Publications by authors named "GERKE J"

Phosphate (P) is the plant macronutrient with, by far, the lowest solubility in soil. In soils with low P availability, the soil solution concentrations are low, often below 2 [µmol P/L]. Under these conditions, the diffusive P flux, the dominant P transport mechanism to plant roots, is severely restricted.

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Specialized or secondary metabolites are small molecules of biological origin, often showing potent biological activities with applications in agriculture, engineering and medicine. Usually, the biosynthesis of these natural products is governed by sets of co-regulated and physically clustered genes known as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). To share information about BGCs in a standardized and machine-readable way, the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG) data standard and repository was initiated in 2015.

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Children can only grow up healthy on a healthy planet. Climate change threatens their health through rising temperatures and extreme weather events. In Germany, average temperatures have risen, leading to more frequent and intense heatwaves.

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Epistemological Misunderstandings of the German Federal Court of Justice in Criminal Cases Regarding the Null Hypothesis: Verification in the Credibility Assessment The article deals with the decision of the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) in criminal matters regarding credibility assessment dated 30 July 1999 (1 StR 618/98, BGHSt 45, 164). Regarding criminal matters, the BGH formulated specific requirements for credibility assessments based on two published scientific expert reports. We analyzed conflicting postulates of scientific theory in the expert reports and the reception of these principles in the BGH judgment by examining the original quotes.

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Scale-up isolation of (+)-(5)-(8)-(14)-mycothiazole () from Vanuatu specimens of to semisynthesize (+)-(5)-(8)-8--acetyl-(14)-mycothiazole () revealed a new diastereomer, (-)-(5)-(8)-(14)-mycothiazole (). The structure of was determined using HRMS, NMR, and comparing optical rotation to (-)-(5)-(8)-(14)-mycothiazole () and . The maximum tolerated dose of in mice was 0.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected various urban population groups in different ways. Earlier studies have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disproportionally impacts nursing home residents by increasing morbidity and mortality following viral exposure. However, little is known about the epidemiology of this disease in detail.

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Objective: The results of this study describe the relationship between the body condition of dairy cows and selected metabolic parameters during the peri- and post-partum period with special consideration of 3 local dairy cow breed in Upper Bavaria and the Allgau.

Material And Methods: Three local dairy cattle breeds (Swiss Brown (BV), Simmental (FL), Holstein Friesian (HF)) were examined on 68 farms in southern Germany for 7 consecutive weeks. In dry cows as well as lactating cows (5.

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Background: Organized sexualized and ritual abuse (ORA), a contentious issue since the 1980s, remains a polarizing topic. Although there is much debate about the existence of this phenomenon, a differentiated perspective is lacking, and no representative study has yet addressed the frequency.

Objective: This paper aims to investigate the frequency of ORA in Germany using two representative datasets.

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Small molecule inhibitors of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) hold significant promise to provide valuable insights to the field of mitochondrial research and aging biology. In this study, we investigated two molecules: mycothiazole (MTZ) - from the marine sponge C. mycofijiensis and its more stable semisynthetic analog 8-O-acetylmycothiazole (8-OAc) as potent and selective chemical probes based on their high efficiency to inhibit ETC complex I function.

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Background: One measure of quality in palliative care involves ensuring people approaching the end of life are able to receive care, and ultimately die, in the places they choose. Canadian palliative care policy directives stem from this tenet of autonomy, acknowledging that most people prefer to die at home, where they feel safe and comfortable. Limited research, however, considers the lack of 'choice' people positioned as structurally vulnerable (e.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study explores two small molecule inhibitors of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, mycothiazole (MTZ) and its stable analog 8-acetylmycothiazole (8-OAc), which effectively inhibit complex I of the ETC.
  • Both compounds are cytotoxic to cancer cells but show little toxicity to non-cancer cells, making them promising candidates for anti-cancer therapies.
  • The research also reveals that these molecules activate different pathways in worms to extend lifespan, highlighting their potential for further understanding mitochondrial function and aging mechanisms.
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  • Scientists synthesized twenty oxygenated aristolochene compounds by integrating genes from four different fungal pathways into a fungal host.
  • Among the compounds created was hypoxylan A and an epimer of guignaderemophilane C in a single step.
  • A new fungal aromatase was identified, which generates phenols through a process called oxidative demethylation.
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  • Researchers identified 11 genes linked to increased antifungal drug tolerance from a screen of 228 zinc cluster transcription factor genes.
  • Four of these genes were specifically linked to oxidative stress and drug tolerance, indicating a connection between the two responses.
  • The study highlights the role of the OdrA/Mdu2 protein in mediating cross-tolerance among azoles, polyenes, and oxidative stress by activating detoxifying genes in the nucleus.
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High-quality reference genome assemblies, representative of global heterotic patterns, offer an ideal platform to accurately characterize and utilize genetic variation in the primary gene pool of hybrid crops. Here we report three platinum grade de-novo, near gap-free, chromosome-level reference genome assemblies from the active breeding germplasm in pearl millet with a high degree of contiguity, completeness, and accuracy. An improved Tift genome (Tift23DB-P1-P5) assembly has a contig N50 ~ 7,000-fold (126 Mb) compared to the previous version and better alignment in centromeric regions.

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Background: Research on child sexual abuse increasingly focuses on sexually offending females; however, there is a lack of research that focuses on the individuals being affected. Studies have suggested that the consequences for those affected by sexually offending males and females are comparable.

Objective: The aim is to compare mental health consequences of sexual abuse perpetrated by women versus men in quantity and type.

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Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is characterized by EWSR1-ETS fusion transcription factors converting polymorphic GGAA microsatellites (mSats) into potent neo-enhancers. Although the paucity of additional mutations makes EwS a genuine model to study principles of cooperation between dominant fusion oncogenes and neo-enhancers, this is impeded by the limited number of well-characterized models. Here we present the Ewing Sarcoma Cell Line Atlas (ESCLA), comprising whole-genome, DNA methylation, transcriptome, proteome, and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data of 18 cell lines with inducible EWSR1-ETS knockdown.

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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with mutations in the RAG1 or RAG2 genes can develop conditions like Omenn syndrome or combined immunodeficiency, and around 60% of those treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) experienced significant health issues like infections, autoimmunity, or organ damage.
  • The study involved a diverse patient group and found that survival rates were 77.5% at one year and 67.5% at four years post-transplant, with infections being the leading cause of death.
  • Early HSCT (before age 3.5) showed better immune recovery, especially if patients had no pre-existing organ damage, highlighting the importance of timely treatment.
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The soil microbiome comprises numerous filamentous fungi and bacteria that mutually react and challenge each other by the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Herein, we show in liquid co-cultures that the presence of filamentous Streptomycetes producing antifungal glycopeptide antibiotics induces the production of the antibacterial and iron-chelating tropolones anhydrosepedonin () and antibiotic C () in the mold . Additionally, the biosynthesis of the related polyketide tripyrnidone () was induced, whose novel tricyclic scaffold we elucidated by NMR and HRESIMS data.

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Fungal Hülle cells with nuclear storage and developmental backup functions are reminiscent of multipotent stem cells. In the soil, Hülle cells nurse the overwintering fruiting bodies of . The genome of harbors genes for the biosynthesis of xanthones.

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Aggregation of α-synuclein (αSyn) into proteinaceous deposits is a pathological hallmark of a range of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD). Numerous lines of evidence indicate that the accumulation of toxic oligomeric and prefibrillar αSyn species may underpin the cellular toxicity and spread of pathology between cells. Therefore, aggregation of αSyn is considered a priority target for drug development, as aggregation inhibitors are expected to reduce αSyn toxicity and serve as therapeutic agents.

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Background: In research and literature, little attention has been paid to the role of women, especially mothers, in child sexual abuse.

Objective: In order to estimate prevalences on mothers as perpetrators and bystanders, data was collected in a German nationwide representative survey.

Participants And Setting: A total of 2,531 participants (53.

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The conserved fungal velvet family regulatory proteins link development and secondary metabolite production. The velvet domain for DNA binding and dimerization is similar to the structure of the Rel homology domain of the mammalian NF-κB transcription factor. A comprehensive study addressed the functions of all four homologs of velvet domain encoding genes in the fungal life cycle of the soil-borne plant pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae.

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is an industrially preferred cell factory for the heterologous production of proteins and chemicals. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of the laboratory strain LW2591Y, which has been designed for robust and efficient assembly of multigene pathways.

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Monoterpenoids, such as the plant metabolite geraniol, are of high industrial relevance since they are important fragrance materials for perfumes, cosmetics, and household products. Chemical synthesis or extraction from plant material for industry purposes are complex, environmentally harmful or expensive and depend on seasonal variations. Heterologous microbial production offers a cost-efficient and sustainable alternative but suffers from low metabolic flux of the precursors and toxicity of the monoterpenoid to the cells.

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