Project description:A small, shed antler fragment of a reindeer from Sjælland, Denmark has been dated to the Mid-Holocene, ca., 4700 cal B.C. Reindeer was an important component of the Lateglacial fauna in Denmark, and the species survived for ca. 1400 years into the Holocene. However, we consider it highly unlikely that this species inhabited Denmark during the Mid-Holocene, when dense forests characterized the vegetation and summer temperatures were somewhat higher than at present. We suggest that the reindeer antler came to Sjælland from Norway or Sweden as a result of trade, perhaps involving flint.
Project description:Kelp are the largest photosynthetic organisms in the ocean with tissue differentiation and complex life cycles. Other multicellular organisms with similar complexity such as plants and animals are well known to posses epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation to control development and morphogenesis. Despite plant-like body plans and the presence of different life-cycle stages, the kelp species Saccharina japonica has only a very low level of DNA methylation, yet we have found strong evidence for differential methylation of regulatory elements and protein-coding genes which seem to contribute to the formation of life-cycle stages, tissue differentiation, growth and halogen metabolism. Thus, DNA methylation seems to play an important role in kelp, which has not been reported before.
Project description:Enteropathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis share many traits in terms of infections they cause, but their epidemiology and ecology seem to differ in many ways. Pigs are the only known reservoir for Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3 strains while Y. pseudotuberculosis strains have been isolated from variety of sources including fresh vegetables and wild animals. A comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis with a DNA microarray based on three Yersinia enterocolitica and four Yersinia pseudotuberculosis genomes was conducted to shed light on genomic differences between the enteropathogenic Yersinia. In total 99 strains isolated from various sources were hybridized and analyzed.