Research

Funding: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung über Projektträger Jülich/Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Rostock, 443.773 EUR

Project Details:
The habitat of marine mammals is strongly characterised by anthropogenic use in the North and Baltic Seas. Marine mammals are sensitive to Stressors such as maritime traffic, offshore wind energy development, pollution and fishing. These activities can lead to habitat degradation for marine mammals, as habitat loss or fragmentation often occurs.
The interdisciplinary and cross-scale end-to-end (E2E) modelling System developed in the first phase of CoastalFutures will be extended in phase II to model the occurrence of marine mammals under different future scenarios. This novel tool now offers the possibility to analyse the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities on indicator species by generating a virtual environment. For the first time, simulations on the effectiveness of various management measures for the protection and Conservation of marine mammal populations can be carried out in phase II, thus providing Knowledge for action for the implementation of political decisions. The impact of underwater noise on harbour seals as a result of the expansion of offshore wind farms (OWFs) is estimated at population level using a multifactorial assessment. Animal movement models are extended to include aspects of animal physiology so that effects on the energy budget can be integrated, while the effects of other Stressors and management measures are also considered, taking future climate conditions into account. In addition, potential impacts, such as the role of OWFs as artificial reefs and noise impacts on marine mammals, will be analysed and assessed to explore negative and positive effects. This in turn leads to a quantitative assessment of the food and habitat base for marine mammals and the exposure to Stressors in the marine protected areas.

Cooperation Partners:

-Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Institute of Coastal Systems - Analysis and Modeling

-Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Warnemünde

-Technische Universität Braunschweig, Leichtweiß-Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources

-Thünen-Institut (TI für Seefischerei, TI für Ostseefischerei)

-Leibniz Universität Hannover, Ludwig-Franzius-Institut

-Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven

-Technische Universität Hamburg, Institute of River and Coastal Engineering

Assoziierte Partner:

-Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie

-Deutscher Wetterdienst

-Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau

- Bundesamt für Naturschutz

Funding: UBA, 299.799 EUR

Project Details:
With the melting of the ice in the Arctic, new areas are becoming accessible for shipping routes, seismic oil exploration, extraction of critical raw materials for new technologies (e.g. rare earth elements), and other anthropogenic activities. All these activities have the potential to impact cetaceans.
Studies performed on rats and humans show that different chemicals (including PCBs and heavy metals) can cause hearing loss and/or effects of noise exposure are more pronounced. However, a correlation between hearing loss and high levels of PCBs or heavy metals in cetaceans has not been determined to date.

The aim of this project is to identify and quantify the effects of noise and chemical pollution on hearing in cetaceans in the Arctic. Since cetaceans rely on hearing for all their daily activities, it is crucial to understand how underwater noise and chemical pollution (or the cumulative effects of both stressors) could affect cetacean hearing.
To achieve this we will analyze ears of cetaceans that stranded or were legally harvested including complementary techniques to be able to identify lesions in the ear that are compatible with noise exposure. Samples of blubber and/or liver of the same animals will be analyzed for selected chemical pollutants to determine concentrations of persistent organic pollutants and chemical elements and correlate them with the findings of the ear analyses. If possible, the findings of the PIONEER project will be correlated with comprehensive post-mortem findings of each individual to determine the impact of the overall health status on the specific findings but also how cumulative effects of exposure (i.e. noise and chemical pollution) can affect cetacean health.
The novel approach of PIONEER combining the results of the analysis of hearing structures and concentrations of contaminants in several cetacean species in different countries along the Arctic will increase our understanding on the effects of underwater noise pollution on hearing and chemical pollution on health of wild populations.

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Annika Jahnke (Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung - UFZ)

Prof. Krishna Das (Universität Lüttich, ULiege)

Dr. Marianna Pinzone (Universität Lüttich, ULiege, und Norwegisches Polarinstitut)

Funding: Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachen , 227.674 EUR

Project Details:
Since the ban on cage housing in Germany in 2010, many laying hens are kept in alternative housing systems with free-range access. In Lower Saxony, approximately 23% of laying hens are housed in conventional free-range systems, while around 16% are kept under organic farm conditions. Particularly in these systems, an increasing parasite burden from intestinal worms has been observed, as worm eggs accumulate in the outdoor areas, and there are only limited biosecurity measures available for prevention and treatment.
Depending on the intensity of the infestation, worm infections can lead to significant health impairments in laying hens. These include general well-being disturbances, reduced performance, delayed growth, gastrointestinal damage and, in severe cases, even death. Effective worm control presents a major challenge for many free-range farms, particularly for those operating under organic standards. Addressing this issue requires strategic planning, targeted interventions and subsequent success monitoring.
The "Worm-free" project focuses on alternative measures to reduce worm infestations in free-range laying hen flocks. Over the course of three years, 50 flocks will be monitored for one production cycle each. By continuously recording management practices and regularly assessing parasite loads, the effectiveness of different farm-specific interventions will be evaluated.
As part of the project, a web application is also being developed to support laying hen farmers in identifying the risk of increased parasite burdens in their flocks and implementing effective countermeasures.

Funding: BMEL, 318.427 EUR

Project Details:
The project is carried out on DIL e.V., Quakenbrück.
The aim of this project is to develop and evaluate a concept for the extraction and processing of proteins from brewer's yeast in the highest possible native and functional form on a pilot scale. The proteins and other valuable substances of the yeast are mostly located within the cells and are therefore not easily accessible for conventional extraction or precipitation. Therefore, cell disruption is necessary, in order to increase access to the proteins. Residues from the brewing process also adhere to the yeast. These include gluten and bitter substances from the hops. Therefore, in the first step the aim is to develop a process for removing the bitter substances and gluten as far as technically possible (AP 1). The yeast cells are then physically disrupted so that the proteins dissolved in the cell plasma can escape. For this purpose, two mechanical methods are used in this research project: (1) electroporation using pulsed electric fields (PEF, WP 3), and (2) ultra-high-pressure homogenization (UHPH, WP 2). After the cell disruption, the cell wall components are separated from the protein-rich suspension/solution using the principle of separation by density or centrifugal forces in a plate separator. The proteins obtained will then be processed and stabilized and examined for their sensory, techno-functional and nutritional properties (WP 4), as well as their suitability to produce selected exemplary food products (WP 5). Once the process has been established for brewer's yeast, it will be validated with yeasts from other sources (WP 6). Finally, a life cycle assessment (LCA, WP 7) will be carried out using the data obtained during the proejct to compare the environmental impact of the proteins obtained to protein of soy and milk. During the LCA, the entire process will be included, i.e. the energy requirements of the new technologies will also be taken into account and compared with the production process of soy and milk proteins. In cooperation with the industrial partners, the feasibility and economic viability of the entire process will be evaluated (AP 8).

Cooperation Partners:

Elea Technology GmbH, Leiber GmbH

Funding: Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung, 170.000 EUR

Project Details:
In this project we are testing a therapeutic drug candidate to reduce alpha-synuclein pathology in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Rossner, Paul Flechsig Institut für Hirnforschung, Universität Leipzig

Funding: DFG, 482.000 EUR

Project Details:
Streptococcus suis is a frequent colonizer of the upper respiratory tract of pigs, but can also cause severe systemic diseases like meningitis and septicemia. However, pathogenesis of S. suis infection and the role of its virulence-associated factors, namely the pore-forming toxin suilysin (SLY) and the D-alanine-D-alanyl carrier ligase (DltA), is still not fully understood. So far, it is known that SLY damages different host cells by lytic pore formation and induces an inflammatory response leading to the release of cytokines, especially by monocytes/macrophages, and the recruitment of neutrophils. D-alanylation of lipoteichoic acids in the cell wall by DltA is known to increase resistance against antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and phagocytosis of S. suis by neutrophils.
Our aim is to clarify the role of SLY and DltA in S. suis colonization of the porcine respiratory tract, systemic dissemination via the bloodstream, and invasion of the central nervous system. Thereby we will focus on their influence on innate immunity cells and the crosstalk between monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils. We hypothesize that the host compartments influence the expression of sly and dltA differentially and that vice versa SLY and DltA influence the host?s innate immune response by modulating the crosstalk between neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages contributing to the resistance of. S. suis towards immune defense mechanisms.
To investigate this, we will use complex in vitro cell culture systems that closely mimic the in vivo situation of the three main host compartments: a co-culture system of primary respiratory epithelial cells differentiated under air-liquid interface conditions and alveolar macrophages, porcine precision-cut lung slices, a reconstituted whole blood model, and the blood cerebrospinal fluid barrier model. Infection experiments will be performed with S. suis serotype 2 wild-type strain (wt), its isogenic mutants Δsly, ΔdltA, and ΔdltAΔsly as well as the respective complemented mutant strains.
We will start with the analysis of sly and dltA expression in the three compartments by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting, followed by the investigation of the neutrophil and the monocyte/macrophage response towards S. suis wt and sly- and dltA-deficient mutants. We will focus on the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps, reactive oxygen species production, phagocytic activity, and the release of certain cytokines and AMPs. Finally, we will investigate how secretions from monocytes/macrophages induced by S. suis infection influence neutrophils regarding their transmigration, inflammatory response, and phagocytic capacity, and vice versa.
The detailed investigation of the innate immune response towards S. suis infection in the three different compartments will help to better understand the switch of S. suis as a colonizer to an invasive pathogen, and how SLY and DltA are involved in this process.

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. Sophie Öhlmann (Institut für Bakteriologie und Mykologie, Veterinärmedizinische Fakultät, Universität Leipzig)

Funding: DFG- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 456.829 EUR

Project Details:
PREGROW-project aims to provide a single nuclei transcriptional profile of the pituitary and its downstream targets in miniature-sized and larger-sized pigs as a model for prepubescent growth control. This approach is meant to meet a big challenge we encounter in research work on growth: Body size is a whole-organism phenotype with many different tissues involved, and the variant effects are expected to be complex. For this reason, PREGROW aims at studying the genetic landscape of growth-axis-related tissues in the pig, providing a genetic resource for deciphering mechanisms of gene interplay, and underlying variant effects. The objective is to perform a functional trait-cell type enrichment for previously identified genome-wide associated growth and height loci obtained from GWAS by assigning them to cell types identified in gene expression data on single nuclei level. The project aims at identifying those genes, which are differential in large versus miniature pigs, and can thereby be considered as important fine-regulators of prepubescent growth in pigs, in addition to the known hormonal axis regulation by growth hormone/IGF.

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Malte Spielmann, Universität zu Lübeck

Funding: BLE, 443.163 EUR

Project Details:
The objective of the project is to assess the potential of the organic rearing system for dual-purpose chicken breeds under the aspects of a resource-efficient optimized feeding and animal welfare.
The focus is on the integration of two different insect species (Acheta domesticus/n.n.) and macroalgae (Palmaria palmata/n.n.) into the feeding regimes of currently used breeds in organic farming.

Cooperation Partners:

Oekologische Tierzucht gGmbH

Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut

Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde

Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik und Bioökonomie e. V.

Bioland Beratung GmbH

Funding: Pfizer, 246.000 EUR

Project Details:
Tick-borne diseases are a major health concern, with Lyme disease and early summer meningoencephalitis (TBE) among the most important. Although it is known that ticks infected with Borrelia in particular are almost ubiquitous, there is no comprehensive, area-wide picture of tick infection rates and thus the human risk of infection. Using a sample set of thousands of ticks, a reliable picture of Borrelia prevalence in Germany will be obtained for the first time.
The data on tick infections obtained, together with the data on tick density from the previous project, will enable the identification of factors associated with high local Borrelia prevalence.
In addition, tick pools from selected locations, e.g. TBE endemic areas or those where human TBE cases have occurred in the respective county, will be examined for TBE virus infections.

Results:

Topp, A.-K., Springer, A., Mischke, R., Rieder, J., Feige, K., Ganter, M., Nagel-Kohl, U., Nordhoff, M., Boelke, M., Becker, S., Pachnicke, S., Schunack, B., Dobler, G., Strube, C. (2023) Seroprevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus in wild and domestic animals in northern Germany. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases 14, 102220

Cooperation Partners:

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

Dr. V. Fingerle, Nationales Referenzzentrum für Borrelien, Oberschleißheim

Dr. O. Kahl, tick-radar GmbH

Prof. Dr. U. Mackenstedt, Universität Hohenheim

Prof. Dr. M. Pfeffer, Universität Leipzig

Funding: CEPI via Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, 1.012.106 EUR

Project Details:
A Phase I/IIa clinical trial under endemic conditions (in East African countries Uganda and Kenya) to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a rationally designed live-attenuated Rift Valley fever virus vaccine in a relevant target population.