Fakultät Agrarwissenschaften

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Die Fakultät entwickelt in Lehre und Forschung nachhaltige Produktionstechniken der Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft. Sie erarbeitet Beiträge für den ländlichen Raum und zum Verbraucher-, Tier- und Umweltschutz.

Homepage: https://agrar.uni-hohenheim.de/

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Adaptations of Prevotella bryantii B14 to short-chain fatty acids and monensin exposure
(2023) Trautmann, Andrej; Seifert, Jana
The rumen microbiome constitutes a complex ecosystem including a vast diversity of organisms that produce and consume short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). It is of great interest to analyze these activities as they are of benefit for both, the microbiome and the host. This dissertation aims to display the proteome and metabolome of the predominant ruminal representative Prevotella bryantii B14 in presence of various SCFA and under exposure of the antibiotic monensin in pure and mixed culture (in vitro). Due to the strong contributing abundance of Prevotellaceae in the rumen microbiome, the representative P. bryantii B14 (DSM 11371) was chosen to investigate biochemical factors for the success of withstanding monensin and the impact of SCFA on their growth. The current work is composed of two effective publications. The formatting was aligned to the dissertation. The first publication, studying the supplementation of various SCFAs, showed SCFAs as growth promoting but not essential for P. bryantii B14. Pure cultures of P. bryantii B14 were grown in Hungate tubes under anaerobic conditions. Gas chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-ToF MS) was used to quantify long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) profiles of P. bryantii B14. Proteins of P. bryantii B14 were identified and quantified by using a mass spectrometry-based, label-free approach. Different growth behavior was observed depending on the supplemented SCFA. An implementation of SCFAs on LCFAs and the composition on membrane proteins became evident. Supplementing P. bryantii B14 with branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs), in particular isovaleric acid, showed an increase of the 3-IPM pathway, which is part of the branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism. Findings point out that the structure similarity of isovaleric acid and valine is most likely enhancing the conversion of BCFA into BCAA. The required set of enzymes of the BCAA metabolism supported this perspective. The ionophore monensin has antibiotic properties which are used in cattle fattening but also for treating ketosis and acidosis in ruminants. In the second publication, P. bryantii B14 was exposed to different concentrations of monensin (0, 10, 20 and 50 uM) and to different exposure times (9, 24, 48 and 72 h) with and without monensin. Growth behavior, glucose and intracellular sodium concentration were determined. Proteins were analyzed by label-free quantification method using the same method as in the previous mentioned experiment. Fluorescence microscopy was used to observe extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) of P. bryantii B14. A progressing monensin exposure triggered disconnection between P. bryantii B14 cells to the sacrificial EPS layer by increasing its number and amount of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes). Simultaneously, an increase of extracellular glucose was monitored. Reduction of intracellular sodium was likely to be performed by increasing the abundance of ion-transporters and an increased activity of Na+-translocating NADH:quinone oxidoreductase under monensin supplementation. The role of monensin supplemented Prevotella in a mixed culture of the rumen microbiome was described. Extracted rumen fluid from cows was incubated anaerobically by using the rumen simulation technique (Rusitec). Proteomics of the solid phase was applied by using a similar approach as in the previous related studies. Metabolomics of the liquid phase from the Rusitec content was performed by using 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Further parameters such as pH, gas and methane production were monitored over time. The experiment was constituted out of three phases starting with an adaptation phase of 7 days. A subsequent treatment phase followed, where monensin was supplemented via the daily introduced total mixed ration (TMR) for further 7 days. The elution phase was the final phase when monensin supplementation was stopped and monitoring was continued for further 3 days. Metabolomics and proteomics showed that members of the genus Prevotella remained most abundant under monensin supplementation. Furthermore, shifting the ruminal metabolism to an increased production of propionate by shifting the metabolism of Prevotella sp. to an enhanced succinate production. The current work shows the impact of SCFAs on various metabolic functions of P. bryantii B14. Diverse defence mechanisms of Prevotella sp., in particular P. bryantii B14, were shown to avoid the antibiotic effects of monensin.
Ecology of alluvial arable land polluted by copper mine tailings : new insights for restoration
(2013) Nikolic, Nina; Böcker, Reinhard
Mining and extraction of metals generates huge amounts of tailings waste (a mixture of water, finely ground ore rock and processing effluents, which remains after removal of mineral concentrate). Unfortunately, accidental release of mine tailings into river systems and their further deposition in floodplains, often over arable land, has been reported from many parts of the world, with environmental implications difficult to predict. Mine tailings from sulphidic metal ores combine high potential for generating soil acidity, and high concentrations of plant available heavy metals, which are the two most intractable issues in restoration of post-mining sites. On the other hand, barren land degraded by mining waste provides an exciting opportunity to reveal some important ecological principles which might not be apparent under ?normal? conditions. Understanding of the process of primary vegetation succession is in particular crucial for the practice of ecological restoration, which is increasingly seen as a preferable alternative to technical reclamation of land degraded by mining. This work addresses the two major issues relevant for ecology and restoration of alluvial arable land polluted by mining waste, which have so far been very poorly understood: Firstly, the long-term fate of contaminants and their actual impact on soil quality and crop production under true field conditions. Secondly, the process of spontaneous revegetation of barren land under the extreme soil conditions and the environmental setup considerably different from the well-studied Central European. The explorative study was undertaken on an exceptional locality created by long-term and large scale-fluvial deposition of sulphidic copper (Cu) tailings over alluvial fields in Eastern Serbia. Comprehensive surveys of spontaneous vegetation, weed assemblages and cereal crops (species cover-abundance; biomass per m2; and foliar mineral analyses), and concomitant surveys of rhizosphere soils (31 physical and chemical parameter) included 297 sampling locations throughout the polluted floodplain (flexible sampling scheme based on visual appearance of vegetation). Data were jointly analysed in a gradient approach framework by different multivariate statistical methods (ordination: NMS, PCA, CCA; classification: agglomerative clustering; group comparisons: MRPP, ISA; habitat modelling: NPMR; and, regression analysis). The results revealed exceptionally strong structure in the vegetation which was highly correlated with the measured soil properties; the regular change of vegetation and soil properties occurred along spatially explicit transects perpendicular to the river channel. The clear gradients observed in this ?field laboratory? research brought forward some new ecological patterns which had not been reported by other relevant studies so far: 1. Severe P deficiency, most likely not amenable by fertilization, is identified as the master limiting soil factor for grains under the multiple abiotic stresses caused by deposition of sulphidic Cu mining waste. Other plausible soil constraints (low pH, excessive concentrations of available Cu and Al, deficiency of N and B; P deficiency-induced increase of As uptake; competition with superior hemicryptophytic weeds), have remained in domain of a ?black-box?. 2. Frequent ploughing accelerates the substitution of high plant available Cu by nutrient deficiency (primarily P and microelements) and excessive exchangeable Al. Thus, agronomic soil quality indicated by crop yield does not improve even when Cu is leached to the background levels. The environmental consequences of intensive land use are however drastic, and increase vulnerability of these soils to further environmental hazards. On the other hand, one type of spontaneously occurring pioneer forests was shown to considerably slow down the oxidative weathering of the tailings deposits and thus prevent Cu leaching via phytostabilization. 3. Although many characteristics of cereal weed assemblages markedly change along the soil pollution gradient, the species? ability to maintain leaf P homeostasis appears to be the key adaptation underlying the observed vegetation structure. The novel associations of unusual species combinations showed a set of functional adaptations which have enabled the leaf N:P homeostasis and thus the uninterrupted survival of weed vegetation along the soil gradient. 4. The proposed conceptual model describes a highly patterned process of spontaneous revegetation of the created barren land under the severe environmental filtering. In this process, the xerothermic surrounding vegetation adapted to calcareous soils has a very limited role. Instead, primary succession relies on novel types of early vegetation which comprise not only novel combinations of species, but also the key role of species which are novel to the affected region, and do not survive outside of the polluted area. We demonstrate for the first time that pollution-induced severe nutrient deficiency can override the well-established importance of both surrounding vegetation and water level gradient for primary succession. Overall, this study implies that severe nutrient deficiency, which is often a neglected issue in studies of metal-polluted sites, can override the effects of Cu toxicity, the role of surrounding vegetation, and even the role of water level gradients, on the process of spontaneous restoration of vegetation cover. It is highly unlikely that spontaneous restoration under the current conditions would allow the reestablishment of the original (or close to original) alluvial vegetation or pre-pollution agricultural land use. Weathering of the substantial residues of sulphides, further acidification and Cu leaching is the major environmental risk; ploughing (or any mechanical soil disturbance with similar effect) of this vast marginalized area should be avoided. Maintenance of the natural flooding regime, which had, bizarrely, caused this vast degradation in the first place, is indicated important for the current spontaneous succession and warrants further research.
Soil (chrono-) sequences on marine terraces : pedogenesis in two coastal areas of Basilicata and Agrigent, Southern Italy
(2009) Wagner, Stephen; Stahr, Karl
This work contributes to the understanding of the Quaternary history in Mediterranean landscapes in Southern Italy. The time frame of soil formation processes was therefore investigated on two sequences of marine terraces. A central question of this study was whether soil formation reflects progressive terrace ages. Chronofunctions were used to apply relative indices of soil development in different pedostratigraphic levels. The newly developed indices generally show incessant weathering on continuously older terraces and therefore true soil chronosequences. A few terraces may however once have formed a single terrace body which was later separated and uplifted by tectonic activity.

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