Latest Projects

Research project (§ 26 & § 27)
Duration : 2023-02-01 - 2025-01-31

Magnesium is an essential component of chlorophyll for plant physiology. Low Mg content in the leaves of grapevines reduces photosynthesis and, thus, glucose production and, consequently, lower wine quality. The right choice of rootstock is essential to alleviate this deficiency. However, the necessary Mg efficiency restricts the selection of the rootstocks, and in particular, the rootstocks that have been tried and tested in this country are less suitable. The deficiency can also be remedied by fertilizing the leaves, at least in the short term. But, the most sustainable solution would be to plant clones with an unproblematic Mg metabolism. An important grape variety for Austrian viticulture is mainly affected by Mag deficiency, namely Welschriesling (WR). The WR clones that are available for domestic viticulture all show more or less a weak Mg uptake. The variety has been used in viticulture for several centuries and was intensively cultivated and therefore exists in different genetic types. Since the old descriptions do not report this Mg deficiency, it is entirely conceivable that there is genomics in old genotypes that show average Mg utilization. Therefore, it would be necessary to look for genotypes that offer a better uptake and research it genetically. It is well known that crop phenotypic variation is shaped by their ancestors’ genetic variation and the selection and maintenance of collections of mutations. Moreo ver, most of this varia ti on is quan ti ta ti ve. Therefore, more than ever, an essential goal of genetics is to identify and use appropriate bio-markers for selection. In this way, appropriate biomarkers could be developed for the selection of WR, which enables a distinction between Mg-efficient and inefficient, which is very important for winegrowers. New clones with Mg efficiency would strengthen the local vine nurseries and viticulture and could also mean that vine material can be delivered to the neighbouring countries Hungary, Croa tia, Slovenia and Slovakia because the problem also exists there. Furthermore, this would result in a competitive advantage for domestic planting stock companies.
Research project (§ 26 & § 27)
Duration : 2022-01-01 - 2024-12-31

Cornelian cherries gain increasingly the consumer interest as healthy food, which leads to an increased market demand for high quality fruits and corresponding planting material. Previously we have analyzed more than 400 genetically unique C. mas accessions in the Pielach Valley, Traisen Valley and Gölsen Valley, both phenotypically and genetically. Findings on the long-term development of temperature and precipitation levels suggest that breeding for drought tolerance and disease resistance prevail in the face of current and future challenges with changing climatic conditions. To develop a breeding strategy for the production of novel genotypes adapted to future needs for a sustainable production in the region, the following objectives are envisaged: 1. The germination of the cornel cherry seeds takes up to 3 years and first fruits are expected in seedling plants after 8 years. Therefore, a marked reduction in the germination time would benefit the breeding, but also the propagation of Cornelian cherry. Thus, the premature breaking of the dormancy is a major issue to be worked on and improved in the present project in vivo and in vitro. 2. Valuable cultivars have to be propagated vegetatively. Grafting experiments will be carried out at different times of the year and with different scions in the greenhouse and in the insect proof screenhouse. In addition, the technique of "in vitro grafting" will be established for Cornus mas. 3. The creation of a reference genome sequence of a Pielachtal selection of Cornus mas will make it possible to identify essential genome segments including regulatory elements and provide the basis for a marker-assisted selection (MAS). 4. A MAS strategy will be developed and used on selected genotypes in the Austrian Cornelian cherry cultivation. This will allow to shorten the time until a decision is made about the breeding value of a new breed, i.e. the later growth and production behavior of a plant, as early as the seedling stage. 5. Cornelian cherries are also attacked by viruses and phytoplasmas. However, since they are mainly considered wild plants, infections are not reported, because there exist no systematic surveys. Since virus transmission via seeds cannot be ruled out in Cornelian cherry, in the present project, the testing of seedlings and planting material by ELISA or PCR will be established and a control strategy developed.
Research project (§ 26 & § 27)
Duration : 2021-09-01 - 2024-08-31

WIDER RESEARCH CONTEXT Infection numbers and death tolls of COVID-19 are still climbing globally, while countries are torn between implementing more lockdown measures and tentatively reopening some aspects of economic and public life.The common ground is that more and especially focused testing for SARS-CoV-2 is essential for preventing the uncontrolled spread of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from respiratory specimens is the current gold-standard for diagnosis and mutation detection, but does not discriminate between infectious virus and non-infectious traces of viral RNA. Viral growth in cell culture is a direct measure of viral infectivity of a specimen, but is not amenable for routine diagnosis owing to long turnaround times and the necessity of high biosafety containment laboratories. A rapid test that determines the SARS-CoV-2 infectivity status of patients would provide front-line healthcare workers with an urgently needed tool in clinical patient management and could help to curb the spread of COVID-19, while saving precious health system resources and avoiding unnecessarily long quarantine for patients. We aim to address this bottleneck of contemporary COVID-19 diagnosis with the development of an innovative point-of-care (POC) test that allows to rapidly determine the SARS-CoV-2 variant and infectivity status of a patient. SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES Production of soluble trimeric SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S), receptor binding domain (RBD) and soluble ACE-2 receptor as well as ACE-2 mutants with superior binding affinity for S. Production of recombinant baculoviruses and HIV-1 Gag virus-like particles pseudo-typed with the SARS-CoV-2 spike surface glycoprotein for being used as test analytes. Discrimination of wildtype SARS-CoV-2 and currently-threatening mutants (i.e. B1.1.7,B.1.351, P1, etc.) on basis of differential DNA-RNA (from S-, N-, E- regions) hybridization using clinical patient samples. Understanding bio-surface adsorption mechanisms. APPROACH Our consortium joins forces and combines the complementary expertise of three partners, covering 1) innovative electronic biosensor design and construction on basis of already implemented systems detecting bio-molecules in real-time (AIT), 2) the recombinant expression of complex SARS CoV-2 antigen analytes and receptors and their biochemical analysis (BOKU) and the 3) validation of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests and access to clinical patient samples (MUV). LEVEL OF INNOVATION The innovation of the project is the development of a novel and rapid electronic diagnostic POC test that allows to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 in a patient sample is still intact and infective. We achieve this by concomitant detection of virus genetic material and intact virions based on an innovative bio-sensor surface in an electronic device, referenced by an optical measurement tool. PRIMARY RESEARCHERS INVOLVED: Robert Strassl, Anna Nele Herdina, Miriam Klausberger, Patrik Aspermair

Supervised Theses and Dissertations