Publications by authors named "Louisa Rothe"

Aquatic ecosystems house a significant fraction of Earth's biosphere, yet most prokaryotes inhabiting these environments remain uncultivated. While recently developed genome-resolved metagenomics and single-cell genomics techniques have underscored the immense genetic breadth and metabolic potential residing in uncultivated Bacteria and Archaea, cultivation of these microorganisms is required to study their physiology via genetic systems, confirm predicted biochemical pathways, exploit biotechnological potential, and accurately appraise nutrient turnover. Over the past two decades, the limitations of culture-independent investigations highlighted the importance of cultivation in bridging this vast knowledge gap.

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Herbicides are among the most commonly found contaminants in freshwater ecosystems. Standard tests are frequently employed to assess their ecotoxicological impacts, but sublethal endpoints in non-target species are often not considered. In addition, ecotoxicological investigations rarely take into account that many species from field populations are naturally infected with parasites.

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Parasites can affect their hosts in various ways, and this implies that parasites may act as additional biotic stressors in a multiple-stressor scenario, resembling conditions often found in the field if, for example, pollutants and parasites occur simultaneously. Therefore, parasites represent important modulators of host reactions in ecotoxicological studies when measuring the response of organisms to stressors such as pollutants. In the present study, we introduce the most important groups of parasites occurring in organisms commonly used in ecotoxicological studies ranging from laboratory to field investigations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Modern wastewater treatment plants often fail to fully eliminate micropollutants, leading to potential harm for aquatic life due to residual pharmaceuticals and pesticides.
  • In a study using the freshwater amphipod Gammarus fossarum, researchers explored how parasite infections (specifically by Polymorphus minutus) might interact with these pollutants.
  • Findings revealed that while mortality rates were similar across different exposure conditions, infected G. fossarum showed increased biomarker levels and greater locomotor activity, suggesting that parasites may exacerbate the effects of chemical stressors in environmental assessments.
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To date, micropollutants from anthropogenic sources cannot be completely removed from effluents of wastewater treatment plants and therefore enter freshwater systems, where they may impose adverse effects on aquatic organisms, for example, on fish. Advanced treatment such as ozonation aims to reduce micropollutants in wastewater effluents and, thus, to mitigate adverse effects on the environment. To investigate the impact and efficiency of ozonation, four different water types were tested: ozonated wastewater (before and after biological treatment), conventionally-treated wastewater, and water from a river (River Ruhr, Germany) upstream of the wastewater treatment plant effluent.

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Article Synopsis
  • Effect-directed analysis (EDA) combines effect-based methods with high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) to evaluate endocrine effects in substances, linking effect testing with responsible substance identification.
  • The study introduces a yeast multi endocrine-effect screen (YMEES) that uses genetically modified yeast to detect estrogenic, androgenic, and gestagenic effects, allowing analysis through different fluorescent proteins at various wavelengths.
  • The method shows high sensitivity and reproducibility for hormone detection in environmental samples, demonstrating its potential for monitoring and comparing endocrine effects in wastewater and surface water efficiently.
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