Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ 5 articles published in JoVE Biology Evaluating Toxicity of Chemicals using a Zebrafish Vibration Startle Response Screening System Gaëlle Hayot1, Daniel Marcato1,2, Christina A. Cramer von Clausbruch1, Giuseppina Pace1, Uwe Strähle1,3, John K. Colbourne4, Christian Pylatiuk5, Ravindra Peravali1, Carsten Weiss1, Stefan Scholz6, Thomas Dickmeis1 1Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems - Biological Information Processing, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - Campus Nord, 2DITABIS AG - Digital Biomedical Imaging Systems AG, 3Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 4School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, 5Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - Campus Nord, 6Department of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ We describe a screening system's workflow and data analysis for evaluating chemical compound toxicity based on the zebrafish embryo vibration startle response. The system records the movements of zebrafish embryos upon exposure to a vibration stimulus and allows for an integrated evaluation of general toxicity/lethality and neuromuscular toxicity. Engineering UV-Vis Spectroscopic Characterization of Nanomaterials in Aqueous Media Ana C. Quevedo1, Emily Guggenheim1, Sophie M. Briffa1, Jessica Adams2,3, Stephen Lofts2, Minjeong Kwak4, Tae Geol Lee4, Colin Johnston5, Stephan Wagner6, Timothy R. Holbrook6, Yves U. Hachenberger7, Jutta Tentschert7, Nicholas Davidson1, Eugenia Valsami-Jones1 1School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, 2UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, 3Natural England, 4Center for Nanosafety Metrology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), 5Department of Materials, University of Oxford, 6Department of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, 7Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) This study presents the benchmarking results for an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) designed to test the standard operating procedure (SOP) developed for gold (Au) colloid dispersions characterized by ultraviolet-visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), amongst six partners from the H2020 ACEnano project for sample preparation, measurement, and analysis of the results. Environment Characterizing Microbiome Dynamics – Flow Cytometry Based Workflows from Pure Cultures to Natural Communities Johannes Lambrecht1, Florian Schattenberg1, Hauke Harms1, Susann Mueller1 1Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Flow cytometric analysis has proven valuable for investigating pure cultures and monitoring microbial community dynamics. We present three comprehensive workflows, from sampling to data analysis, for pure cultures and complex communities in clear medium as well as in challenging matrices, respectively. Environment A Whole Cell Bioreporter Approach to Assess Transport and Bioavailability of Organic Contaminants in Water Unsaturated Systems Susan Schamfuß1, Thomas R. Neu2, Hauke Harms1, Lukas Y. Wick1 1Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, 2Department of River Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ A whole cell bioreporter assay with Burkholderia sartisoli RP037-mChe was developed to detect fractions of an organic contaminant (i.e., fluorene) available for bacterial degradation after active transport by mycelia bridging air-filled pores in a water unsaturated model system. Environment Waste Water Derived Electroactive Microbial Biofilms: Growth, Maintenance, and Basic Characterization Carla Gimkiewicz1, Falk Harnisch1 1Department of Environmental Microbiology, UFZ - Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research Chronoamperometric growth of anodic electroactive microbial biofilms in a fed-batch reactor using a three-electrode setup, controlled by a potentiostat, is demonstrated. The extracellular electron transfer is characterized using cyclic voltammetry in the presence of the electron donor and in the absence of the electron donor. Fundamental data analysis is demonstrated.
