| 1. |
- Unterseher, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Mycobiomes of sympatric Amorphophallus albispathus (Araceae) and Camellia sinensis (Theaceae) – a case study reveals clear tissue preferences and differences in diversity and composition
- 2018
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In: Mycological Progress. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1617-416X .- 1861-8952. ; 17:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multiple biotic and abiotic parameters influence the dynamics of individual fungal species and entire communities. Major drivers for tropical plant endophytes are undoubtedly seasonality, local habitat conditions and biogeography. However, host specialization and tissue preferences also contribute to the structuring of endophytic mycobiomes. To elucidate such specializations and preferences, we sampled two commercially important, unrelated plant species, Amorphophallus albispathus and Camellia sinensis (tea plant) simultaneously at close proximity. The mycobiomes of different tissue types were assessed with high-throughput amplicon sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer DNA region. Both plants hosted different fungal communities and varied in α- and β-diversity, despite their neighboring occurrence. However, the fungal assemblages of Amorphophallus leaflets shared taxa with the mycobiomes of tea leaves, thereby suggesting common driving forces for leaf-inhabiting fungi irrespective of host plant identity. The mycobiome composition and diversity of tea leaves was clearly driven by leaf age. We suggest that the very youngest tea leaves are colonized by stochastic processes, while mycobiomes of old leaves are rather similar as the result of progressive succession. The biodiversity of fungi associated with A. albispathus was characterized by a large number of unclassified OTUs (at genus and species level) and by tissue-specific composition.This study is the first cultivation-independent high-throughput assessment of fungal biodiversity of an Amorphophallus species, and additionally expands the knowledge base on fungi associated with tea plants.
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| 2. |
- Förlin, Lars, 1950, et al.
(author)
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mRNA Expression and Biomarker Responses in Perch at a Biomonitoring Site in the Baltic Sea - Possible Influence of Natural Brominated Chemicals
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Perch (Perca fluviatilis) has been used in biological effect monitoring in a program for integrated coastal fish monitoring at the reference site Kvadofjarden along the Swedish east coast, which is a site characterized by no or minor local anthropogenic influences. Using a set of physiological and biochemical endpoints (i.e., biomarkers), clear time trends for "early warning" signs of impaired health were noted in the perch from this site, possibly as a result of increased baseline pollution. The data sets also showed relatively large variations among years. To identify additional temporal variation in biological parameters, global mRNA expression studies using RNA sequencing was performed. Perch collected in 2010 and 2014 were selected, as they showed variations in several biomarkers, such as the activity of the detoxification enzyme CYP1A (EROD), the plasma levels of vitellogenin, markers for oxidative stress, white blood cells count and gonad sizes. The RNA sequencing study identified approximately 4800 genes with a significantly difference in mRNA expression levels. A gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that these differentially expressed genes were involved in biological processes such as complement activation, iron ion homeostasis and cholesterol biosynthetic process. In addition, differences in immune system parameters and responses to the exposure of toxic substances have now been verified in two different biological levels (mRNA and protein) in perch collected in 2010 and 2014. Markedly higher mRNA expression of the membrane transporter (MATE) and the detoxification enzyme COMT, together with higher concentrations of bioactive naturally produced brominated compounds, such as brominated indoles and carbazoles, seem to indicate that the perch collected in 2014 had been exposed to macro- and microalga blooming to a higher degree than did perch from 2010. These results and the differential mRNA expression between the 2 years in genes related to immune and oxidative stress parameters suggest that attention must be given to algae blooming when elucidating the well-being of the perch at Kvadofjarden and other Baltic coastal sites.
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| 3. |
- Siddique, Abu Bakar, First research engineer, et al.
(author)
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What do we learn from cultures in the omics age? High-throughput sequencing and cultivation of leaf-inhabiting endophytes from beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) revealed complementary community composition but similar correlations with local habitat conditions
- 2017
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In: MycoKeys. - : Pensoft Publishers. - 1314-4057 .- 1314-4049. ; 20, s. 1-16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparative simultaneous studies of environmental high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and cultivation of plant-associated fungi have rarely been conducted in the past years. For the present contribution, HTS and extinction culturing were applied for the same leaf samples of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in order to trace both “real” environmental drivers as well as method-dependent signals of the observed mycobiomes. Both approaches resulted in non-overlapping community composition and pronounced differences in taxonomic classification and trophic stages. However, both methods revealed similar correlations of the fungal communities with local environmental conditions. Our results indicate undeniable advantages of HTS over cultivation in terms of revealing a good representation of the major functional guilds, rare taxa and biodiversity signals of leaf-inhabiting fungi. On the other hand our results demonstrate that the immense body of literature about cultivable endophytic fungi can and should be used for the interpretation of community signals and environmental correlations obtained from HTS studies and that cultivation studies should be continued at the highest standards, e.g. when sequencing facilities are not available or if such surveys are expanded into functional aspects with experiments on living isolates.
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| 4. |
- Alneberg, Johannes, et al.
(author)
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Ecosystem-wide metagenomic binning enables prediction of ecological niches from genomes
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1, s. 1-10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alneberg et al. conduct metagenomics binning of water samples collected over major environmental gradients in the Baltic Sea. They use machine-learning to predict the placement of genome clusters along niche gradients based on the content of functional genes. The genome encodes the metabolic and functional capabilities of an organism and should be a major determinant of its ecological niche. Yet, it is unknown if the niche can be predicted directly from the genome. Here, we conduct metagenomic binning on 123 water samples spanning major environmental gradients of the Baltic Sea. The resulting 1961 metagenome-assembled genomes represent 352 species-level clusters that correspond to 1/3 of the metagenome sequences of the prokaryotic size-fraction. By using machine-learning, the placement of a genome cluster along various niche gradients (salinity level, depth, size-fraction) could be predicted based solely on its functional genes. The same approach predicted the genomes' placement in a virtual niche-space that captures the highest variation in distribution patterns. The predictions generally outperformed those inferred from phylogenetic information. Our study demonstrates a strong link between genome and ecological niche and provides a conceptual framework for predictive ecology based on genomic data.
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| 5. |
- Giacomello, Stefania, et al.
(author)
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Spatially resolved transcriptome profiling in model plant species
- 2017
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In: Nature Plants. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding complex biological systems requires functional characterization of specialized tissue domains. However, existing strategies for generating and analysing high-throughput spatial expression profiles were developed for a limited range of organisms, primarily mammals. Here we present the first available approach to generate and study highresolution, spatially resolved functional profiles in a broad range of model plant systems. Our process includes highthroughput spatial transcriptome profiling followed by spatial gene and pathway analyses. We first demonstrate the feasibility of the technique by generating spatial transcriptome profiles from model angiosperms and gymnosperms microsections. In Arabidopsis thaliana we use the spatial data to identify differences in expression levels of 141 genes and 189 pathways in eight inflorescence tissue domains. Our combined approach of spatial transcriptomics and functional profiling offers a powerful new strategy that can be applied to a broad range of plant species, and is an approach that will be pivotal to answering fundamental questions in developmental and evolutionary biology.
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| 6. |
- Sundell, David, et al.
(author)
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AspWood : High-Spatial-Resolution Transcriptome Profiles Reveal Uncharacterized Modularity of Wood Formation in Populus tremula
- 2017
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In: The Plant Cell. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1040-4651 .- 1532-298X. ; 29:7, s. 1585-1604
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Trees represent the largest terrestrial carbon sink and a renewable source of ligno-cellulose. There is significant scope for yield and quality improvement in these largely undomesticated species, and efforts to engineer elite varieties will benefit from improved understanding of the transcriptional network underlying cambial growth and wood formation. We generated high-spatial-resolution RNA sequencing data spanning the secondary phloem, vascular cambium, and wood-forming tissues of Populus tremula. The transcriptome comprised 28,294 expressed, annotated genes, 78 novel protein-coding genes, and 567 putative long intergenic noncoding RNAs. Most paralogs originating from the Salicaceae whole-genome duplication had diverged expression, with the exception of those highly expressed during secondary cell wall deposition. Coexpression network analyses revealed that regulation of the transcriptome underlying cambial growth and wood formation comprises numerous modules forming a continuum of active processes across the tissues. A comparative analysis revealed that a majority of these modules are conserved in Picea abies. The high spatial resolution of our data enabled identification of novel roles for characterized genes involved in xylan and cellulose biosynthesis, regulators of xylem vessel and fiber differentiation and lignification. An associated web resource (AspWood, http://aspwood.popgenie.org) provides interactive tools for exploring the expression profiles and coexpression network.
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| 7. |
- Müller, Niels A., et al.
(author)
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A single gene underlies the dynamic evolution of poplar sex determination.
- 2020
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In: Nature Plants. - : Springer Nature. - 2055-0278 .- 2055-026X. ; 6:6, s. 630-637
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although hundreds of plant lineages have independently evolved dioecy (that is, separation of the sexes), the underlying genetic basis remains largely elusive. Here we show that diverse poplar species carry partial duplicates of the ARABIDOPSIS RESPONSE REGULATOR 17 (ARR17) orthologue in the male-specific region of the Y chromosome. These duplicates give rise to small RNAs apparently causing male-specific DNA methylation and silencing of the ARR17 gene. CRISPR–Cas9-induced mutations demonstrate that ARR17 functions as a sex switch, triggering female development when on and male development when off. Despite repeated turnover events, including a transition from the XY system to a ZW system, the sex-specific regulation of ARR17 is conserved across the poplar genus and probably beyond. Our data reveal how a single-gene-based mechanism of dioecy can enable highly dynamic sex-linked regions and contribute to maintaining recombination and integrity of sex chromosomes.
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| 8. |
- Mähler, Niklas, et al.
(author)
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Gene co-expression network connectivity is an important determinant of selective constraint
- 2017
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In: PLOS Genetics. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 13:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While several studies have investigated general properties of the genetic architecture of natural variation in gene expression, few of these have considered natural, outbreeding populations. In parallel, systems biology has established that a general feature of biological networks is that they are scale-free, rendering them buffered against random mutations. To date, few studies have attempted to examine the relationship between the selective processes acting to maintain natural variation of gene expression and the associated co-expression network structure. Here we utilised RNA-Sequencing to assay gene expression in winter buds undergoing bud flush in a natural population of Populus tremula, an outbreeding forest tree species. We performed expression Quantitative Trait Locus (eQTL) mapping and identified 164,290 significant eQTLs associating 6,241 unique genes (eGenes) with 147,419 unique SNPs (eSNPs). We found approximately four times as many local as distant eQTLs, with local eQTLs having significantly higher effect sizes. eQTLs were primarily located in regulatory regions of genes (UTRs or flanking regions), regardless of whether they were local or distant. We used the gene expression data to infer a co-expression network and investigated the relationship between network topology, the genetic architecture of gene expression and signatures of selection. Within the co-expression network, eGenes were underrepresented in network module cores (hubs) and overrepresented in the periphery of the network, with a negative correlation between eQTL effect size and network connectivity. We additionally found that module core genes have experienced stronger selective constraint on coding and non-coding sequence, with connectivity associated with signatures of selection. Our integrated genetics and genomics results suggest that purifying selection is the primary mechanism underlying the genetic architecture of natural variation in gene expression assayed in flushing leaf buds of P. tremula and that connectivity within the co-expression network is linked to the strength of purifying selection.
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| 9. |
- Unterseher, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Diversity and Composition of the Leaf Mycobiome of Beech (Fagus sylvatica) Are Affected by Local Habitat Conditions and Leaf Biochemistry
- 2016
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 11:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparative investigations of plant-associated fungal communities (mycobiomes) in distinct habitats and under distinct climate regimes have been rarely conducted in the past. Nowadays, high-throughput sequencing allows routine examination of mycobiome responses to environmental changes and results at an unprecedented level of detail. In the present study, we analysed Illumina-generated fungal ITS1 sequences from European beech (Fagus sylvatica) originating from natural habitats at two different altitudes in the German Alps and from a managed tree nursery in northern Germany. In general, leaf-inhabiting mycobiome diversity and composition correlated significantly with the origin of the trees. Under natural condition the mycobiome was more diverse at lower than at higher elevation, whereas fungal diversity was lowest in the artificial habitat of the tree nursery. We further identified significant correlation of leaf chlorophylls and flavonoids with both habitat parameters and mycobiome biodiversity. The present results clearly point towards a pronounced importance of local stand conditions for the structure of beech leaf mycobiomes and for a close interrelation of phyllosphere fungi and leaf physiology.
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| 10. |
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