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.
2024
Authors
Alexander Hammel Lia-Maria Cucos Iuliana Caras Irina Ionescu Catalin Tucureanu Vlad Tofan Adriana Costache Adrian Onu Lara Hoepfner Michael Hippler Juliane Neupert Costin-Ioan Popescu Crina Stavaru Norica Branza-Nichita Ralph BockAbstract
Microalgae are promising production platforms for the cost-effective production of recombinant proteins. We have recently established that the red alga Porphyridium purpureum provides superior transgene expression properties, due to the episomal maintenance of transformation vectors as multicopy plasmids in the nucleus. Here, we have explored the potential of Porphyridium to synthesize complex pharmaceutical proteins to high levels. Testing expression constructs for a candidate subunit vaccine against the hepatitis C virus (HCV), we show that the soluble HCV E2 glycoprotein can be produced in transgenic algal cultures to high levels. The antigen undergoes faithful posttranslational modification by N-glycosylation and is recognized by conformationally selective antibodies, suggesting that it adopts a proper antigenic conformation in the endoplasmic reticulum of red algal cells. We also report the experimental determination of the structure of the N-glycan moiety that is attached to glycosylated proteins in Porphyridium. Finally, we demonstrate the immunogenicity of the HCV antigen produced in red algae when administered by injection as pure protein or by feeding of algal biomass.
Abstract
There is currently no quality sorting of harvested hardwood timber in Norway on a national scale. Medium- and high-quality logs including those from birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh., B. pendula Roth) are thus not utilized according to their potential monetary value. Increased domestic utilization of quality birch timber requires that the quality of harvested logs be properly assessed for potential end uses. A preferred sorting procedure would use visually detectable external log defects to grade roundwood timber. Knots are an important feature of inner log quality. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether correlations between branch scar size and knot features could be found in Norwegian birch. Using 168 knots from seven unpruned birch trees, external bark attributes often showed strong correlations with internal wood quality. Both length of the mustache and length of the seal performed well as predictors of stem radius at the time of knot occlusion. The presence of a broken off branch stub as part of an occluded knot significantly increased the knot-effected stem radius, proving that the practice of removing branches and branch stubs along the lower trunk is a crucial measure if quality timber production is the primary management goal.
Authors
Ari Hietala Wilson Lara Henao André Kolsgaard Simon Seljegard Nina Elisabeth Nagy Isabella Børja Tor Arne Justad Yngve Rekdal Even Bergseng Halvor SolheimAbstract
Forest grazing by free-roaming livestock is a common practice in many countries. The forestry sector sees the practice as unfortunate owing to several reasons, such as damages inflicted by grazing in young plantations. Concerning Norway spruce forests, a tree species known to develop wood decay with high frequency followed from stem bark damage, there is a strong perception among foresters that the trampling damage caused by livestock on the superficial root system of this tree leads to decay. Because of the very limited scientific documentation available on this topic, we pursued a clarification by investigating three 38- to 56-year-old Norway spruce forests used for silvopasture. Two types of injuries were observed on exposed roots: bark cracks characterized by resin exudation, and injuries involving localized bark peeling and exposure of the underlying wood. These injuries occurred up to 250 cm away from the root collar, with the sector 50–150 cm away from the root collar showing the highest incidence of injuries. In two of the forest stands, wood within the injured root areas was primarily colonized by the wound parasite Corinectria fuckeliana or species of the order Helotiales, fungi that do not cause wood decay. Wood colonization of injured roots by Heterobasidion species, the most frequent wood decay fungi of Norway spruce, was common in the third stand, but only in a few cases it was possible to deduce that the colonization had probably initiated via trampling injuries on roots. In a few cases, an injury was located at stem base at the root collar height along paths used by animals, and in such cases, it was obvious that stem colonization by Heterobasidion species had initiated via the wound. The relatively small amount of data warrants caution when drawing conclusions. Considering the high establishment frequency of decay via stem bark wounds of Norway spruce observed in previous studies, our data would suggest that roots are generally better equipped to defend themselves upon infliction of superficial wounds than stem of this tree species. The likelihood of trampling injuries leading to decay may vary considerably between different stands, this presumably depending on the level of local propagule pressure by pathogenic wood decay fungi and the frequency of damages close to root collar.
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Lecture – The Role of Plant Health in the context of the one health framework
Belachew Asalf Tadesse
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Belachew Asalf TadesseAbstract
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This NIBIO report analyzes the role of agriculture in renewable energy production in Norway compared to EU countries. A detailed analysis explores renewable energy from agriculture, particularly biofuels and agricultural biogas.
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