| 1. |
- Engel, Philipp, et al.
(författare)
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The Bee Microbiome: Impact on Bee Health and Model for Evolution and Ecology of Host-Microbe Interactions
- 2016
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Ingår i: mBio. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 2161-2129 .- 2150-7511. ; 7:2
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- As pollinators, bees are cornerstones for terrestrial ecosystem stability and key components in agricultural productivity. All animals, including bees, are associated with a diverse community of microbes, commonly referred to as the micro biome. The bee micro biome is likely to be a crucial factor affecting host health. However, with the exception of a few pathogens, the impacts of most members of the bee microbiome on host health are poorly understood. Further, the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape and change the microbiome are unclear. Here, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the bee microbiome, and we present challenges associated with its investigation. We conclude that global coordination of research efforts is needed to fully understand the complex and highly dynamic nature of the interplay between the bee micro biome, its host, and the environment. High-throughput sequencing technologies are ideal for exploring complex biological systems, including host-microbe interactions. To maximize their value and to improve assessment of the factors affecting bee health, sequence data should be archived, curated, and analyzed in ways that promote the synthesis of different studies. To this end, the BeeBiome consortium aims to develop an online database which would provide reference sequences, archive metadata, and host analytical resources. The goal would be to support applied and fundamental research on bees and their associated microbes and to provide a collaborative framework for sharing primary data from different research programs, thus furthering our understanding of the bee microbiome and its impact on pollinator health.
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| 2. |
- Koch, Christin, et al.
(författare)
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CHIC - An automated approach for the detection of dynamic variations in complex microbial communities
- 2013
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Ingår i: Cytometry Part A. - : Wiley. - 1552-4922 .- 1552-4930. ; 83A:6, s. 561-567
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Altering environmental conditions change structures of microbial communities. These effects have an impact on the single-cell level and can be sensitively detected using community flow cytometry. However, although highly accurate, microbial monitoring campaigns are still rarely performed applying this technique. One reason is the limited access to pattern analysis approaches for the evaluation of microbial cytometric data. In this article, a new analyzing tool, Cytometric Histogram Image Comparison (CHIC), is presented, which realizes trend interpretation of variations in microbial community structures (i) without any previous definition of gates, by working (ii) person independent, and (iii) with low computational demand. Various factors influencing a sensitive determination of changes in community structures were tested. The sensitivity of this technique was found to discriminate down to 0.5% internal variation. The final protocol was exemplarily applied to a complex microbial community dataset, and correlations to experimental variation were successfully shown.
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| 3. |
- Reuten, Raphael, et al.
(författare)
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Basement membrane stiffness determines metastases formation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Materials. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4660 .- 1476-1122.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The basement membrane (BM) is a special type of extracellular matrix and presents the major barrier cancer cells have to overcome multiple times to form metastases. Here we show that BM stiffness is a major determinant of metastases formation in several tissues and identify netrin-4 (Net4) as a key regulator of BM stiffness. Mechanistically, our biophysical and functional analyses in combination with mathematical simulations show that Net4 softens the mechanical properties of native BMs by opening laminin node complexes, decreasing cancer cell potential to transmigrate this barrier despite creating bigger pores. Our results therefore reveal that BM stiffness is dominant over pore size, and that the mechanical properties of ‘normal’ BMs determine metastases formation and patient survival independent of cancer-mediated alterations. Thus, identifying individual Net4 protein levels within native BMs in major metastatic organs may have the potential to define patient survival even before tumour formation. The ratio of Net4 to laminin molecules determines BM stiffness, such that the more Net4, the softer the BM, thereby decreasing cancer cell invasion activity.
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