Institute of Biology
The Institute of Biology comprises the departments of
Bioenergetics,
Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Virology of Plants, Plant
Biotechnology, Animal Physiology and Zoology (planned:
Nanobiotechnology / Biomaterials), which are integrated into the
interdisciplinary concept of Technical Biology at the University of
Stuttgart.
Links to the dapartments can be found on the left and at the end of
this page. An overview of research topcis of the departments can
be found here.
Research update:
Distelbarth
H, Nägele T, Heyer AG
(2013), Responses
of antioxidant enzymes to cold and high light are not correlated to
freezing tolerance in natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana.
Plant Biol, DOI: 10.1111/j.1438-8677.2012.00718.x
Plants employ a range of antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes to prevent oxidative stress during high light or cold exposure. To investigate the importance of antioxidant defence for stress tolerance, natural accessions of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana were investigated during a time course of cold and high light treatment. All accessions responded to high light, but the Russian one did not show oxidative stress in the cold. Although the Scandinavian accession was most freezing tolerant, it appeared most sensitive to oxidative stress, especially to high light exposure. No correlation was found between freezing tolerance and activity of antioxidant enzymes, arguing against a key role for antioxidant defence in cold acclimation. [more]
Kadri
A, Wege C, Jeske H.
(2013), In
vivo self-assembly of TMV-like particles in yeast and bacteria for
nanotechnological applications. J. Virol.
Methods, DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2013.02.017.
Heterologous expression of tobacco mosaic virus coat protein and in vivo assembly of TMV-like particles encapsidating viral or host RNA were compared between Escherichia coli and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. TMV-like particles were produced in both hosts, irrespective of whether the TMV origin of assembly was present. The majority of TMV-like particles showed the same length distribution, likely due to host RNA being primarily encapsidated. Notwithstanding this limitation for tailoring particle sizes, the heterologous expression system provides a new avenue to deliver versatile nucleoprotein scaffolds for a diversity of nanotechnological applications. [more]; [German radio broadcast]
Nägele T, Heyer AG.
(2013), Approximating
subcellular organisation of carbohydrate metabolism during cold
acclimation of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions C24, Rschev and Tenela.
New Phytologist , DOI: 10.1111/nph.12201.
Arabidopsis thaliana is native to Europe, and populations originating from different climates show varying cold tolerance. Sugars play an important role in cold acclimation, but where within a cell they fulfill their function, is hardly known. This paper investigates subcellular compartmentation of sugars and applies mathematical modeling to analyze how plants keep their metabolic homeostasis during cold exposure. An early response to cold is increasing plastidial and cytosolic sucrose concentrations. In the more tolerant populations, sucrose is later replaced by the tri-saccharide raffinose. Modelling minimal transport rates for sugars revealed that subcellular re-distribution is essential in cold acclimation.. [more]
Departments of the Institute of Biology:
