414 research outputs found
Eighty years after its discovery, Fleming's Penicillium strain discloses the secret of its sex
No full textEighty years ago, Alexander Fleming discovered antibacterial activity in the asexual mold Penicillium, and the strain he studied later was replaced by an overproducing isolate still used for penicillin production today. Using a heterologous PCR approach, we show that these strains are of opposite mating types and that both have retained transcriptionally expressed pheromone and pheromone receptor genes required for sexual reproduction. This discovery extends options for industrial strain improvement programs using conventional genetical approaches
Asexual cephalosporin C producer Acremonium chrysogenum carries a functional mating type locus
No full textAcremonium chrysogenum, the fungal producer of the pharmaceutically relevant beta-lactam antibiotic cephalosporin C, is classified as asexual because no direct observation of mating or meiosis has yet been reported. To assess the potential of A. chrysogenum for sexual reproduction, we screened an expressed sequence tag library from A. chrysogenum for the expression of mating type (MAT) genes, which are the key regulators of sexual reproduction. We identified two putative mating type genes that are homologues of the alpha-box domain gene, MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-1-2, encoding an HPG domain protein defined by the presence of the three invariant amino acids histidine, proline, and glycine. In addition, cDNAs encoding a putative pheromone receptor and pheromone-processing enzymes, as well as components of a pheromone response pathway, were found. Moreover, the entire A. chrysogenum MAT1-1 (AcMAT1-1) gene and regions flanking the MAT region were obtained from a genomic cosmid library, and sequence analysis revealed that in addition to AcMAT1-1-1 and AcMAT1-1-2, the AcMAT1-1 locus comprises a third mating type gene, AcMAT1-1-3, encoding a high-mobility-group domain protein. The alpha-box domain sequence of AcMAT1-1-1 was used to determine the phylogenetic relationships of A. chrysogenum to other ascomycetes. To determine the functionality of the AcMAT1-1 locus, the entire MAT locus was transferred into a MAT deletion strain of the heterothallic ascomycete Podospora anserina (the Pa Delta MAT strain). After fertilization with a P. anserina MAT1-2 (MAT(+)) strain, the corresponding transformants developed fruiting bodies with mature ascospores. Thus, the results of our functional analysis of the AcMAT1-1 locus provide strong evidence to hypothesize a sexual cycle in A. chrysogenum
Molecular organization of the mating-type loci in the homothallic Ascomycete Eupenicillium crustaceum
No full textEupenicillium species are the teleomorphic (sexual) forms of anamorphic (asexual) members of the genus Penicillium, which contains many species of industrial importance. Here we describe the first molecular analysis of the mating-type (MAT) locus from a homothallic (self-fertile) Eupenicillium species, E. crustaceum. This ascomycete is a sexual relative of the penicillin producer Penicillium chrysogenum, which while long considered asexual, was recently shown to possess the required genetic machinery for heterothallic breeding. The E. crustaceum genome contains two MAT loci, MAT1-1 and MAT1-2, in an arrangement characteristic of other known homothallic euascomycetes, such as Neosartorya fischeri. MAT1-1 is flanked by conserved APN2 (DNA lyase) and SLA2 (cytoskeleton assembly control) genes and encodes a homologue of the alpha-box domain protein MAT1-1-1. Conversely, MAT1-2 carries a HMG-domain gene MAT1-2-1, and is flanked by a degenerate SLA2 gene and an intact homologue of the P. chrysogenum ORF Pc20g08960. Here we demonstrate the transcriptional expression of both mating-type genes during vegetative development. Furthermore, the MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1 sequences were used to resolve the phylogenetic relationship of E. crustaceum with other ascomycetes. Phylogenetic trees confirmed a very close relationship between the homothallic E. crustaceum and the supposedly heterothallic P. chrysogenum. This close taxonomic association makes E. crustaceum an ideal candidate for future expression and evolutionary studies of sexual reproduction, with the ultimate aim of inducing sex in P. chrysogenum. (C) 2011 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Writings of an inconvenient author. The prose of Kay Hoff
No full textDer 1924 in Neustadt in Holstein geborene, heute in Berlin lebende, Kay Hoff hat in seiner mehr als 50 Jahre andauernden Schriftstellerkarriere seinen Ruf als unbequemer, das heißt gesellschaftliche und politische Missstände unmissverständlich tadelnder, Autor häufig in Werk und Wirken unter Beweis gestellt. Leben und Schaffen des promovierten Germanisten zeigen sich geprägt durch das, was er selbst bezeichnet als seinen „wichtigsten Lebenseinschnitt [...]: das Kriegsende 1945.“ So gehören Vergangenheitsbewältigung und Schuld, aus immer neuen Perspektiven betrachtet, zu seinen zentralen Fragen; dazu treten nach und nach weitere Themen: die Kritik am Kleinbürgertum, die Skepsis gegenüber der Sprache, die Konfrontation zwischen konservativ-bürgerlicher und progressiv-kritischer Literatur, die Krise des Individuums und immer wieder die Probleme zwischenmenschlicher Beziehungen. In späteren Werken wird der Themenkreis noch erweitert um Erörterungen über Wahrheit und Wirklichkeit, Verlust und Vergänglichkeit sowie um den Generationskonflikt. Das Werk Kay Hoffs ist äußerst vielfältig und, den Schaffensjahren entsprechend, umfangreich. Neben sieben Romanen veröffentlichte er Dutzende von Erzählungen und zwölf Gedichtbände (der letzte erschien 2006), darüber hinaus verfasste er vierzig Hörspiele und Funk-Features sowie mehrere Fernsehspiele. Als unbequem gilt Hoff auch, weil er durch den Einatz einer Vielzahl von Stilmitteln sowie durch besondere sprachliche und strukturelle Konstruktionen ein leichtes Konsumieren seiner Texte verhindert. So fällt in den frühen Romanen die Tendenz zum nicht-linearen Erzählen auf, häufig vorgetragen in einem ironischen, satirischen Ton. Die Expositionen werden ausgespart oder verkürzt und verschiedene Stilmittel, wie Multiperspektivismus, Montage, Ellipse und Anakoluth, kommen zum Einsatz. Der Gebrauch dieser Stilmittel steigert sich bis zum dritten Roman Drei. Anatomie einer Liebesgeschichte, dem eine ausgeprägt experimentelle Form zugrunde liegt. Danach, in Wir reisen nach Jerusalem, dem letzten Roman des nach Jürgen Petersen sogenannten Frühwerks, ist ein deutlicher Rückgang an stilistischen Erprobungen zu verzeichnen, bis Hoff mit Janus, dem Beginn des Spätwerks, endgültig zum narrativen Erzählen zurückfindet. Übereinstimmend gilt sowohl für die frühen als auch für die späten Romane, die stets aus ihrer jeweiligen Entstehungszeit heraus formuliert sind, dass auf eine spannungsgeladene, aktionsreiche Handlung verzichtet wird und statt dessen die Wiedergabe von Gesprächen und Reflexionen den Vorrang erhalten. Das Ende der Romane bleibt meist offen, wobei Lösungsmöglichkeiten allenfalls angedeutet werden oder die zirkuläre Konstruktion auf die Ausgangskonstellation zurückverweist. Die Erzählungen sind den Romanen thematisch vielerorts verwandt, und auch stilistisch zeigen sich ähnliche Entwicklungen. Während Hoff in den frühen Erzählungen der Nachkriegsjahre in knapper, nüchterner Sprache den Überlebenskampf „kleiner“ Leute schildert, entstehen in den 60er Jahren experimentelle Arbeiten, in denen sich die ehedem von außen an die Figuren herangetragenen Probleme zu inneren Krisen gewandelt haben. In der Kurzprosa der jüngeren Zeit kehrt Hoff dann wieder zu stärker narrativen Erzählformen zurück. Die Dissertationsschrift stellt die erste Monografie über Arbeiten von Kay Hoff dar. Trotz der mehr als fünfzigjährigen Schreibtätigkeit, während der er in bekannten Verlagen und Literaturzeitschriften sowie im Hörfunk veröffentlichen konnte und für seine Arbeiten mit einer Reihe von Auszeichnungen geehrt wurde, blieben Hoff und seinem Werk bisher eine angemessene Beachtung in der wissenschaftlichen Forschung wie auch in der lesenden Öffentlichkeit versagt. Die Ziele der Dissertationsschrift sind daher, eine Einführung in Hoffs Prosawerk zu leisten, einen literaturwissenschaftlichen Diskurs anzuregen sowie eine breitere Leserschaft auf seine Arbeiten aufmerksam zu machen.Kay Hoff was born in 1924 in Neustadt in Holstein. In more than 50 years of writing he proved his reputation as an inconvenient author who criticizes social and political deficiencies. Life and work of this graduated Germanic Philologist is impressed on World War II, as he says, his “most important period of life”. So guilt and the process of coming to terms with the past are the central issues; this comes along with other topics: criticism on petty bourgeoisie, considerations about language, literature, the crisis of the individual and human relations. At a later period topics like truth, realness, loss, perishableness and the generation gap were added. The opus of Kay Hoff is, according to his years of working, very multifarious and comprehensive. It contains seven novels, dozens of novellas, twelve poem anthologies, forty radio plays and several TV-plays. Hoff is also considered an inconvenient writer because he avoids an effortless reading of his works through multiplicity of linguistical and structural constructions. Especially in his early novels he applies a lot of different stylistic devices. In particular his third novel Drei. Anatomie einer Liebesgeschichte has a distinctive experimentel form. After this, in Wir reisen nach Jerusalem, according to Jürgen Petersen the last novel of the early works, there is a noticeable decline of stylistic trials. With Janus, the beginning of his late work, Hoff finally finds back to narrative telling. It is effective for all his novels, that Hoffs resigns of a thrilling story line. Instead of that he prefers dialogues and reflexion. The novels are open-ended and offer no denouements. The novels are related to the novellas in many issues. In the early novellas of the post-war period Hoff describes the struggle for existence of ordinary people. In the sixties occur experimental works which show people in psychologic crisis. Even here Hoff turns back in his late work to more narrative tellings. The thesis is the first monograph about the works of Kay Hoff. Despite of his long career as an author Hoff is fairly unknown among readers and experts. Hence the aim of the thesis is an introduction in Hoffs prose work as well as to initiate a scientifical discussion and not least to get through to the reading public
Was uns das Fernsehen bietet – zwischen Beobachtung und Voyeurismus
No full textMassive Kritik am Fernsehen übt der Fernsehkritiker Hans Hoff aus Düsseldorf. Es würden Show und Unterhaltung statt Information geboten. Der Autor verdeutlicht seine Aussagen mit Beispielen der privaten Fernsehsender, der Kriegsberichterstattung aus dem Irak und anhand von Talkshows im öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunk. Auch bei ARD und ZDF würden Boulevard-Magazine immer mehr Sendeplatz einnehmen. Für Hoff liegt das "Grundproblem" des Fernsehens darin, dass je echter Fernsehen wirke, desto unechter sei es. Das Fernsehen gaukele zunehmend eine Welt vor, die es so nur im Fernsehen und artverwandten Medien gebe und in der Realität mit Fiktion verwechselt werde. Die Grenzen würden verschwimmen, wenn die reale Welt der fiktionalen immer ähnlicher werde. Es gebe allerdings immer noch sehr gute Sendungen im deutschen Fernsehen, und es lohne, sich diese gezielt herauszusuchen. EnglishHans Hoff: What TV offers us – between watching and voyarism In this vividly and emotionally presented speech the author critisizes television for favoring shows and entertainment programs over information. To confirm his thesis he gives examples such as reports on the war in Iraq aired by German private TV stations and talk-shows aired by German public TV. Today even the two German public TV stations ARD and ZDF are favoring entertainment programms. The author regards it as the main problern of television programms in these days that the more realistic they appear the less real they are.Television leads viewers to believe in a world which is only real in itself and in which fiction is taken for reality. And if the real world is continually transformed into fiction, all boundaries are disappearing. At the end of his article, the author confirms, however, that in German TV a lot of excellent programs can still be found - but you have to look out for them.
Hooker's sea lions at Macquarie Island, 1965-1980
No full textProgress Code: completed<b>Purpose</b><br/>Summaries of sea lion sightingsLocations and activities of Hooker's sea lions on Macquarie Island compiled by an unknown author. The data were compiled from biology log books.<br/><br/>The data were transcribed by John van den Hoff from the original “Observations of Hooker’s sea lions on Macquarie Island from 1965-1980”, author unknown. A pdf scan of the original data is available in the download file. <br/><br/>Number of sea lions seen = the number of sea lions seen on the sighting occasion. e.g. 1 = 1, 1 of 2 means two seals were seen, etc. <br/>Body size = relative assessment of age where large = adult and small = juvenile<br/>Individual identification number = a value given to individually recognisable sea lions<br/>Disturbed = sea lion was aware of observe
Student and Master: The Correspondence of Bogumił Hoff and Oskar Kolberg
No full textThe article concerns the relationship between two eminent researchers of folk culture – the still largely unknown Bogumił Hoff and the “father of Polish ethnography” Oskar Kolberg. Their collaboration was analyzed based on their correspondence, which, although preserved and published, has so far not attracted much scientific attention. The author reveals the intricacies behind the relationship between the student (who later “discovered” the resort town of Wisła) and the teacher – author of the voluminous work entitled Lud, a study of Polish folk traditions. Their joint fieldwork in the Grand Duchy of Poznań, conducted in the 1860s, was planned to result in a separate volume written by Kolberg and illustrated by Hoff. Unfortunately, financial problems significantly delayed the release schedule and led to further misunderstandings. Kolberg took control over the drawings and refused to give them back to his debtor. And although Hoff continued in his efforts to support Kolberg’s plans, he never managed to reclaim his works. One thing he did get from his master was a research method, which he used in his work Lud cieszyński, jego właściwości i siedziby, an ethnographic study of the inhabitants of Wisła, a town in Cieszyn Silesia, located at the source of the Vistula – Poland’s longest and largest river.
Despite their strained relationship, Hoff remained faithful to his teacher, with whom he shared a fascination with ethnography and music, a publishing venture, denomination, and a circle of friends. Moreover, both were descendents of polonized German protestant families, who came from Mecklenburg in the first half of the 19th century, and they both had a great impact on the development of Polish ethnography – Kolberg on a national scale, and Hoff on a local one
Exploring the longitudinal effects of sleep and physical activity on academic achievement across middle childhood and adolescence
No full textObjective: Research has documented normative declines in school motivation and achievement across adolescence. There is some evidence to suggest that engaging in sufficient levels of sleep and physical activity across the transition to middle school might support subsequent achievement. Less is known about the role of pubertal development and sex in the relationship between health behaviors (e.g., sleep and physical activity) in middle childhood and changes in achievement across middle childhood and adolescence. Method: Participants in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were followed from birth through age 15, starting in 1991. Sleep and physical activity were assessed when children were in 6th grade achievement was assessed in 5th grade and again at age 15. Structural equation modeling was used to test associations between sleep, physical activity and directly assessed achievement and child reported academic self-concept across middle childhood and adolescence. Results: Findings suggest that there are long-term effects of sleep, indexed by self-reported general sleep problems, on changes in picture vocabulary skills. Children who report more sleep problems in 6th grade experienced greater declines in picture vocabulary skills across middle childhood and adolescence. Hours of sleep, time spent in physical activity, and time spent in sedentary behavior were not significantly associated with achievement outcomes. Conclusion: Sleep problems in middle childhood appear to have adverse effects on verbal comprehension skills across middle childhood and adolescence. These findings provide some evidence that improving sleep quality in middle childhood may help minimize losses in verbal comprehension and crystallized intelligence across middle childhood and adolescence.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2020-05-01The student, Bethany Hoff, accepted the attached license on 2018-04-20 at 16:51.The student, Bethany Hoff, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2018-04-20 at 17:08.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2018-04-24 at 08:43.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #12411 on 2018-08-31 at 17:21:10Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-04T20:36:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Previous issue date: 2018-04-24Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107289
Lift date: 2020-09-04T20:37:00Z
Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107289
Lift date: 2020-09-04T20:42:08Z
Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemU of I Only Restriction Lifted for Item 107289 on 2020-09-05T09:15:09Z
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