Publications

extra spindle poles (separase) controls anisotropic cell expansion in norway spruce (picea abies) embryos independently of its role in anaphase progression.	the caspase-related protease separase (extra spindle poles, esp) plays a major role in chromatid disjunction and cell expansion in arabidopsis thaliana. whether the expansion phenotypes are linked to defects in cell division in arabidopsis esp mutants remains elusive. here we present the identification, cloning and characterization of the gymnosperm norway spruce (picea abies, pa) esp. we used the p. abies somatic embryo system and a combination of reverse genetics and microscopy to explore the ...	2016	27229374
bioinformatic identification and analysis of extensins in the plant kingdom.	extensins (exts) are a family of plant cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (hrgps) that are implicated to play important roles in plant growth, development, and defense. structurally, exts are characterized by the repeated occurrence of serine (ser) followed by three to five prolines (pro) residues, which are hydroxylated as hydroxyproline (hyp) and glycosylated. some exts have tyrosine (tyr)-x-tyr (where x can be any amino acid) motifs that are responsible for intramolecular or intermol ...	2016	26918442
h3k36ac is an evolutionary conserved plant histone modification that marks active genes.	in eukaryotic cells, histones are subject to a large number of posttranslational modifications whose sequential or combinatorial action affects chromatin structure and genome function. we identified acetylation at lys-36 in histone h3 (h3k36ac) as a new chromatin modification in plants. the h3k36ac modification is evolutionary conserved in seed plants, including the gymnosperm norway spruce (picea abies) and the angiosperms rice (oryza sativa), tobacco (nicotiana tabacum), and arabidopsis (arabi ...	2016	26764380
non-functional plastid ndh gene fragments are present in the nuclear genome of norway spruce (picea abies l. karsch): insights from in silico analysis of nuclear and organellar genomes.	many genes have been lost from the prokaryote plastidial genome during the early events of endosymbiosis in eukaryotes. some of them were definitively lost, but others were relocated and functionally integrated to the host nuclear genomes through serial events of gene transfer during plant evolution. in gymnosperms, plastid genome sequencing has revealed the loss of ndh genes from several species of gnetales and pinaceae, including norway spruce (picea abies). this study aims to trace the ndh ge ...	2016	26732267
osmolality and non-structural carbohydrate composition in the secondary phloem of trees across a latitudinal gradient in europe.	phloem osmolality and its components are involved in basic cell metabolism, cell growth, and in various physiological processes including the ability of living cells to withstand drought and frost. osmolality and sugar composition responses to environmental stresses have been extensively studied for leaves, but less for the secondary phloem of plant stems and branches. leaf osmotic concentration and the share of pinitol and raffinose among soluble sugars increase with increasing drought or cold ...	2016	27313582
replacing monocultures with mixed-species stands: ecosystem service implications of two production forest alternatives in sweden.	whereas there is evidence that mixed-species approaches to production forestry in general can provide positive outcomes relative to monocultures, it is less clear to what extent multiple benefits can be derived from specific mixed-species alternatives. to provide such insights requires evaluations of an encompassing suite of ecosystem services, biodiversity, and forest management considerations provided by specific mixtures and monocultures within a region. here, we conduct such an assessment in ...	2016	26744048
ginkgo and welwitschia mitogenomes reveal extreme contrasts in gymnosperm mitochondrial evolution.	mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of flowering plants are well known for their extreme diversity in size, structure, gene content, and rates of sequence evolution and recombination. in contrast, little is known about mitogenomic diversity and evolution within gymnosperms. only a single complete genome sequence is available, from the cycad cycas taitungensis, while limited information is available for the one draft sequence, from norway spruce (picea abies). to examine mitogenomic evolution in ...	2016	26831941
tree diversity affects chlorophyll a fluorescence and other leaf traits of tree species in a boreal forest.	an assemblage of tree species with different crown properties creates heterogeneous environments at the canopy level. changes of functional leaf traits are expected, especially those related to light interception and photosynthesis. chlorophyll a fluorescence (chlf) properties in dark-adapted leaves, specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen content (n) and carbon isotope composition (δ13c) were measured on picea abies (l.) h.karst., pinus sylvestris l. and betula pendula roth. in monospecific and mixed ...	2017	28100710
norwood: a gene expression resource for evo-devo studies of conifer wood development.	the secondary xylem of conifers is composed mainly of tracheids that differ anatomically and chemically from angiosperm xylem cells. there is currently no high-spatial-resolution data available profiling gene expression during wood formation for any coniferous species, which limits insight into tracheid development. rna-sequencing data from replicated, high-spatial-resolution section series throughout the cambial and woody tissues of picea abies were used to generate the norwood.congenie.org web ...	2017	28186632
an evolutionary framework for carpel developmental control genes.	carpels are the female reproductive organs of flowering plants (angiosperms), enclose the ovules, and develop into fruits. the presence of carpels unites angiosperms, and they are suggested to be the most important autapomorphy of the angiosperms, e.g., they prevent inbreeding and allow efficient seed dispersal. many transcriptional regulators and coregulators essential for carpel development are encoded by diverse gene families and well characterized in arabidopsis thaliana. among these regulat ...	2017	28049761
greater accumulation of litter in spruce (picea abies) compared to beech (fagus sylvatica) stands is not a consequence of the inherent recalcitrance of needles.	replacement of beech by spruce is associated with changes in soil acidity, soil structure and humus form, which are commonly ascribed to the recalcitrance of spruce needles. it is of practical relevance to know how much beech must be admixed to pure spruce stands in order to increase litter decomposition and associated nutrient cycling. we addressed the impact of tree species mixture within forest stands and within litter on mass loss and nutritional release from litter.	2017	25834285
phylogenetic and functional traits of ectomycorrhizal assemblages in top soil from different biogeographic regions and forest types.	ectomycorrhizal (em) fungal taxonomic, phylogenetic, and trait diversity (exploration types) were analyzed in beech and conifer forests along a north-to-south gradient in three biogeographic regions in germany. the taxonomic community structures of the ectomycorrhizal assemblages in top soil were influenced by stand density and forest type, by biogeographic environmental factors (soil physical properties, temperature, and precipitation), and by nitrogen forms (amino acids, ammonium, and nitrate) ...	2017	27885418
using historical ecology to reassess the conservation status of coniferous forests in central europe.	forests cover approximately one-third of central europe. oak (quercus) and european beech (fagus sylvatica) are considered the natural dominants at low and middle elevations, respectively. many coniferous forests (especially of picea abies) occur primarily at midelevations, but these are thought to have resulted from forestry plantations planted over the past 200 years. nature conservation and forestry policy seek to promote broadleaved trees over conifers. however, there are discrepancies betwe ...	2017	27198624
cellulose nanofibers from softwood, hardwood, and tunicate: preparation-structure-film performance interrelation.	this work reveals the structural variations of cellulose nanofibers (cnf) prepared from different cellulose sources, including softwood (picea abies), hardwood (eucalyptus grandis × e. urophylla), and tunicate (ciona intestinalis), using different preparation processes and their correlations to the formation and performance of the films prepared from the cnf. here, the cnf are prepared from wood chemical pulps and tunicate isolated cellulose by an identical homogenization treatment subsequent to ...	2017	28350431
two centuries of masting data for european beech and norway spruce across the european continent.	tree masting is one of the most intensively studied ecological processes. it affects nutrient fluxes of trees, regeneration dynamics in forests, animal population densities, and ultimately influences ecosystem services. despite a large volume of research focused on masting, its evolutionary ecology, spatial and temporal variability, and environmental drivers are still matter of debate. understanding the proximate and ultimate causes of masting at broad spatial and temporal scales will enable us ...	2017	28241388
epidihydropinidine, the main piperidine alkaloid compound of norway spruce (picea abies) shows promising antibacterial and anti-candida activity.	this study reports for the first time promising antibacterial and antifungal effects of epidihydropinidine, the major piperidine alkaloid in the needles and bark of norway spruce, picea abies (l.) karsten. epidihydropinidine was growth inhibitory against all bacterial and fungal strains used in our investigation, showing the lowest mic value of 5.37μg/ml against pseudomonas aeruginosa, enterococcus faecalis, candida glabrata and c. albicans. epidihydropinidine was nearly three times more active ...	2017	28163074
long-term tree inventory data from mountain forest plots in france.	we present repeated tree measurement data from 63 permanent plots in mountain forests in france. plot elevations range from 800 (lower limit of the montane belt) to 1942 m above sea level (subalpine belt). forests mainly consist of pure or mixed stands dominated by european beech (fagus sylvatica), silver fir (abies alba), and norway spruce (picea abies), in association with various broadleaved species at low elevation and with arolla pine (pinus cembra) at high elevation. the plot network inclu ...	2017	28145102
distinct genecological patterns in seedlings of norway spruce and silver fir from a mountainous landscape.	understanding the genecology of forest trees is critical for gene conservation, for predicting the effects of climate change and climate change adaptation, and for successful reforestation. although common genecological patterns have emerged, species-specific details are also important. which species are most vulnerable to climate change? which are the most important adaptive traits and environmental drivers of natural selection? even though species have been classified as adaptive specialists v ...	2017	28052396