Overview of research projects

Funding: MWK über Universität Göttingen, 266.300 EUR

Project Details:
Das Mikrobiom der Lunge erfüllt, obwohl signifikant kleiner als das des Darms, eine bedeutende Funktion bei der Regulation der lokalen Immunantwort. Aktuelle Studien zeigten außerdem das SARS-CoV-2 Infektionen bei Betroffenen zu einer Veränderung in der Zusammensetzung des Lungenmikrobioms führen. Im Rahmen des Projektes soll untersucht werden, ob eine durch eine gezielte Manipulation des Lungenmikrobioms ausgelöste Verschiebung der Typ-1-Interferon-Reaktivität in der Lunge die systemische Anfälligkeit für eine SARS-CoV-2-Infektion beeinflusst. Während in der ersten Phase eine genauere Untersuchung der Rolle des Lungenmikrobioms bei der Regulation der homöostatischen Immunantwort erfolgt, wird in der zweiten Phase des Projektes darauf aufbauend die Rolle der Lungenmikrobiota bei der Regulierung der lokalen und systemischen Immunantwort im Rahmen einer SARS-CoV-2-Infektion untersucht. Wenn die in diesen Experimenten gewonnen Daten darauf hindeuten, dass Veränderungen im Lungenmikrobiom einen Einfluss auf den Verlauf der Infektion haben, soll in einem letzten Experiment der Einsatz von Probiotika als pharmakologische Behandlung von SARS-CoV-2-Infektion erprobt werden.

Cooperation Partners:

Universität Göttingen

Funding: DFG-Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 210.700 EUR

Project Details:
Marine mammals are infected by a variety of endo- and ectoparasites which face multiple challenges when having to attach to their host. Arthropod parasites of marine mammals have developed specialized anatomical adaptations, to secure their hold on aquatic hosts, and sophisticated strategies, to enable transmission between vagile pelagic and amphibious wildlife. We have chosen three arthropod species that have adapted differently to their marine hosts: seal lice, as hematophagous insects of terrestrial origin and whale lice, as amphipod crustaceans of marine origin, as well as respiratory mites from the airways of seals. All three species have motile larvae that are transmitted during bodily contact of host individuals. Their exoskeleton has evolved by adapting materials and design to survive on gregarious and diving marine mammals. Little is known about biology of marine mammal arthropod parasites, but even less about physical aspects of their life in this challenging environment. Novel approaches are required to provide more insight in structural design and mechanical properties and knowledge on physical principles of their attachment and locomotion. State of the art instrumentation, such as micro-CT, confocal laser scanning microscopy and Cryo-SEM will provide basic knowledge on morphological adaptations of parasites that enable their attachment to hosts during dives, haul-out and how they endure currents and social interactions. The locomotive abilities of the different life cycle stages on various surfaces and developed features of insect, crustacean and arachnid species are compared to understand functional morphology of their locomotory system. Parasites reduce the fitness of their host most obviously at the interface between parasite and host. Whale lice impede healing processes of skin wounds and seal lice are vectors for filarial and viral diseases. We will investigate the host-parasite interface using histopathology of infected tissues to define the structural damage to host tissues. Friction and adhesion forces maintained by the different parasite species are investigated by custom made microforce testing devices. The envisaged project will provide knowledge on relationships between structure, material properties and attachment performance of attachment devices in selected arthropod parasite species. Data on their locomotion and recruitment dynamics will be studied for the first time and the results will provide new avenues for development of biologically-inspired surfaces and systems specialized for enhancement or reduction of frictional or adhesive forces. New data on the properties of attachment devices in different ontogenetic stages and their role in the life cycle can potentially reveal interesting veterinary aspects.

Funding: Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen, 273.008 EUR

Project Details:
Currently, broiler barns are usually built with one single outer shell. This building design comes with several problems. The first problem is ensuring a sufficient amount of air supply. The second problem is high energy and water requirements. If the speed and volume of the incoming air is insufficient, the cold air will fall directly into the animal area. This causes hypothermia of the animals and an increase in litter moisture. The main reason for insufficient air supply is insufficient negative pressure. Reasons for insufficient negative pressure are leaks in the outer shell and an increased use of gas cannons with warm air blowers.
In this project, a new building design with two outer shells is built and tested. This new type of building should lead to an optimal, constant climate in the barn so that the animals are not exposed to strong climatic fluctuations. Furthermore, the construction and the more constant barn climate enable considerable savings in gas, electricity and water.

Cooperation Partners:

Stalltuning GmbH

Praxisbetrieb

Funding: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, 252.002 EUR

Project Details:
Viruses can be inactivated in the airborne state and additionally in heated filter elements without using chemical processes (ozonization, ionization) and without producing toxic waste (mercury from UVC lamps). However, information about the use of short time heat exposition to inactivate airborne viruses are very scarce. Information about synergistic effects of temperature and pressure on airborne viruses in ventilation systems are still lacking. Therefore, studying the effects of both, heat and pressure on the infectivity of virus aerosols will help to increase the understanding of virus stability in air.
This subproject aims to study the effect of both, heat and pressure on airborne test viruses in an energyefficient
machine-optimized system operating with air exchange rates that are sufficient to clean air in open space offices, for instance.

Cooperation Partners:

SCHEER Heizsysteme & Produktionstechnik GmbH

Chausseestraße 6, D-25797 Wöhrden

Projektkoordinator: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Constantin Kinias

Funding: DFG, 90.000 EUR

Project Details:
VIPER-Immunity against CNS infections caused by the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV)

Funding: MWK, 439.545 EUR

Project Details:
Flex-Fund project in the COVID-19 research network Lower Saxony:
Mechanisms of short- and long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the integrity of respiratory tract epithelia

Results:

https://www.umg.eu/forschung/corona/cofoni/

Project Details:
A vocal repertoire contains a species-specific list of vocalizations, which are produced by the animals. These lists build the methodological and theoretical basis for a number of research questions of different disciplines. Nevertheless, there is no consensus how to establish a vocal repertoire or how to define call types. In the majority of studies, call types were established by visual classification, using spectrograms, which was supported by statistical analysis based on the measured acoustic features of a vocalization. In recent publications, more objective mathematically approaches such as supervised or unsupervised clustering algorithm were established. However, also these algorithm often require a pre-screening of the observer either because a number of expected clusters has to be determined or by the fact that the clustering result has to be proofed for their biological plausibility. Both methods can lead to an overestimation of call types especially in species with very variable vocalizations or graded call types. Thus, an acoustic variation alone is not sufficient to reflect a behavioural relevance. This also requires a context-specificity and the ability of the brain to perceive and process the acoustic variation. In this project, we aim to establish the vocal repertoires by combining the mathematical classification of the vocalizations with the behavioural contexts in which the calls were produced as well as the physical hearing abilities (e.g., hearing range, time- and frequency resolution) of the given species. We use this approach for two small-bodied mammalian species: the Mongolian gerbil, an important animal model for human hearing, and the Etruscan shrew, suggested to be a promising model for hearing in basal mammals due to its small eardrum, basal ossicles, and simple and thin cortex.

Results:

Langehennig-Peristenidou A, Felmy F, Scheumann M (2024). Graded calls of the smallest terrestrial mammal, the Etruscan shrew, living in a closed habitat. iScience, 27(12), 111297. DOI:10.1016/j.isci.2024.111297

 

Silberstein Y, Büntge J, Felmy F, Scheumann M (2024). Context or arousal? Function of drumming in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). Frontiers in Zoology, 21(1), 22. DOI:10.1186/s12983-024-00542-2

 

Silberstein Y, Felmy F, Scheumann M (2023). Encoding of arousal and physical characteristics in audible and ultrasonic vocalizations of Mongolian gerbil pups testing common rules for mammals. Animals (Basel), 13(16), 2553. DOI:10.3390/ani13162553

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Dr. A. Kral, VIANNA, Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde

Dr. Wiebke Konerding, VIANNA, Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde

Project Details:
Cooperation strengthens cohesion between animals and is thus a decisive factor for social systems. The present project aims to investigate how individualised relationships - reflected in different types, and amounts, of socio-positive interactions between dyads - shape the social system in a bat model, Carollia perspicillata. A first study will disclose the effects of the interacting individuals, and sex, on cooperative behaviours among bats roosting in stable groups. A second study serves to pinpoint the effect of familiarity on cooperation, using allogrooming and food begging/sharing as paradigms in a series of behavioural experiments. Differences in type, frequency, and duration of interactions, and in the concomitant vocal communication, are expected for experiments with unfamiliar individuals versus those with bats from a given roosting group. The results will contribute to a deeper understanding of how cooperation between individuals may have driven the evolution of bat sociality.

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Dr. Gerald Kerth,, Zoology and Nature conservation, Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Greifswald

Project Details:
Neurons in the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (DNLL) are relevant for binaural processing especially during reverberations. Their basic biophysical and synaptic properties have been documented, but are not understood on the cellular and molecular level. It remains so far unclear what voltage gated ion channels (VGIC) underly their functional specifications and how synaptic inputs are modulated. One specific question that will be answered his how different VGIC (potassium and sodium channels) interact to allow these neurons to generate high firing frequencies at high temporal precision. This biophysical phenotype indicates that these features are differently solved compared to other auditory brainstem neurons with similar tasks. Thus, this project aims to understand the moleculare organisaiton of the postsynaptic integration and spike generation mechanism. Since, the GABAergic DNLL neurons are reziprocally connected substantial GABA is liberated onto each neuron. GABA not only leads to fast inhibitory singalling but also is well-documented to generally be an important neuromodulator in the auditory brainstem. Therefore, the action of GABA mediated neuromodulation will be investigated by characterizing its effect on synaptic inputs and VGIC.

Results:

Javadova A, Felmy F.: GABAB receptor-mediated modulation in the developing dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus. European Journal of Neuroscience (2024) Jan 5. doi: 10.1111/ejn.16246.

Funding: DFG, 350.510 EUR

Project Details:
In mammals, brain and neuron size enlarges with increasing head size. Inevitably, an increase in neuron size results in an increased membrane capacitance. To achieve size-independent synaptic integration and, thus, the function, neuronal properties like input resistance, dendritic morphology, synaptic conductance as well as the number and location of ion channels and synapses must scale proportionally. A prerequisite to investigate the cellular mechanisms of such a scaling is an evolutionary conserved neuronal population that fulfills the same circuit function independent of head and brain size. The neurons of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) fulfill these criteria and are involved in binaural processing and spectro-temporal integration in the ascending auditory pathway. Quantification of the biophysical and morphological cellular parameters of MNTB neurons and their synaptic input size as well as channel and synapse location in differently sized mammalian species, i.e. Etruscan shrew, gerbil and rat, allows us to grasp the consequences of brain size-dependent neuron scaling. Our electrophysiological and immunofluorescence findings will culminate in a computational model to understand the functional significances of individual neuronal elements. Moreover, we can utilize this comparative approach to investigate the functional role of MNTB dendrites, which remains largely unknown. Specifically, by quantitatively determining the influence of dendritic synaptic inputs on synaptic latency and the success of action potential generation, we can capture their potential role in the generation of high frequency outputs.