Research

Funding: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, 166.732 EUR

Project Details:
Der Verantwortungsraum von Berater/Innen wird bestimmt und Empfehlungen an die Hand gegeben, wie eine verantwortungsbewusste Beratung konkret umgesetzt werden kann. Es werden Konzept und Material für Fortbildungsangebote entwickelt, die zum einen Verantwortung von Berater/innen verdeutlichen und zum anderen auch die tierethischen Aspekte in der Beratung vermitteln.

Funding: Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft durch die Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung, 671.093 EUR

Project Details:
Thailand and Cambodia are both affected by malnutrition of children and mothers, be it by the by the sheer number of persons suffering from it (Thailand), be it by the high percentage of the general population (Cambodia). While consuming insects (entomophagy) has a long tradition in these countries and is relatively widespread, this tradition involves gathering from the wild and subsequent preparation and consumption of the fresh or frozen insects. On one hand, if food insects, because of their nutritional benefits, are to play a major role in providing food for mankind, farming rather than collecting from the wild will be necessary. These techniques, already practiced in some parts of Thailand and Cambodia, have the potential to be used as mini-livestock by families, as many insect species may be raised sustainably on agricultural side streams with less ecological impact as more typical livestock. On the other hand, rearing insects is prone to create surpluses in insect production, making preservation techniques necessary to ensure food safety by extending shelf life. These novel products may be produced for the family or sold at local markets creating an extra income.
IFNext attends these needs. The overall goal is to produce insects sustainably for the own consumption resp. to generate products that can be sold on the market and that actually meet the expectations of farmers and consumers alike.

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. Rachakris Lertpatarakomol, MUT: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mahanakorn University of Technology (มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีมหานคร)

Dr. Keo Sath, RUA: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Royal University of Agriculture (សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទកសិកម)

Dr. Chhay Ty, LDC: Centre for Livestock and Agricultural Development (មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ការចិញ្ចឹមសត្វ និងកសិកម្ម)

Dr. Jamlong Mitchaothai, KMITL: Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (สถาบันเทคโนโลยีพระจอมเกล้าเจ้าคุณทหารลาดกระบัง)

Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), 317.250 EUR

Project Details:
The genus Pestivirus belongs to the virus family Flaviviridae and comprises RNA viruses of great relevance, like Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and Classical swine fever virus (CSFV), which are causative pathogens of notifiable diseases. Since decades, it was commonly accepted that pestiviruses infections are restricted to cloven hooved (ungulate) hosts. Recently, several atypical pestiviruses have been discovered in non-ungulate hosts (rats and bats). These newly discovered pestiviruses show the typical genome organization, but are genetically highly distinct. Obviously, these novel viruses represent a new group within the pestiviruses with so far uncharacterized biological properties. In addition, such a novel pestivirus was also discovered in pigs and tentatively designated "atypical porcine pestivirus"(APPV). Own research as well as studies from several other groups revealed an association with neurological symptoms in newborn piglets (congenital tremors). An association with other disease complexes (e.g. infertility, abortion, malformation) is under discussion and seems to be likely.
Despite the broad tissue tropism observed in infected pigs, it is hardly possible to isolate and propagate APPV on the porcine cell lines established for CSFV. Finally, the success in virus isolation and cell culture adaptation allow now investigating the biological properties of this pathogen in vitro. Preliminary work provides strong evidence that major differences exist in the entry process of APPV and CSFV. Binding of the pathogen and the subsequent entry into the host cell are crucial steps in the viral infectious cycle and therefore often relevant also in the pathogenesis of viral diseases. Against this background it is planned to investigate the entry mechanism of APPV and other porcine pestiviruses in detail. Aim of the research project is to identify and characterize key factors required for entry of porcine pestiviruses like APPV and CSFV into the host cell. In particular, the processing of the APPV envelope proteins as well as their involvement in viral attachment and entry will be addressed. By using genetically engineered cell lines it is planned to characterize the relevance of different host cell proteins, which have been previously suggested to be involved in viral entry. Finally, it will be investigated how the binding to the host cell determines the tissue and host tropism of APPV.
Knowledge of key factors required for entry of APPV into the host cell will help to better understand the biology of this newly discovered pathogen. Furthermore, this study may provide insights into the complex, likely multistep entry process of porcine pestiviruses like APPV and CSFV. On basis of gained knowledge, future studies could address the molecular determinants of tissue and host tropism, virulence properties of pestiviruses and mechanisms of pathogenicity of pestiviral infections.

Results:

Publications from this project:

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/JVI.02186-20

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22221751.2021.2011620

In addition to these studies on the importance of the host cell factor CD46 for cell entry, other cellular factors have been identified that appear to play a significant role in cell entry of pestiviruses. Further investigation of these factors is being carried out in a DFG-funded continuation project.

Funding: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Panama, 37.170 EUR

Project Details:
Variation in biological traits is universal in natural populations and has significant evolutionary and ecological consequences. Behavioral traits or combinations of traits are important as they may affect the survival and reproductive success of individuals. Studies have shown that animal personalities and behavioral traits covary with ecological conditions, dependent on the state of the individual, and can be maintained by frequency dependent selection. Animal personalities have been often been classified along five behavioral axes, namely, shyness-boldness, exploration-avoidance, activity, aggressiveness, and sociability. Some studies have shown that amphibians display personality and behavioral traits. However, implications of animal personality in ecological context remain largely unexplored in amphibians. Neotropical poison frogs are toxic and diurnal amphibians with highly evolved parental care and territorial behavior. In this study, we will investigate behavioral traits and personality of the strawberry poison frog within and between populations that differ in their anti-predator strategy (level of aposematism). Therefore, we will examine variations in exploratory, risk-taking and aggressive behavior by running standardized laboratory-based trials on wild-caught adult O. pumilio. Each frog will be tested in three behavioral trials, with the following sequence: exploration, risk-taking and aggressiveness. Within a population, we expect individuals present variations in behavioral traits and personality, and that behavioral traits might be correlated (syndrome). Among populations we expect more aposematic frogs (brighter coloration, higher toxicity) to be more explorative, bold and aggressive than less aposematic frogs.

Results:

Cossio R, Ibáñez R, Rodríguez A, Pröhl H (2024) Do sexes differ in consistent individual differences and behavioural syndrome in an aposematic poison frog. Journal of Zoology 323: 139-149. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13164

Cooperation Partners:

Roberto Ibanez, Ph. D., Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama

MSc. Carolina Esquivel, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica

Project Details:
Forces during extraction in obstretics in cattle - an in vivo study

Results:

https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:95-119013

Funding: Prof. Dr. Kohaus-Förderverein e.V. gemeinnütziger Verein zur Förderung der Brieftaubenzucht, 8.617 EUR

Project Details:
Investigations of a vaccination approach to protect young pigeons against a Rotavirus A infection.

Cooperation Partners:

PD Dr. D. Rubbenstroth, FLI

Project Details:
In der Vergangenheit sind zahlreiche Belastungstests beim Hund zum Einsatz gekommen. Hierbei handelt es sich meist um Adaptionen von Tests, die beim Menschen eingesetzt werden. Unter anderem wird in diversen Studien der 6-Minute-Walk-Test verwendet. Bei diesem Test wird die Strecke gemessen, die ein Patient im Rahmen von 6 Minuten zurücklegen kann. In einem Forschungsprojekt soll nun die Aussagekraft und Zuverlässigkeit dieses Tests mit der eines standardisierten, laufbandgestützten Belastungstests verglichen werden.

Funding: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, 98.149 EUR

Project Details:
Die Aufzucht von aquatischen Organismen zur Gewinnung von Lebensmitteln in Kreislaufanlagen in Gebäuden an Land ist aus Gründen des Umweltschutzes (Vermeiden von Nährstoff-Eintrag in Gewässer) und Sicherstellung der Wasserversorgung der Aquakultur angesichts eines stark schwankenden Wasserangebots durch den Klimawandel dringend geboten. Allerdings ist die Technologie hinsichtlich Nachhaltigkeit und Tierwohl noch nicht ausgereift und daher verbesserungswürdig. Die relativ junge und in Europa noch wenig realisierte Biofloc-Technologie (BFT) bietet nach dem derzeitigen internationalen Stand der Kenntnis für die Zielstellung einer nachhaltigen Aquakultur ein bedeutendes Potenzial, das es zu entwickeln gilt. Das Potenzial von BFT-Systemen zur Umweltentlastung bei der Aufzucht von tropischen Riesengarnelen (Litopenaeus vannamei)besteht im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Kreislaufanlagen darin, dass aus Detritus, Bakterienkolonien und kleinen Wirbellosen bestehende Bioflocken von Garnelen als Nahrung aufgenommen werden können und so zu einer Re-zirkulation von Nährstoffen (Stickstoff, Phosphor, organische Reststoffe), verbunden mit einem reduzierten Ressourceneinsatz (Wasser, Futtermittel), zu einer geringeren Freisetzung von eutrophierenden Stickstoff- und Phosphorverbindungen und letztlich zu einer erhöhten Biosicherheit und Produktivität bei einem niedrigeren spezifischen Energieverbrauch führen. Darüber hinaus kann die Verwendung von Bioflocken, die in ihrer Zusammensetzung der natürlichen Nahrung von Garnelen entsprechen, zu einer Verbesserung des Tierwohls durch verbesserte Fütterung führen.

Cooperation Partners:

Polyplan GmbH, Bremen

Funding: CEPI, 821.851 EUR

Project Details:
Rift Valley Fever Impfstoffentwicklung

Funding: DFG, 214.427 EUR

Project Details:
Virus detection, pathogenesis and intervention