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Organic agriculture aims to provide organic farmers with organic seed. The EU regulation on organic agriculture supports this aim by implying the obligatory use of organic seed and planting material. Nevertheless, derogations for using un-treated GMO-free non organically produced seeds are granted, because organic seed is not sufficiently available and an absolute restriction would impede organic farmers in terms of diversity and competition. The aim of this paper is to identify the importance of organic farmers’ seed production in organic horticulture using a study case conducted in NW Portugal. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This article explores the relationship between institutional funding for research and community-based or co-enquiry research practice. It examines the implementation of co-enquiry research in the COMBIOSERVE project, which was funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme for research and innovation, between the years 2012 and 2015. Research partnerships between Latin American and European civil society organisations, research institutions, and Latin American rural communities are analysed. Challenges for effective collaboration in co-enquiry and lessons learned for research policy and practice are outlined. Based on our case study we suggest that: (1) the established values and practices of academia seem largely unfavourable towards alternative forms of research, such as co-enquiry; (2) the policies and administrative practices of this European Commission funding are unsuitable for adopting participatory forms of enquiry; and (3) the approach to research funding supports short engagements with communities whereas long-term collaborations are more desirable. Based on our case study, we propose more flexible funding models that support face-to-face meetings between researchers and communities from the time of proposal drafting, adaptation of research processes to local dynamics, adaptation of administrative processes to the capacities of all participants, and potential for long-term collaborations. Large-scale funding bodies such as European Commission research programmes are leaders in the evolution of research policy and practice. They have the power and the opportunity to publicly acknowledge the value of partnerships with civil society organisations and communities, actively support co-enquiry, and foment interest in innovative forms of research. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

LRBA (LPS-responsive, beige-like anchor protein) ist ein Protein der BEACH-Familie, die eine noch weitgehend unklare Rolle beim intrazellulären Proteintransport und bei der synaptischen Funktion spielen. LRBA wird auch in inneren und äußeren Haarzellen exprimiert und LRBA-Knockout-Mäuse[for full text, please go to the a.m. URL], 86. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie

The creative process that leads to farmers’ innovations is rarely studied or described precisely in agricultural sciences. For academic scientists, obvious limitations of farmers’ experiments are e.g. precision, reliability, robustness, accuracy, validity or the correct analysis of cause and effect. Nevertheless, we propose that ‘farmers’ experiments’ underpin innovations that keep organic farming locally tuned for sustainability and adaptable to changing economic, social and ecological conditions. We first researched the structure and role of farmers’ experiments by conducting semi-structured interviews of 47 organic farmers in Austria and 72 organic/agroecology farmers in Cuba in 2007 and 2008. Seventysix more structured interviews explored the topics and methods used by Austrian farmers that were ‘trying something’. Farmers engaged in activities that can be labelled as farmers experiments because these activities include considerable planning, manipulating variables, monitoring effects and communicating results. In Austria and Cuba 487 and 370 individual topics, respectively, were mentioned for experimenting by the respondents. These included topics like the introduction of new species or varieties, testing various ways of commercialization or the testing of alternative remedies. Two thirds (Austria) and one third (Cuba) of the farmers who experimented had an explicit mental or written plan before starting. In both countries, the majority of the farmers stated that they set up their experiments first on a small scale and expanded them if the outcome of the experiments was satisfactory. Repetitions were done by running experiments in subsequent years and the majority of the farmers monitored the experiments regularly. In both countries, many experiments were not discrete actions but nested in time and space. For further research on learning and innovation in organic farming we propose an explicit appreciation of farmers’ experiments, encouraging further in-depth research on the details of the farmers’ experimental process and encouraging the inclusion of farmers’ experiments in strategies for innovation in organic and non organic farming. Strategic research and innovation agendas for organic farming would benefit from including organic farmers as co-researchers in all steps of the research process in order to encourage co-learning between academic scientists and organic farmers.

Communities and the environments in which they depend on are often where trade-offs are most acutely felt. Controversies arise with uncertainties (scientific -e.g. climate change, or societal - e.g. institutional change) and when stakes are high (access to water, inequalities, etc..), which require (or trigger) greater involvement of civil society. This session will explore state-of-theart approaches at the science-civil society interface for mediating amongst a range of community interests (and alliances and pressures from external actors) in order to arrive at synergistic outcomes. Contributions are invited from five FP7-ENV 2011 research projects funded (9,5M? total) to address community based management of environmental challenges in Latin America. These projects share a common characteristics: research is done for the benefit of civil society organizations, to jointly define and analyze solutions to prevent climate-related tensions and support adaptation processes using ecosystem-based approaches. However each project has developed its own approach independently, which results in a diversity of viewpoints and findings -but also some striking similarities- about community based management. We investigate trade-offs at community level such as resistance or adaptability; participation or coercion; localization or globalization; assistance or independence; behavioral change or technological innovation, development and sustainability, resilience or transformation, scientific and local knowledge, local or transferable solutions. We will show examples of innovative community engagement approaches, including participatory video, theatre forum, hybrid forums, participatory scenario analysis and modeling, social media and e-democracy. (Texte integral)

Background Investigations into knowledge about food and medicinal plants in a certain geographic area or within a specific group are an important element of ethnobotanical research. This knowledge is context specific and dynamic due to changing ecological, social and economic circumstances. Migration processes affect food habits and the knowledge and use of medicinal plants as a result of adaptations that have to be made to new surroundings and changing environments. This study analyses and compares the different dynamics in the transmission of knowledge about food and medicinal plants among Tyrolean migrants in Australia, Brazil and Peru. Methods A social network approach was used to collect data on personal networks of knowledge about food and medicinal plants among Tyroleans who have migrated to Australia, Brazil and Peru and their descendants. A statistical analysis of the personal network maps and a qualitative analysis of the narratives were combined to provide insight into the process of transmitting knowledge about food and medicinal plants. Results 56 personal networks were identified in all (food: 30; medicinal plants: 26) across all the field sites studied here. In both sets of networks, the main source of knowledge is individual people (food: 71%; medicinal plants: 68%). The other sources mentioned are print and audiovisual media, organisations and institutions. Personal networks of food knowledge are larger than personal networks of medicinal plant knowledge in all areas of investigation. Relatives play a major role as transmitters of knowledge in both domains. Conclusions Human sources, especially relatives, play an important role in knowledge transmission in both domains. Reference was made to other sources as well, such as books, television, the internet, schools and restaurants. By taking a personal network approach, this study reveals the mode of transmission of knowledge about food and medicinal plants within a migrational context.

Im Rahmen der nachhaltigen Entwicklung der chemischen Industrie stehen nachwachsende Rohstoffe nach wie vor im Focus der Substituierung von Rohöl und anderen fossilen Rohstoffen. Diesen Gedanken aufgreifend, wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit die Umsetzung von pflanzlichen Ölen und deren Derivaten mittels Hydroformylierung untersucht. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die Hydroformylierung von Ölsäuremethylester und von High Oleic Sunflower Oil in ionischen Flüssigkeiten als Katalysatorphase mit mehrfacher Katalysatorrezyklierung unter hohen Umsätzen und Ausbeuten verläuft.

Experimenting, adapting and innovating are central features of farmers’ activities all over the world. Farmers hold valuable knowledge about their environment, they actively do experiments, and have their own research traditions. The development of organic farming systems is continually evolving through the experiments and innovations of organic farmers. So far, there has been little attempt to study the nature, characteristics, and factors associated with the experimental processes of farmers in a systematic, comprehensive way. A current research project investigates learning processes of organic farmers in Austria, Cuba and Israel through researching the multifaceted experiments they conduct and the innovations they obtain as possible results. This paper presents the research concept of the project.

Aufgrund eines konservierten Riboswitch-Elements im 5�-Bereich der Gene ypaA aus B. subtilis und ribM aus C. glutamicum wurde vermutet, dass die von ihnen kodierten Proteine eine Funktion im Stoffwechsel von Riboflavin besitzen. Durch die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit konnten YpaA und RibM als bakterielle Riboflavintransporter charakterisiert werden. Während YpaA, dessen C-Terminus cytoplasmatisch orientiert ist, mit fünf vorhergesagten TMDs zur BART (bile acid/arsenate/riboflavin transporter) Superfamilie gehört, ist RibM sehr homolog zur bakteriellen Familie der Nikotinamidribosid-Transporter PnuC. Die Deletion von ypaA führte zum Verlust, die Überexpression von ypaA dagegen zu einer stark erhöhten Aufnahme von Riboflavin und Roseoflavin. Sowohl die Transportaktivität einer B. subtilis Biosynthesemutante als auch die vorhandene Proteinmenge an YpaA hingen von der Riboflavinkonzentration im Medium ab. Im Gegensatz zu RibM war der Riboflavintransport über YpaA durch Protonophoren inhibierbar und nur in Gegenwart von Glucose nachweisbar, was dafür spricht, dass YpaA sein Substrat durch einen energiegekoppelten Prozess transportiert. Während ypaA nicht funktionell in Escherichia coli exprimiert werden konnte, vermittelte RibM in dem Gram-negativen Bakterium die spezifische und hoch-affine Aufnahme (Km-Wert = 11 µM) von Riboflavin und Roseoflavin. Dies ermöglichte einen experimentellen Ansatz, Flavoproteine mit nicht-natürlichen Flavin-Cofaktoren herzustellen. In E. coli konnte durch gleichzeitige Expression von ribM eine selektive Beladung mit Roseoflavin konnte für das Flavoprotein Dodecin erzielt werden. Damit ist ein wichtiger Schritt zur Etablierung eines Expressionssystems gelungen, das die Synthese von Flavoproteinen mit nicht-natürlichen Flavinanaloga in vivo erlaubt. Mit dem Plasmamembranprotein Thi9 wurde in dieser Arbeit der erste Vertreter einer neuartigen Klasse von Thiamintransportern identifiziert, der keine Ähnlichkeit zu den bekannten Transportern aus Bakterien, der Hefe S. cerevisiae oder aus Säugern aufweist. Aufgrund der Homologie zu Permeasen für GABA, Choline, Polyamine oder basischen Aminosäuren aus S. cerevisiae wird es der ACT (amino acid/choline transporter) Familie innerhalb der APC (amino acid/polyamide/organocation) Superfamilie (TC 2.A.3.4) zugeordnet. Ebenso wie seine Homologen besitzt es zwölf TMDs, die es in der Plasmamembran verankern. Thi9 verfügt über eine hohe Affintiät (Km-Wert = 0,4 µM) und eng begrenzte Spezifität für Thiamin, das es energieabhängig und durch Protonensymport aufnimmt. Während die Thiazoleinheit ebenso gut von Thi9 transportiert wurde wie Thiamin selbst, wurde HMP nicht aufgenommen. Im Gegensatz zu den Thiaminanaloga Pyrithiamin und Oxythiamin waren die Substrate der homologen Proteine � GABA, Cholin, basische Aminosäuren oder positiv geladene Ionen � nicht in der Lage, die Thiaminaufnahme zu inhibieren. Die Transkription von thi9+ wurde durch die Zugabe von Thiamin, nicht aber von Pyridoxin, zum Medium sehr rasch reprimiert. Das bestehende Thi9 Protein in der Plasmamembran hingegen blieb stabil und unterlag keinem aktiven Abbau. Neben Thi9 besitzt S. pombe mit Bsu1 über eine weitere Möglichkeit, Thiamin aus dem Medium aufzunehmen. Das bislang als Pyridoxintransporter beschriebene Protein Bsu1 war bei Überexpression ebenfalls in der Lage, den Wachstumsdefekt einer thiaminauxotrophen Bäckerhefemutante zu komplementieren., Based on the regulation of the corresponding genes by a riboswitch mechanism, YpaA from Bacillus subtilis and RibM from Corynebacterium glutamicum have been predicted to be involved in flavin metabolism. In this work both proteins were characterized as bacterial transport proteins for riboflavin. YpaA, a member of the family of riboflavin transporters within the BART (bile acid/arsenate/riboflavin transporter) superfamily, is a plasma membrane protein with five transmembrane domains and a cytoplasmic C-terminus while RibM shows high homology to the bacterial PnuC family of nicotinamidribosid transporters. In B. subtilis, riboflavin uptake was increased when ypaA was overexpressed and abolished when ypaA was deleted. Riboflavin uptake activity and the abundance of the YpaA protein were also increased when riboflavin auxotrophic mutants were grown in limiting amounts of riboflavin. In contrast to RibM, YpaA-mediated riboflavin uptake was sensitive to protonophors and reduced in the absence of glucose, demonstrating that the protein requires metabolic energy for substrate translocation. While ypaA could not be functionally expressed in Escherichia coli, RibM conferred specific and high affinity transport of riboflavin (Km = 11 µM) and the toxic analog roseoflavin was also transported. This facilitated an experimental approach to generate flavoproteins with non-natural ligands. When expressed together with ribM in E. coli cells, the flavoprotein dodecin contained a high proportion of roseoflavin. This represents a first step to generate FMN- or FAD containing flavoproteins with modified ligands in vivo. The plasmamembrane protein Thi9 from Schizosaccharomyces pombe represents a novel thiamine transporter, which shows no similarity to the characterized analogous proteins from bakers yeast or mammals. Due to its homology to permeases for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), choline, polyamines or basic amino acids from Saccharomyces cerevisiae it is a distant member of the ACT (amino acid/choline transporter) family within the APC (amino acid/polyamide/organocation) superfamily (TC 2.A.3.4). Thi9 is a specific and high-affintiy transporter for thiamine (Km = 0,4 µM) which is accumulated by the cells in an energy-dependent process. While thiazole was also a substrate of Thi9, the HMP moiety of thiamine was not taken up by fission yeast. In contrast to the structural analogs pyrithiamine and oxythiamine, GABA, choline, basic amino acids or unrelated organocations did not interfere with thiamine uptake. Transcription of thi9+ was quickly repressed by the addition of thiamine but not by pyridoxine to the growth medium. The Thi9 protein, however, remained stable in the membrane and was not actively degraded. S. pombe cells posses an alternative pathway for thiamine acquisition. Overexpression of bsu1+, the product of which was characterized as pyridoxine transporter, was able to improve the growth S. cerevisiae cells with defects in thiamine biosynthesis and transport.

Österreich hat ein bereits weit entwickeltes Bio-Kontrollsystem – trotzdem gibt es Schwachstellen. Die Autoren benennen den Handlungsbedarf zu seiner Optimierung.

Die beiden letzten Jahre, insbesondere 2001, waren erfolgreich für den österreichischen Bio-Landbau, und zwischen den Akteuren wurde die Zusammenarbeit verstärkt.

Die Ausweitung der Palette von Bioprodukten im Handel, die Zunahme an Umsätzen von Bioprodukten, das starke Interesse für Bioprodukte nach Lebensmittelskandalen in der konventionellen Landwirtschaft und Betrugsfälle im Bio-Sektor – von Bio-Kontrollstellen aufgedeckt – haben das Interesse an der Verbesserung des Kontrollsystems für den Biologischen Landbau geweckt.