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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2019

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Sammendrag

High-throughput sequencing is increasingly favoured to assay the presence and abundance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in biological samples, even from low RNA amounts, and a number of commercial vendors now offer kits that allow miRNA sequencing from sub-nanogram (ng) inputs. Although biases introduced during library preparation have been documented, the relative performance of current reagent kits has not been investigated in detail. Here, six commercial kits capable of handling <100ng total RNA input were used for library preparation, performed by kit manufactures, on synthetic miRNAs of known quantities and human total RNA samples. We compared the performance of miRNA detection sensitivity, reliability, titration response and the ability to detect differentially expressed miRNAs. In addition, we assessed the use of unique molecular identifiers (UMI) sequence tags in one kit. We observed differences in detection sensitivity and ability to identify differentially expressed miRNAs between the kits, but none were able to detect the full repertoire of synthetic miRNAs. The reliability within the replicates of all kits was good, while larger differences were observed between the kits, although none could accurately quantify the relative levels of the majority of miRNAs. UMI tags, at least within the input ranges tested, offered little advantage to improve data utility. In conclusion, biases in miRNA abundance are heavily influenced by the kit used for library preparation, suggesting that comparisons of datasets prepared by different procedures should be made with caution. This article is intended to assist researchers select the most appropriate kit for their experimental conditions.

Sammendrag

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool. Changes in the hydrological cycle affect C-cycle turnover, with potential effects on the global C balance’s response to global change. However, large scale model representations of the sensitivity of soil carbon to soil moisture, through decomposition and interactions with nutrient cycles, are largely empirical to semi-empirical and uncertain. To better represent these dynamics, the aims of this PhD project* are to: • Investigate the role of soil moisture on SOC decomposition over a vertical profile; • Assess which moisture controls are (most) important in a multi-layered, mechanistic soil biogeochemistry model, the Jena Soil Model (JSM, Fig 2); • Update and improve the representations of soil moisture dynamics in JSM and evaluate this model for multiple sites along a moisture gradient and global scale.

Sammendrag

The Jena Soil Model (JSM) is a multi-layer mechanistic soil biogeochemistry model with explicit representations of vertical transport, mineral sorption, and microbial control on decomposition rates. Reaction rates are further modified by temperature and moisture. While temperature determines the maximum reaction velocity (Vmax), moisture reduces this rate nonlinearly if either the diffusion of substrate is restricted (at low soil moisture) or oxygen availability for microbes is limited (at wet conditions). This moisture control on soil organic matter formation and decomposition is represented with the Dual Arrhenius Michaelis-Menten (DAMM) model concept (Davidson et al. 2012) and influences the reaction rates of microbial depolymerisation of litter and microbial residue pools as well as DOC (dissolved organic matter) uptake. Sorption of DOM and microbial residues to mineral surfaces is moisture dependent through a Langmuir sorption approach. We will validate the carbon cycle representation of moisture control on soil organic matter decomposition in JSM by comparing simulations with measured carbon stocks and respiration rates from different ecosystems ranging from boreal upland forests and wetlands to Mediterranean savannas. The modular structure of JSM will allow us to investigate the effect of moisture control on each decomposition step (depolymerisation, microbial uptake and growth, and OC sorption) separately.