We’re really thankful that Tonni Grube Andersen, leader of the group Root Communication with the Environment at MPI Cologne, agreed to contribute to the Halle Plant Science Colloquium with a talk titled “Passage cells and the outer xylem pole: an overlooked highway for root communication?” We’re really looking forward to hear the talk online.
Date: 14 December, 2021
Time: 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Format: Online (Webex), ID 2734 981 6226, PW: 14Dec-HPSC
Web-link: https://uni-halle.webex.com/uni-halle/j.php[…]
Abstract: Most agricultural traits are based on above-ground features (amount of seeds, plant height, weight, etc.). However, the plant-associated underground contains many traits that influence overall plant health. Roots are faced with constant stress both regarding nutrient/water availability and biotic factors such as pathogenic microbes and needs to respond accordingly to survive. The root needs to create the right response at a cellular level, and the amplitude of stress factors varies dramatically across the root system. This requires continuous integration with high resolution. While we have some understanding on how these incredibly complex emerging outputs are coordinated within entire root system, we still don’t understand how this is coordinated on a single-cell-level.
The xylem pole of roots contains specific cells termed “passage cells” which respond to environmental fluctuations and nutrient deficiencies. This suggests that the xylem pole of roots might play an important role in how plants sense and interact with their surroundings in the soil. In our group, we are intrigued by the function of passage cells as well as the adjacent xylem pole and use this as a model to study how a plastic developmental pattern emerges from (a)biotic communication.
In our group we employ and develop microscopical techniques, near-native physiological setups, microfluidics, single-cell transcript- and translatomics as well as microbiome-based and binary microbiome studies. This allow us to unravel novel spatial aspects of how specialized and multi-partite communication occur between plants, the soil and the associated microbiota.
If you like to have a virtual discussion with the speaker, please contact the host, Martin Schattat in advance.
The Halle Plant Science Colloquium (HPSC) is an interdepartmental colloquium of Institutions of the Martin-Luther-University working on any aspect of functional plant biology.
Interested in plant science? – Find more HPSC events listed here: https://www.landw.uni-halle.de/prof/pflanzenernaehrung/hpsc/
