Research

Funding: EU, 955.230 EUR

Project Details:
It is widely recognised that noise entering the underwater environment from shipping and other human activities can disturb and harm aquatic animals. Studies have already shown these disturbance effects, while other research has suggested ways to reduce some of the noise generated by shipping. However, there are still gaps in our knowledge and understanding of how underwater noise can affect individual animals and entire populations.

This is now set to change with the SATURN consortium, which for the first time brings together leading European experts in bioacoustics, veterinary medicine, population biology, plus naval architecture and engineering in an EU-funded project. Key issues include:
- Identifying sounds that are most harmful to aquatic species and how they are generated and propagated;
- What are the short-term and cumulative long-term negative effects of noise from ships and boats on aquatic species in rivers and the sea;
- What are the most promising options for measuring and reducing the negative impacts of ship noise that can be applied to current and future ships.

Prof. Prof. h. c. Dr. Ursula Siebert, Director of the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research at the TiHo, is the leader of the biological working group in this consortium, which investigates the influence of underwater noise on the behaviour, health and energy balance of aquatic organisms. Another important aspect supported by ITAW is public relations and communication.

Results:

Paper

"Unsealing behaviour: Variation in harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) responses to anthropogenic sound in relation to individual health"""

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X25002528?via%3Dihub

Funding: Bundesministerium für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung, Bundesprogramm Nutztierhaltung, 305.117 EUR

Project Details:
The goal of this project is to reduce the environmental pollution caused by the entry of antibiotics and resistant bacteria from pig breeding. Worldwide, antibiotics are added to liquid preserved semen portions in order to inhibit bacterial growth during semen storage.The present study aims to establish an innovative concept to eliminate bacteria without using conventional antibiotics. The concept is based on the photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of bacteria. Specifically, the aim is to inactivate microorganisms in boar semen using the photodynamic effect and, thus, to avoid bacterial growth and
exchange of resistance genes in the environment.

Results:

DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1429749

Cooperation Partners:

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

Minitüb GmbH

Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG, 331.800 EUR

Project Details:
Investigation of the role of T cells in the immune pathogenesis of the infectious bursitis virus. The project is embedded in the DFG-research group "ImmunoChick"". "

Cooperation Partners:

PD Dr. Angela Berndt, FLI

PD Dr. U. Methner, FLI

PD Dr. S. Härtle, LMU München

Prof. Dr. T. Göbel, LMU München

Prof. Dr. B. Kaspers, LMU München

Prof. Dr. B. Kaufer, FU Berlin

Prof. Dr. M. Meissner, LMU München

Prof. Dr. B. Schusser, TU München

Prof. Dr. J. Kaufman, University of Cambridge

Funding: Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre, 1.349.525 EUR

Project Details:
The FERVET project addresses the digital teaching and review of mandatory clinical-practical skills in veterinary medicine studies and pursues three aims:
1. the enrichment of face-to-face, hybrid and virtual teaching through the development of simulators, the provision of digital teaching material, the development of a Virtual Learning Lab, the expansion of video production and the implementation of video annotations.
2. the further development and evaluation of existing formative and summative e-examination formats
3. the anchoring of the innovative measures in the university structures

Funding: Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre, 549.540 EUR

Project Details:
The aim of the SOUVER@N project is to promote sovereign digital teaching and learning. This includes
1) the sovereign, i.e. competent and learning goal-oriented use of digital tools on the part of teachers and students (digital literacy) as well as
2) the professional development of high-quality digitally enriched teaching/learning concepts and content, and
3) the digital sovereignty of the universities as institutions strengthened by the network.

Results:

https://www.souveraenes-digitales-lehren-und-lernen.de/home/

Cooperation Partners:

1) Universität Osnabrück

2) Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

3) Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

4) Technische Universität Clausthal

5) Stiftung Universität Hildesheim

6) Universität Vechta

7) Medizinische Hochschule Hannover

8) ELAN e.V. (1. Förderphase August 201 - Juli 2024)

Funding: Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, Berlin, 413.140 EUR

Project Details:
The project VetAmUR (Veterinary Antimicrobial Usage and Resistance) is a research project that, following the VetCab-S project, is carried out to describe the use of antimicrobials in farm animals in Germany as well as connect this with resistance data for those antimicrobials.

Background: Despite many independent investigations, no direct link between the information on antimicrobial usage and antimicrobial resistance could be estab-lished in German livestock husbandry so far. Therefore, an extensive and detailed risk assessment in regards to antimicrobial resistance is not possible, even though such an assessment is required on an international basis (Global Antimicrobial Re-sistance Surveillance System - GLASS, https://www.who.int/glass/en/). To accom-modate this demand, the VetAmUR project was initiated.

In the area of resistance data, the focus is on collecting data at farm level and de-scribing its heterogeneity with the aim of creating a standardised documentation template.

Additionally, specific periods within the fattening process and specific indications for antimicrobial administrations are documented and observed closely to deter-mine alternative treatments and prevention strategies.

Results:

Bonzelett C, Rehberg B, Winkelmann TS, Käsbohrer A, Kreienbrock L. Documentati-on of antimicrobial resistance data in veterinary practices in Germany. Berliner und Münchener Tierärztliche Wochenschrift. 2024;137:1-13 . doi: 10.2376/1439-0299-2023-14

Funding: DFG, 491.000 EUR

Project Details:
The aim of the project is to analyse host-parasite interactions between the Fasciola hepatica as parasite and dairy cows as host, taking into account the genome of both interaction partners. Until now, studies on endoparasite resistance have focused exclusively on the genome of the host or the parasite, without considering genotype-genotype interactions between these two players. Therefore, for the first time, interactions will be modelled considering bovine genotypes (Gh) and F. hepatica genotypes (Gp).

Results:

May, K., Hecker, A.S., Strube, C., Tong, Y., König, S. (2025) Genetic parameters and single-step genome-wide association analysis for trematode (Fasciola hepatica and Calicophoron / Paramphistomum spp.) infections in German dairy cows. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 128, 105712

 

Hecker, A.S., Raulf, M.-K., König, S., Knubben-Schweizer, G., Wenzel, C., May, K., Strube, C. (2024) In-herd prevalence of Fasciola hepatica and Calicophoron/Paramphistomum spp. infections in German dairy cows with comparison of two coproscopical methods and establishment of real-time pyrosequencing for rumen fluke species differentiation. Veterinary Parasitology 327, 110142

 

May, K., Hecker, A.S., König, S., Strube, C. (2024) Helminth co-infections have no additive detrimental impact on milk yield and milk quality compared to mono-infections in German dairy cows. Parasites & Vectors 17, 398

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. Dr. Katharina May, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

Funding: Fritz-Ahrberg-Stiftung, 70.000 EUR

Project Details:
Consumption of meat products has fallen slightly in recent years, from an initial 30.4 kg per capita in 2009 to 29.4 kg per capita in 2017. The production volume of sausage products has remained roughly constant, with cooked sausages representing the largest product group with a consumption of approximately 7 kg per capita (German Meat Industry Association). The additives nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) are used for curing in the commercial production of cooked sausages. They are used to redden the meat, develop flavor, inhibit lipid oxidation, and suppress the growth of spoilage organisms and pathogenic microorganisms, including Clostridium (C.) botulinum and its spores. In conventional production processes, sodium nitrite in the form of nitrite curing salt (NPS) is generally used as the source of nitrite. However, sodium nitrite has come under criticism due to its toxic effect caused by the nitrosamines that are produced during the maturation and, additionally, during the heating of cured meat products. Changing consumption habits and an increasingly health-conscious lifestyle are driving consumer demand for products with natural ingredients or products with lower nitrite content. In organic production, the use of NPS is already strictly regulated and may either not be added at all or may be added in a maximum quantity of 1%. However, this can lead to microbiologically unsafe food with sensory deviations. An innovation in this field is the use of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma. Cold plasma is a gas ionized at atmospheric pressure that consists of a variety of free radicals, such as nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and the ions nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-), and whose temperature corresponds to the outside temperature. This project aims to use a new technology for the production of NPS-free cooked sausage. To this end, the first phase of the experiment will involve developing a method for using plasma technology to produce ionized water with reproducible nitrate and nitrite concentrations. The focus here is on varying the treatment parameters of time, frequency, and voltage. In the second phase of the experiment, this ionized water will be used as a source of nitrite in the production of mortadella-type cooked sausages. In order to achieve consistent product quality compared to conventionally produced cooked sausages, microbiological, sensory, physical, and chemical tests will be carried out after production and after a standard storage period.

Cooperation Partners:

emeritierter Direktor des Max-Planck-Institutes für Extraterrestrische Physik und jetzigem CEO der terraplasma GmbH, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. G. Morfill, und dessen Mitarbeitern in Garching bei München, hinsichtlich der technischen Ausgestaltung des Plasmagerätes

Funding: DFG (Heisenberg), 256.200 EUR

Project Details:
The objective of this research work is to evaluate the genetic architecture of body size using a pig model in a multi-omics approach. It particularly aims at in-depth investigations of interrelations of size determining variants, transcriptional variation among miniature and large size as well as the identification of topologically associated domains (TADs) and putative enhancers involved in body size determination. This study is particularly focusing on the elucidation of the regulatory landscape in pigs and its essential role in the determination of body size.Initial analyses of whole genome sequencing data of miniature versus standard sized breeds/populations are supposed to identify potential signatures of selection reflecting high selection pressures in both directions- miniature and large size- harboring variants causative for the miniaturization across-breeds. Subsequently, I aim at detecting chromatin interactions defined as TADs and putative enhancer elements in the region of these variants involved in size-determination by targeting high intensity peaks of chromatin interactions from Hi-C analysis as well as high histone modification levels associated with active enhancers (H3K27ac and H3K4me1) from ChIP-seq in the growth plates of the long bones. These marks of active DNA sequences will then be linked to transcriptional variation in-between miniature and large pigs. An in vitro model will be established for further functional validation.This will be the first study investigating genomic and functional effects on body size specifically targeting growth plates in pigs. Based on these data, we aim at increasing the knowledge of biological processes in mammals regulating growth and determining the size of a body. This profound understanding of body size development will not only be of high importance for livestock breeding but will also provide better understanding of growth biology, developmental genetics and disturbances in growth processes.

Results:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-022-08801-4

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Dr. Stefan Mundlos, Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Genetik, Berlin

Funding: DFG, 466.350 EUR

Project Details:
The objective of this research work is to evaluate the genetic architecture of body size using a pig model in a multi-omics approach. It particularly aims at in-depth investigations of interrelations of size determining variants, transcriptional variation among miniature and large size as well as the identification of topologically associated domains (TADs) and putative enhancers involved in body size determination. This study is particularly focusing on the elucidation of the regulatory landscape in pigs and its essential role in the determination of body size.Initial analyses of whole genome sequencing data of miniature versus standard sized breeds/populations are supposed to identify potential signatures of selection reflecting high selection pressures in both directions- miniature and large size- harboring variants causative for the miniaturization across-breeds. Subsequently, I aim at detecting chromatin interactions defined as TADs and putative enhancer elements in the region of these variants involved in size-determination by targeting high intensity peaks of chromatin interactions from Hi-C analysis as well as high histone modification levels associated with active enhancers (H3K27ac and H3K4me1) from ChIP-seq in the growth plates of the long bones. These marks of active DNA sequences will then be linked to transcriptional variation in-between miniature and large pigs. An in vitro model will be established for further functional validation.This will be the first study investigating genomic and functional effects on body size specifically targeting growth plates in pigs. Based on these data, we aim at increasing the knowledge of biological processes in mammals regulating growth and determining the size of a body. This profound understanding of body size development will not only be of high importance for livestock breeding but will also provide better understanding of growth biology, developmental genetics and disturbances in growth processes.

Results:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-022-08801-4

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Stefan Mundlos, Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Genetik, Berlin