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The longer the sword of the male (bottom), the greater the chances of its bearer being interested by a female (top). In the swordtail fish (Xiphophorus hellerii), scientists have now identified the genetic basis of sword growth. (Image: Georg Schneider / University of Würzburg)

In many species all over the animal kingdom, males have eye-catching characteristics. Although often impractical, they are beneficial in finding a mate. Scientists have now mapped the genetic bases of such a male ornament in a fish.

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Sphingolipid expansion microscopy (ExM) of tenfold expanded cells infected with chlamydia. The bacterial membranes are marked green; the inner and outer membranes of the bacteria can be distinguished (c). Under (a) confocal laser scanning and under (b) structured illumination microscopy (SIM). Scale bars: 10 and 2 microns in the small white rectangles respectively.

For the first time ever, expansion microscopy allows the imaging of even the finest details of cell membranes. This offers new insights into bacterial and viral infection processes.

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The Würzburg Highly Cited Researchers 2020: Hermann Einsele, Rainer Hedrich, Andreas Rosenwald, Jörg Vogel, Frank Würthner, and the Citation Laureate Laurens Molenkamp.

Their work is most frequently cited in publications of other scientists. Five researchers from the University of Würzburg are therefore again included in the Highly Cited Researchers 2020 List.

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Super-resolution images made in Würzburg: Expansion microscopy ExM can be used to precisely depict fine structures of the brain whose shape changes during learning and memory processes. Pyramid cells from the hippocampus of the mouse line Thy1-eGFP can be seen.

Three experts for super-resolution microscopy jointly want to obtain better images of functioning and pathologically altered nerve cells. The European Research Council ERC is funding them with eleven million euros.

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Breeding system of the sugarcane shot-hole borer Xyleborus affinis in a glass tube with artificial culture medium. At the end of a tunnel you can see a mother beetle with larvae. The tunnel walls are covered with a whitish-coloured layer of food and weed fungi.

Ambrosia beetles are fascinating: they practice agriculture with fungi and they live in a highly developed social system. Biologist Peter Biedermann has now discovered new facts about them.

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Photo of a Venus flytrap with an insect inside.

The carnivorous Venus flytrap snaps shut when a prey touches it twice within 30 seconds. In the journal Nature Plants researchers report on how this plant's short-term memory and counting system works.

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A cancer shredder

09/29/2020
To fight cancer by a newly developed substance shredding carcinogenic aurora proteins: This is the aim of a new study by scientists at universities in Würzburg and Frankfurt.

Researchers at the universities of Würzburg and Frankfurt have developed a new compound for treating cancer. It destroys a protein that triggers its development.

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Burned eucalypt forest in Australia. Avoiding overall post-disturbance logging after such major disturbances can help to maintain biodiversity.

Please do not disturb: After forest fires, bark beetle infestations and other damage, the affected forests should not be cleared. Researchers report this in the journal Nature Communications.

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Complex evolutionary relationships: Long-term expression in one organ predisposes genes for later use in other organs.

The long-term expression of genes in vertebrate organs predisposes these genes to be subsequently utilized in other organs during evolution. The scientists Kenji Fukushima and David D. Pollock report this finding in the journal Nature Communications.

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A specimen of Pabulatrix pabulatricula, which until recently was considered extinct.

An oak forest in Lower Franconia has caused a small sensation in zoology: A moth was discovered there that was considered extinct.

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Resting Chlamydia (left; bright circles), which are held without glutamine. After the addition of glutamine (right) the bacteria enter the division stages (darker circles).

If chlamydiae want to multiply in a human cell, the first thing they need is a lot of glutamine. Würzburg researchers have clarified how the pathogenic bacteria obtain this substance.

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Left two sperm-forming cells expanded with ExM-SIM and imaged with a diffraction limited microscope. On the right, a detailed 3D image of a single synaptonemal complex. The 3D information is colour-coded, the measuring bar on the left corresponds to 25 micrometres, the bar on the right to three micrometres.

New details are known about an important cell structure: For the first time, two Würzburg research groups have been able to map the synaptonemal complex three-dimensionally with a resolution of 20 to 30 nanometres.

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