TY - JOUR A1 - Gerrits, Ruben A1 - Stepec, Biwen An A1 - Bäßler, Ralph A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Dimper, Matthias A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Goff, Kira L. A1 - Günster, Jens A1 - Hofmann, Andrea A1 - Hesse, René A1 - Kirstein, Sarah A1 - Klein, Ulrich A1 - Mauch, Tatjana A1 - Neumann-Schaal, Meina A1 - Özcan Sandikcioglu, Özlem A1 - Taylor, Nicole M. A1 - Schumacher, Julia A1 - Shen, Yin A1 - Strehlau, Heike A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Wolf, Jacqueline A1 - Yurkov, Andrey A1 - Gieg, Lisa M. A1 - Gorbushina, Anna T1 - A 30-year-old diesel tank: Fungal-dominated biofilms cause local corrosion of galvanised steel N2 - The increased use of biodiesel is expected to lead to more microbial corrosion, fouling and fuel degradation issues. In this context, we have analysed the metal, fuel and microbiology of a fouled diesel tank which had been in service for over 30 years. The fuel itself, a B7 biodiesel blend, was not degraded, and—although no free water phase was visible—contained a water content of ~60 ppm. The microbial community was dominated by the fungus Amorphotheca resinae, which formed thick, patchy biofilms on the tank bottom and walls. The tank sheets, composed of galvanised carbon steel, were locally corroded underneath the biofilms, up to a depth of a third of the sheet thickness. On the biofilm-free surfaces, Zn coatings could still be observed. Taken together, A. resinae was shown to thrive in these water-poor conditions, likely enhancing corrosion through the removal of the protective Zn coatings. KW - Fungal biofilms KW - Biodiesel degradation mechanisms PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655014 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-025-00731-2 SN - 2397-2106 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-65501 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Helfenstein, J. A1 - Massey, M. A1 - Kretzschmar, R. A1 - Schade, U. A1 - Verel, R. A1 - Chadwick, O. A1 - Frossard, E. T1 - Spectroscopic analysis shows crandallite can be a major component of soil phosphorus N2 - Phosphorus (P) bioavailability is crucial for the productivity of natural and agricultural ecosystems, and soil P speciation plays a major role therein. Better understanding of P forms present in soil is thus essential to predict bioavailability. However, P speciation studies are only as powerful as the reference spectra used to interpret them, and most studies rely on a limited set of reference spectra. Most studies on soil P forms differentiate between Ca-bound P (e.g. apatite), organic P, Fe-bound P, and Al-bound P. In our analysis of a Ca, Al, and P rich soil from the Kohala region of Hawaii, we identified the mineral crandallite, CaAl3(PO4)2(OH)5·H2O, a mineral previously not considered to play a significant role in soils. Crandallite was first identified with powder X-ray diffraction. Subsequently reference spectra were collected, and the presence of crandallite was confirmed using micro-focused P K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, micro-infrared spectroscopy, and solid-state 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Crandallite XANES spectra were distinct from other common XANES spectra due to the presence of features in the post-edge region of the spectrum. Linear combination fitting of bulk P K-edge XANES spectra allowed the determination of the proportion of crandallite to the total P content, indicating that crandallite comprises up to half, possibly even more of the soil P in the samples. Crandallite is therefore an important and potentially overlooked component of soil P, which pedogenically forms in soils with high P, Al, and Ca contents, where it could play an important role in P bioavailability. KW - Phosphorus KW - XANES spectrosocpy KW - Infrared spectroscopy KW - NMR spectrocopy PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-654968 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117712 SN - 0016-7061 VL - 467 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-65496 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Cong A1 - Hellemans, Simon A1 - Kinjo, Yukihiro A1 - Mikhailova, Alina A A1 - Aumont, Cédric A1 - Weng, Yi-Ming A1 - Buček, Aleš A1 - Husnik, Filip A1 - Šobotník, Jan A1 - Harrison, Mark C A1 - McMahon, Dino P A1 - Bourguignon, Thomas T1 - Recurrent horizontal gene transfers across diverse termite genomes N2 - Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the transmission of genetic material across species, is an important innovation source in prokaryotes. In contrast, its significance is unclear in many eukaryotes, including insects. Here, we used high-quality genomes of 45 termites and two cockroaches to investigate HGTs from non-metazoan organisms across blattodean genomes. We identified 289 genes and 2,494 pseudogenes classified into 168 orthologous groups originating from an estimated 281 HGT events. Wolbachia represented the primary HGT source, while termite gut bacteria and the cockroach endosymbiont Blattabacterium did not contribute meaningfully to HGTs. Most horizontally acquired genes descended from recent and species-specific HGTs, experienced frequent duplications and pseudogenizations, and accumulated substitutions faster than synonymous sites of native protein-coding genes. Genes frequently transferred horizontally to termite genomes included mobile genetic elements and genetic information processing genes. Our results indicate that termites continuously acquired genes through HGT, and that most horizontally acquired genes are specific to restricted lineages. Overall, genes acquired by HGT by termites and cockroaches seemed generally non-functional and bound to be lost. KW - Phylogenomics KW - Isoptera KW - Comparative genomics PY - 2026 DO - https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpag003 SN - 0014-3820 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Oxford University Press (OUP) AN - OPUS4-65418 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kanaris, Orestis A1 - Sobisch, Lydia-Yasmin A1 - Gödt, Annett A1 - Schreiber, Frank A1 - Nordholt, Niclas T1 - Consequences of benzalkonium chloride tolerance for selection dynamics and de novo resistance evolution driven by antibiotics N2 - Biocides are used in large amounts in industrial, medical, and domestic settings. Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) is a commonly used biocide, for which previous research revealed that Escherichia coli can rapidly adapt to tolerate BAC-disinfection, with consequences for antibiotic susceptibility. However, the consequences of BAC tolerance for selection dynamics and resistance evolution to antibiotics remain unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of BAC tolerance in E. coli on its response upon challenge with different antibiotics. Competition assays showed that subinhibitory concentrations of ciprofloxacin—but not ampicillin, colistin and gentamicin—select for the BAC-tolerant strain over the BAC-sensitive ancestor at a minimal selective concentration of 0.0013–0.0022 µg/mL. In contrast, the BAC-sensitive ancestor was more likely to evolve resistance to ciprofloxacin, colistin and gentamicin than the BAC-tolerant strain when adapted to higher concentrations of antibiotics in a serial transfer laboratory evolution experiment. The observed difference in the evolvability of resistance to ciprofloxacin was partly explained by an epistatic interaction between the mutations conferring BAC tolerance and a knockout mutation in ompF encoding for the outer membrane porin F. Taken together, these findings suggest that BAC tolerance can be stabilized in environments containing low concentrations of ciprofloxacin, while it also constrains evolutionary pathways towards antibiotic resistance. KW - AMR KW - Resistance evolution KW - Resistance selection PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-653842 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44259-025-00170-8 SN - 2731-8745 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-65384 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwibbert, Karin A1 - de Eulate Pérez, Elisa García A1 - Wen, Keqing A1 - Voss, Heike A1 - Thiele, Dorothea A1 - Richter, Anja M. A1 - Bonse, Jörn T1 - Escherichia coli repellence via laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on titanium: Critical role of biofilm-associated gene expression N2 - The inconsistency in the observed bacteria-repellent effects of laser-induced surface textures remains a subject of scientific debates. With E. coli TG1 as test strain, we performed biofilm formation assays on ultrashort pulse laser textured titanium. Samples covered with low spatial frequency LIPSS (LSFL) of periods around 750 nm or with high spatial frequency LIPSS (HSFL) featuring smaller periods around 100 nm were processed on polished samples. While LSFL significantly reduce the number of adhering bacteria compared to the polished reference, HSFL do not. Simultaneously, we concentrate our study on bacterial strategies employed for biofilm formation, that is the transcription of the biofilm-associated genes csgB, involved in primary adhesion to a surface, and wza, participating in biofilm maturation. Promoter regions of these genes were cloned into a promotor probe plasmid with the green fluorescent protein GFP+ as reporter and transferred into the test strain. As indicated by the fluorescence intensity of the reporter protein, among the bacteria colonizing LSFL-covered areas, a markedly higher proportion of cells transcribing csgB or wza were detected, compared to the bacterial populations colonizing the polished or HSFL-covered areas. To our knowledge, this is the first study indicating that the antifouling effect of LSFL topographies can be counteracted when bacteria activate biofilm-associated genes. KW - Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) KW - Titanium KW - Biofilm KW - Antifouling KW - Gene expression KW - Fluorescence microscopy PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655572 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2026.166363 SN - 0169-4332 VL - 730 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-65557 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Roß, Marcel A1 - Severin, Stefanie A1 - Hildebrandt, Jana A1 - Erdmann, Kerstin A1 - Miaskiewicz, Aleksandra A1 - Škorjanc, Viktor A1 - Bernardes de Araujo, Wander Max A1 - Leyden, Matthew A1 - Korte, Lars A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Dallmann, André A1 - Albrecht, Steve T1 - Compositional Analysis of Metal Halide Perovskites: Insight into the Coevaporation Process via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy N2 - Lead halide perovskites have emerged as a highly promising class of materials for solar cells. Nevertheless, suitable procedures to analyze the exact composition of the perovskite films are rare and are not generally applicable. Here we show a simple and fast method to determine the absolute composition of mixed metal halide perovskites through a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance and total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The method is validated on powder mixtures and applied to thin film samples prepared by coevaporation of formamidinium iodide (FAI), CsI, PbI2 and PbBr2, allowing correlation between film composition and solar cell performance. We show that the rates of the individual precursors do not always translate linearly into film composition and that the preparation of the hole transport layer MeO-2PACz strongly influences the incorporation of FAI. Our work highlights the importance of compositional analysis and demonstrates how the developed method provides new insights into the complex coevaporation process in perovskite solar cells. KW - e‑ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy KW - Metal Halide Perovskites KW - CoevaporationP rocess KW - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-656932 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.5c03689 SN - 2380-8195 VL - 11 IS - 2 SP - 1935 EP - 1943 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-65693 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Döring, Sarah A1 - Wulfes, Birte S. A1 - Atanasova, Aleksandra A1 - Jaeger, Carsten A1 - Walzel, Leopold A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Flemig, Sabine A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Corundum Particles as Trypsin Carrier for Efficient Protein Digestion N2 - Reusable enzyme carriers are valuable for proteomic workflows, yet many supports are expensive or lack robustness. This study describes the covalent immobilization of recombinant trypsin on micrometer-sized corundum particles and assesses their performance in protein digestion and antibody analysis. The corundum surface was cleaned with potassium hydroxide, silanized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and activated with glutaraldehyde. Recombinant trypsin was then attached, and the resulting imines were reduced with sodium cyanoborohydride. Aromatic amino acid analysis (AAAA) estimated an enzyme loading of approximately 1 µg/mg. Non-specific adsorption of human plasma proteins was suppressed by blocking residual aldehydes with a Tris-glycine-lysine buffer. Compared with free trypsin, immobilization shifted the temperature optimum from 50 to 60 °C and greatly improved stability in 1 M guanidinium hydrochloride. Activity remained above 80% across several reuse cycles, and storage at 4 °C preserved functionality for weeks. When applied to digesting the NISTmAb, immobilized trypsin provided peptide yields and sequence coverage comparable to soluble enzyme and outperformed it at elevated temperatures. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of Herceptin digests yielded fingerprint spectra that correctly identified the antibody and achieved 60% sequence coverage. The combination of low cost, robustness and analytical performance makes corundum-immobilized trypsin an attractive option for research and routine proteomic workflows. N2 - Wiederverwendbare Enzymcarrier sind für proteomische Arbeitsabläufe von großem Wert, doch viele Trägermaterialien sind teuer oder nicht robust genug. Diese Studie beschreibt die kovalente Immobilisierung von rekombinantem Trypsin auf mikrometergroßen Korundpartikeln und bewertet deren Leistungsfähigkeit beim Proteinverdau und der Antikörperanalyse. Die Korundoberfläche wurde mit Kaliumhydroxid gereinigt, mit 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilan silanisiert und mit Glutaraldehyd aktiviert. Anschließend wurde rekombinantes Trypsin gebunden, und die entstandenen Imine wurden mit Natriumcyanoborhydrid reduziert. Die aromatische Aminosäureanalyse (AAAA) ergab eine geschätzte Enzymbeladung von etwa 1 µg/mg. Die unspezifische Adsorption von menschlichen Plasmaproteinen wurde durch Blockierung der restlichen Aldehyde mit einem Tris-Glycin-Lysin-Puffer unterdrückt. Im Vergleich zu freiem Trypsin verschob die Immobilisierung das Temperaturoptimum von 50 auf 60 °C und verbesserte die Stabilität in 1 M Guanidiniumhydrochlorid erheblich. Die Aktivität blieb über mehrere Wiederverwendungszyklen hinweg bei über 80 %, und die Lagerung bei 4 °C bewahrte die Funktionalität über Wochen hinweg. Beim Verdau des NISTmAb lieferte das immobilisierte Trypsin Peptidausbeuten und Sequenzabdeckungen, die mit denen des löslichen Enzyms vergleichbar waren, und übertraf dieses bei erhöhten Temperaturen. Die MALDI-TOF-MS-Analyse von Herceptin-Verdauen ergab Fingerabdruck-Spektren, die den Antikörper korrekt identifizierten und eine Sequenzabdeckung von 60 % erreichten. Die Kombination aus niedrigen Kosten, Robustheit und analytischer Leistungsfähigkeit macht auf Korund immobilisiertes Trypsin zu einer attraktiven Option für die Forschung und routinemäßige proteomische Arbeitsabläufe. KW - Bottom-up proteomics KW - Solid-phase digestion KW - Biopharmaceutical analysis KW - Peptide mapping KW - Non-specific binding KW - amino acid analysis PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-657021 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/biotech15010002 SN - 2673-6284 VL - 15 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-65702 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Franz, Mathias A1 - Armitage, Sophie A.O. A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter A1 - Subasi, Bengisu S. A1 - Rafaluk, Charlotte T1 - Trade-offs in virulence evolution: a Hierarchy-of-Hypotheses approach N2 - Understanding the evolution of virulence, that is, the harm pathogens cause their hosts, has major and wide-spread repercussions. A central concept of virulence evolution is the so-called ‘trade-off hypothesis’, a seemingly straightforward relationship between virulence and transmission. However, substantial ambiguity in terminology related to this hypothesis threatens progress in the field. To address this, we apply a Hierarchy-of-Hypotheses approach to provide structured, visual representations of ideas linked to this hypothesis. We illustrate that the trade-off hypothesis is a complex set of many different hypotheses and trade-offs, and we clarify ambiguities and biases in commonly used terminology in the literature. Thereby, we hope to facilitate a more precise understanding of what the trade-off hypothesis means, enabling more targeted and precise hypothesis testing. KW - Pathogen virulence KW - Trade-off KW - Trade-off hypothesis KW - Virulence evolution PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2025.01.006 SN - 1471-5007 VL - 41 IS - 3 SP - 188 EP - 195 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-62620 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Capitain, C. A1 - Schüßler, M. A1 - Bugsel, B. A1 - Zweigle, J. A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Leube, Peter A1 - Zwiener, C. T1 - Implementation of matrix-matched semiquantification of PFAS in AFFF-contaminated soil N2 - This study presents a novel semiquantification approach for nontarget screening (NTS), combining matrix-matched calibration and ionization class-specific average calibration curves (ACCs) to address the lack of analytical reference standards for most per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Ionization class-specific ACCs for carboxylic and sulfonic acids, sulfonamides, and cationic PFAS result in high accuracy, with median absolute accuracy quotients below 2.27×. The approach was applied to soil impacted by aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) contamination. A total of 96 tentatively identified PFAS were semiquantified in addition to 28 quantified compounds based on available standards. Semiquantified concentrations exceeded those of target analytes, demonstrating the critical role of this method in capturing broader PFAS contamination. In this case, validation against extractable organofluorine (EOF) showed a 102% closed mass balance. The innovative approach not only enables comprehensive PFAS contamination assessment in complex matrices but also expands the scope of the NTS for environmental monitoring, remediation, and risk assessment of AFFF-contaminated sites. KW - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) KW - Contaminated soil KW - Non-targeted analysis KW - Combustion ion chromatography PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-629445 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c14255 SN - 1520-5851 VL - 59 IS - 14 SP - 7338 EP - 7347 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) CY - Columbus, Ohio AN - OPUS4-62944 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hendricks, A. A1 - Phillips, T. K. A1 - Engl, T. A1 - Plarre, Rudy A1 - Martinson, V. G. T1 - The bacterial microbiome in spider beetles and deathwatch beetles N2 - The beetle family Ptinidae contains a number of economically important pests, such as the cigarette beetle Lasioderma serricorne, the drugstore beetle Stegobium paniceum, and the diverse spider beetles. Many of these species are stored product pests, which target a diverse range of food sources, from dried tobacco to books made with organic materials. Despite the threat that the 2,200 species of Ptinidae beetles pose, fewer than 50 have been surveyed for microbial symbionts, and only a handful have been screened using contemporary genomic methods. In this study, we screen 116 individual specimens that cover most subfamilies of Ptinidae, with outgroup beetles from closely related families Dermestidae, Endecatomidae, and Bostrichidae. We used 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon data to characterize the bacterial microbiomes of these specimens. The majority of these species had never been screened for microbes. We found that, unlike in their sister family, Bostrichidae, that has two mutualistic bacteria seen in most species, there are no consistent bacterial members of ptinid microbiomes. For specimens which had Wolbachia infections, we did additional screening using multilocus sequence typing and showed that our populations have different strains of Wolbachia than noted in previous publications. KW - Sodalis KW - Ptinidae KW - Anobiidae KW - Bostrichidae KW - Dermestidae KW - Bostrichoidea KW - Wolbachia PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-631564 DO - https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01981-24 SN - 2165-0497 VL - 13 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 14 AN - OPUS4-63156 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -