hydro-meteorologischer Ereignisse auf Elektrizitätserzeugung und mögliche Anpassungsmaßnahmen – ein GIS-basierter Ansatz für ein betriebliches Umweltrisikomanagement und erweiterte Klimaschutzkonzepte in Deutschland” identifiziert zunächst die relevanten hydro-meteorologischen Ereignisse und ihre Auswirkungen auf elektrizitätserzeugende Einheiten in Deutschland. Dies sind hier konventionelle thermische Kraftwerke und Kernkraftwerke sowie die Installationen der Erneuerbaren Energien Wasserkraft, Windenergie und Photovoltaik. Im Anschluss werden Anpassungsmaßnahmen und strategien aufgezeigt, die es den Betreibern von Kraftwerken ermöglichen, sich auf ein sich veränderndes Klima vorzubereiten. Durch die verschiedenen Voraussetzungen für Betreiber großer Anlagen und die Regionalplanung und Besitzer von Anlagen Erneuerbarer Energien werden zwei Ansätze verfolgt. Der eine Ansatz beinhaltet betriebliches Umweltrisikomanagement, der andere beleuchtet den Aspekt Anpassung als Erweiterung von Klimaschutzkonzepten. Der Klimawandel in diesem Sinne beinhaltet nicht nur die Veränderungen in Mittelwerten, wie zum Beispiel der regionalen und globalen Lufttemperaturen oder des Niederschlages, sondern auch ein verändertes Verhalten von extremen Einzelereignissen, wie häufigere und schwerere Extremniederschläge, Tornados und Gewitter. In zwei Fallbeispielen werden diese Ergebnisse in eine Risikomanagementstruktur eingebunden und durch die Verwendung von Geographischen Informationssystemen (GIS) lokalisiert und erweitert. Das erste Beispiel zeigt die Konsequenzen von Eiswurf von Windenergieanlagen und wie Klimaschutzkonzepte als Rahmen für eine angepasste, nachhaltige Energieplanung dienen können. Das zweite Beispiel hebt die Notwendigkeit von GIS-gestützten Hochwasserrisikoanalysen für thermische Kraftwerke und die Vorteile eines angepassten betrieblichen Umweltrisikomanagements hervor. Die beschriebene Vorgehensweise kombiniert zwei Managementzyklen. Dabei werden die standortspezifische Planung und Regionalplanung sowie GIS-basierte Analysen verknüpft. Dies wird am Beispiel zweier Landkreise verdeutlicht. Das Resultat ist ein umfassender Ansatz zur Unterstützung von Entscheidungsprozessen. KW - Deutschland KW - Klimaänderung KW - Geoinformationssystem KW - Elektrizitätserzeugung KW - Unwetter KW - Umweltgefährdung KW - Klimaschutz KW - Extremwetterereignisse KW - Klimaschutzkonzept KW - Landkreis KW - Risikoindex KW - Entscheidungsprozess KW - Wärmekraftwerk KW - Wetter KW - Energie KW - Klimaschutz KW - extreme weather event KW - adaptation KW - climate action plan KW - renewable energies KW - district Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-79000 ER - TY - THES A1 - Leibnitz, Kimiko T1 - Die Frauenfiguren in Hamlet-Verfilmungen des 20. Jahrhunderts T1 - The Female Characters in Hamlet Film Adaptations of the 20th Century N2 - Diese Dissertation liefert einen kulturhistorischen Überblick über die Darstellung der Frauenfiguren Gertrude und Ophelia in Hamlet-Verfilmungen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Die beiden weiblichen Gestalten werden dabei im Hinblick auf ihr äußeres Erscheinungsbild wie auch ihre Charakterzeichnung vor dem historischen, kulturellen, politischen und gesellschaftlichen Entstehungshintergrund der Filme beleuchtet. Die Analysen konzentrieren sich ausschließlich auf Kinofilme, da diese ein wesentlich breiteres Publikum erreichen als etwa die diversen Bühnen- oder Textfassungen des Stücks. Die erste der insgesamt zwanzig untersuchten Leinwandfassungen entstand im Jahre 1900, die letzte kam 2000 in die Kinos – die vorliegende Arbeit behandelt also eine genau 100-jährige Tradition der Hamlet-Verfilmungen. N2 - This doctoral thesis provides a comprehensive historico-cultural analysis of the figures of Gertrude and Ophelia as portrayed in Hamlet film adaptations of the 20th century. The two female figures are examined with a special emphasis on their outward appearance and character disposition, which are set against the historical, cultural, political and social background of when the films were produced. These analyses focus exclusively on film adaptations made for cinematic release, which have a larger audience than the various book versions and TV and stage productions of the play. The first of the overall twenty Hamlet films discussed here was made in 1900, the last one in 2000 – the work at hand comprises therefore a one-hundred-year-old tradition of Hamlet film adaptations. KW - Shakespeare KW - William KW - Hamlet KW - Film KW - Frau KW - Geschichte 1900-2000 KW - Hamlet KW - Shakespeare KW - Film KW - Verfilmung KW - Theaterstück KW - Hamlet KW - Shakespeare KW - film KW - adaptation KW - play KW - movie Y1 - 2005 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-19478 ER -