Master thesis in Greifswald: Model cell growth after plasma decontamination. Innovate and advance your research with us!

Postdoctoral Researcher (f/m/d) in Greifswald gesucht – Vollzeit & befristet. Gestalte innovative Laser-Plasma-Diagnostik mit uns!

Jetzt als Postdoc (m/w/d) Redox-Proteomics in Greifswald durchstarten! Forschung, Innovation, Karriere – befristet, Vollzeit.

Treatment of seeds with cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) is in its proof-of-concept phase with regard to its effect on germination and plant growth. To increase the germination of hardseeded red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), seeds are usually scarified, which is time-consuming and labour-intensive. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of different CAPP devices (indirect treatment: plasma processed air, direct treatment: corona discharge, argon and air dielectric barrier discharge) on germination and early growth of different long-term stored red clover accessions and to determine whether germination can be increased to meet seed management requirements. Sixty different red clover seed lots (diverse accessions and harvest years) with different initial germination percentages were divided into three batches of 20 lots each and the effect of the different plasma treatments on germination and development were examined in laboratory and greenhouse. The overall results indicate a plasma discharge- and accession-depended enhancement of germination speed which was detected in all batches but most pronounced in Batch 1. While direct treatments, especially with corona discharge-plasma, increased germination speed (up to 58% germination seven days after sowing vs. 44% in control in laboratory conditions), treatment with plasma processed air resulted partially in reduced germination speed (42%). Despite a small but significant increase in total germination of maximum five percentage points, no treatment led to an increase from 62% or 70% in control (depending on experiment) to at least 80% germination percentage to meet storage requirements for seed banks. Stimulating effects on biomass of young plants under greenhouse cultivation conditions were observed in Batch 1, but were absent in Batch 2 and 3 and therefore inconclusive. Future research is needed to elucidate influencing factors on plasma effects in red clover seed lots which include but are not limited to the effect of seed coat compounds and seed coat thickness.

Join us in Greifswald as a Research Assistant (m/f/d) in Applied Mass Spectrometry. Part-time, fixed-term. Shape the future of science with us!

Inflammasome activation occurs in various diseases, including rare diseases that require multicenter studies for investigation. Flow cytometric analysis of ASC speck+ cells in patient samples can be used to detect cell type-specific inflammasome activation. However, this requires standardized sample processing and the ability to compare data from different flow cytometers. To address this issue, we analyzed stimulated and unstimulated PBMCs from healthy donors using seven different flow cytometers. Additionally, human PBMCs were analyzed by fluorescence microscopy, imaging flow cytometry and high-content imaging (HCI). Flow cytometers differed significantly in their ability to detect ASC speck+ cells. Aria III, Astrios EQ, and Canto II performed best in separating ASC speck+ from diffuse ASC cells. Imaging flow cytometry and HCI provided additional insight into ASC speck formation based on image-based parameters. For optimal results, the ability to separate cells with diffuse ASC from ASC speck+ cells is decisive. Image-based parameters can also differentiate cells with diffuse ASC from ASC speck+ cells. For the first time, we analyzed ASC speck detection by HCI in PBMCs and demonstrated advantages of this technique, such as high-throughput, algorithm-driven image quantification and 3D-rendering. Thus, inflammasome activation by ASC speck formation can be detected by various technical methods. However, the results may vary depending on the device used.