1. |
- Kattge, Jens, et al.
(author)
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TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
- 2020
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:1, s. 119-188
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
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2. |
- Marschall, Tobias, et al.
(author)
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Computational pan-genomics : status, promises and challenges
- 2018
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In: Briefings in Bioinformatics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1467-5463 .- 1477-4054. ; 19:1, s. 118-135
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many disciplines, from human genetics and oncology to plant breeding, microbiology and virology, commonly face the challenge of analyzing rapidly increasing numbers of genomes. In case of Homo sapiens, the number of sequenced genomes will approach hundreds of thousands in the next few years. Simply scaling up established bioinformatics pipelines will not be sufficient for leveraging the full potential of such rich genomic data sets. Instead, novel, qualitatively different computational methods and paradigms are needed. We will witness the rapid extension of computational pan-genomics, a new sub-area of research in computational biology. In this article, we generalize existing definitions and understand a pan-genome as any collection of genomic sequences to be analyzed jointly or to be used as a reference. We examine already available approaches to construct and use pan-genomes, discuss the potential benefits of future technologies and methodologies and review open challenges from the vantage point of the above-mentioned biological disciplines. As a prominent example for a computational paradigm shift, we particularly highlight the transition from the representation of reference genomes as strings to representations as graphs. We outline how this and other challenges from different application domains translate into common computational problems, point out relevant bioinformatics techniques and identify open problems in computer science. With this review, we aim to increase awareness that a joint approach to computational pan-genomics can help address many of the problems currently faced in various domains.
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3. |
- Montorsi, Lucia, et al.
(author)
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Double-negative B cells and DNASE1L3 colocalise with microbiota in gut-associated lymphoid tissue
- 2024
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In: Nature Communications. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1, s. 4051-4051
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intestinal homeostasis is maintained by the response of gut-associated lymphoid tissue to bacteria transported across the follicle associated epithelium into the subepithelial dome. The initial response to antigens and how bacteria are handled is incompletely understood. By iterative application of spatial transcriptomics and multiplexed single-cell technologies, we identify that the double negative 2 subset of B cells, previously associated with autoimmune diseases, is present in the subepithelial dome in health. We show that in this location double negative 2 B cells interact with dendritic cells co-expressing the lupus autoantigens DNASE1L3 and C1q and microbicides. We observe that in humans, but not in mice, dendritic cells expressing DNASE1L3 are associated with sampled bacteria but not DNA derived from apoptotic cells. We propose that fundamental features of autoimmune diseases are microbiota-associated, interacting components of normal intestinal immunity.
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4. |
- Zhao, Yuan, et al.
(author)
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Spatiotemporal segregation of human marginal zone and memory B cell populations in lymphoid tissue.
- 2018
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In: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 9:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Human memory B cells and marginal zone (MZ) B cells share common features such as the expression of CD27 and somatic mutations in their IGHV and BCL6 genes, but the relationship between them is controversial. Here, we show phenotypic progression within lymphoid tissues as MZ B cells emerge from the mature naïve B cell pool via a precursor CD27-CD45RBMEM55+ population distant from memory cells. By imaging mass cytometry, we find that MZ B cells and memory B cells occupy different microanatomical niches in organised gut lymphoid tissues. Both populations disseminate widely between distant lymphoid tissues and blood, and both diversify their IGHV repertoire in gut germinal centres (GC), but nevertheless remain largely clonally separate. MZ B cells are therefore not developmentally contiguous with or analogous to classical memory B cells despite their shared ability to transit through GC, where somatic mutations are acquired.
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