Research

Funding: Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen. Die Zuwendung wird gewährt aus Landesmitteln und Mitteln der Europäischen Union aus dem Europäischen Landwirtschaftsfonds für die Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums (ELER) im Rahmen des Programms zur Förderung der Entwicklung im ländlichen Raum Niedersachsen und Bremen 2014 bis 2020 (PFEIL)., 184.997 EUR

Project Details:
In this multi-stage project on the use of plasma water against claw-diseases, in particular Dermatitis digitalis, the reducing effect on various (indicator) microorganisms (including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus) is being investigated. In the case of successful treatments in vitro, compatibility tests will be carried out up to practical application on the farm.

Results:

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/23/12325

Cooperation Partners:

HAWK Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen,

sowie Landwirtschaftlicher Betrieb BG Borchardt GbR

Funding: Drittmittelprojekt, gefördert durch Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft., 161.918 EUR

Project Details:
This sub-project within the KontRed consortium on the use of bacteriocins in food production aims at identifying bacteriocins that are suitable for use against Salmonella and Campylobacter in meat production systems . Bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesised proteins that inhibit the growth of closely related bacteria. While the bacteriocin Nisin has been used for more than a decade in food production, it only acts against gram positive bacteria. Novel bacteriocins that reduce the growth of gram negative bacteria are urgently needed. Their application during food production on equipment, package material or directly on the food product could reduce the risk of foodborne infections for the consumer.

Project Details:
Gliedmaßenfrakturen stellen einen Großteil der orthopädischen Erkrankungen bei Kaninchen dar. Die Arbeit soll die verschiedenen Frakturtypen- und lokalisationen vergleichend analysieren und die Diagnostikverfahren untersuchen. Weiterhin sollen die Spätfolgen der Frakturpatienten systematisch, sowohl klinisch als auch mit bildgebenden Verfahren, untersucht werden um Rückschlüsse auf gewählte Therapieoptionen ziehen zu können.

Cooperation Partners:

Multicenterstudie, FU Berlin, Vetsuisse Uni Zurich

Funding: Niedersächsisches Minsiterium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, 201.000 EUR

Project Details:
Das vom Niedersächsischen Minsiterium für Wissenschaft und Kultur geförderte Projekt wird über die integrative Analyse von Transkriptom-Datensätzen zu einem besseren Verständnis der zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen der Lungenfibrose und hieraus ableitbarerer therapeutischer und diagnostischer Strategien führen. Das interdisziplinäre Konsortium mit Partnern der TiHo, der MHH und des Frauenhofer ITEMs verbindet klinische und molekularbiologische Expertise mit bioinformatischen Kompetenzen. Das ermöglicht die Integration von Daten aus der neuartigen Technologie der RNA-Sequenzierung auf Einzelzellebene. Das Projekt verspricht, neue Instrumente zur verbesserten Diagnostik und Therapien der Lungenfibrose zu entwickeln.

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. Davide DeLuca (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover), Prof. Dr. Antje Prasse (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover), Dr. Sylvia Escher (Fraunhofer Institut für Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin, Hannover), Dr. Jeanette Koschmann (geneXplain GmbH, Braunschweig)

Funding: DFG, 329.905 EUR

Project Details:
The VIPER research and training program will cover the global chain of events involved in virus emergence, all the way from virus discovery, isolation, molecular characterization, surveillance, and pathogenesis, towards animal and public health impact and intervention strategies including new approaches for prevention and control.

The VIPER research projects are subdivided into three pillars:

virus discovery, host range and transmission
virus-host cell interactions and pathogenesis, and
immune interference and intervention strategies.

Funding: DFG STE 1428/5-2, 191.719 EUR

Project Details:
Arboviruses are transmitted between vertebrate host and arthropod vectors. Many of these viruses cause neurological defects or abortions in mammalian hosts. However, infection phenotypes in insects are not well characterized. The insect immune response to these arthropod-borne (arbo) viruses is key to keep infected insects sufficiently healthy to enable host finding and production of offspring, two of the major influencing factors for virus transmission. The insects' immune system relies mainly on antiviral RNA interference to combat a larger variety of different viral pathogens. This RNAi mechanism is initiated by the recognition and cleavage of double-stranded (ds) RNA by the RNAseIII enzyme Dicer-2 (Dcr-2) which then leads to degradation of intruding viral genomes by the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) including the Argonaute 2 (Ago2) protein. Furthermore, piRNA pathways are active in the germline cells to protect genomes form massive disruption through movement of transposable elements. In the past years, also piRNAs originating from arbovirus genomes were described raising the question of their role in insect?s immune responses. Pi and siRNA responses in germline tissues are of special interest in arbovirus infection since many of those viruses are transmitted vertically within a mosquito population. Especially viruses of the order Bunyavirales are efficiently transmitted through the germline to mosquito offspring without affecting the health of mosquito offspring. In contrast, the transmission of bunyaviruses to the offspring of mammals leads to severe abnormality in fetus development and often results in abortion. This raises the question how insects keep the delicate balance of allowing viral replication and the protection of offspring health to allow transovarial transmission. Furthermore, pathogen infection in mosquitoes can induce behavioral changes; for example Aedes triseriatus mosquitoes infected with La Crosse virus (Bunyaviridae) show a higher probing frequency than uninfected siblings and Zika virus (Flaviviridae) infection on neuronal cells increases neuronal activity in Aedes aegypti. These observations raise the question: By which mechanisms do arboviruses affect neuron function in insects (direct damage to neurons by infection or indirect damage by immune pathway activation).To tackle both questions, we will use the infection models for Rift valley fever virus (Bunyaviridae, RVFV) in the model insect Drosophila melanogaster and measure virus growth in different tissues, immune reaction in germlines and neuronal tissues and behavior in infected individuals by a different behavioral assays and electroantennograms. The proposed studies will help us to analyze adaptive changes in insects host seeking behavior and the underlying molecular mechanisms as well as the role of antiviral pathways in infection of germline cells.

Results:

Bergmann S, Gerhards JP, Schmitz A, Becker SC, Stern M (2021) NO synthesis in immune-challenged locust hemocytes and potential signaling to the CNS. Insects 12(10) 951. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12100951

 

Bergmann S, Bohn MC, Dornbusch S, Becker SC, Stern M (2023) Influence of RVFV infection on olfactory perception and behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. Pathogens 12: 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12040558

 

Bergmann S, Graf E, Hoffmann P, Becker SC, Stern M (2024) Localization of nitric oxide producing hemocytes in Aedes and Culex mosquitoes infected with bacteria. Cell Tissue Res 395: 313-326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-024-03862-1

 

Dornbusch S, Reuter M, Parry RH, Stern M, Becker SC, Schnettler E (2024) Dicer 2 mutations in Aedes aegypti cells lead to a diminished antiviral function against Rift Valley Fever virus and Bunyamwera virus infection. J Gen Virol 105: 002046. doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.002046

https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12040558

Funding: Europäische Innovationspartnerschaft "Produktivität und Nachhaltigkeit in der Landwirtschaft" (EIP Agri), 272.300 EUR

Project Details:
Existing ventilation systems in open barns always pose challenges for turkey fatteners, especially in the cold seasons. In order to ensure a sufficient influx of fresh air, the blinds in open barns must be opened even in cold, damp weather. With this form of gravity ventilation, the cold, moist air enters directly into the animal area. As a result, the risk for the occurrence of respiratory diseases and the development of damp litter increases. Therefore, within the framework of this project, the use of a new type of ventilation system in open barns is to be tested in cooperation between turkey fatteners, consultants and science. By modifying existing ventilation systems in open barns, the input of cold supply air is to be reduced without causing a deterioration of the barn climate. In addition, "drinking bars" will be set up in a second step. This restructuring of the barn interior is intended to create larger resting areas for the animals. At the same time, the aim is to reduce the area where wet litter can occur due to increased water entry.

Cooperation Partners:

Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen

PAL Stalleinrichtungen GmbH

Praxisbetriebe

Funding: Elanco, 20.000 EUR

Project Details:
In recent years, the incidence of Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has increased in areas that are not considered official risk areas. In Germany, most of these areas are located in southern Germany, however, in the beginning of 2019, the National Institute of Public Health (Robert-Koch-Institut) declared a district in the Northern Germ federal state Lower Saxony as official risk area. In order to better assess the TBE risk for humans and animals in Lower Saxony and to obtain information on the localisation of natural foci, sera from livestock, pet and wild animals from Lower Saxony will be tested for TBE antibodies. Serum collection will particularly include districts in which human TBE cases have occurred.

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. U. Nagel-Kohl, LAVES, Hannover

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Dobler, Nationales Konsiliarlabor für FSME, München

Funding: DFG, 265.456 EUR

Project Details:
Charakterisierung ausgewählter Viren, die in Wildreservoirs identifiziert wurden, Bewertung ihres Risikos für Haustiere und Menschen.

Funding: DFG, 256.546 EUR

Project Details:
Identifizierung und Charakterisierung neuartiger Vogel-Metapneumoviren von Wildvögeln, die eine Bedrohung für Hausgeflügel und Säugetiere darstellen.