The EPS Theme 1 “Developmental Biology of Plants”- symposium will take place on the 14th of June 2022 .

Date:  14 June 2022

Time: 09:00 – 17:00

Location: Wageningen

Registration: open

Deadline: 8 June 2022

Organizers: Dolf Weijers and Remko Offringa

Keynote speakers:

Thorsten Hamann, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim

The role of plant cell wall integrity maintenance in modulating cell wall stiffness and ABA production

Plant cells can be distinguished from animal cells by their cell walls and high turgor pressure. Although changes in turgor and stiffness of cell walls seem coordinated, we know little about the mechanism responsible for coordination. Evidence has accumulated that plants, like yeast, have a dedicated cell wall integrity maintenance mechanism. It monitors the functional integrity of the wall and maintains integrity through adaptive responses induced by cell wall damage arising during growth, development, and interactions with the environment. These adaptive responses include osmo-sensitive-induction of phytohormone production, defence responses as well as changes in cell wall composition and structure. We investigated how the cell wall integrity maintenance mechanism coordinates changes in cell wall stiffness and turgor in Arabidopsis thaliana. We found production of abscisic acid (ABA), the phytohormone modulating turgor pressure and responses to drought, depends on the presence of a functional cell wall. Intriguingly the cell wall integrity sensor THESEUS1 modulates mechanical properties of walls, turgor loss point, ABA biosynthesis and ABA-controlled processes. These results lead us to propose that THE1 is a key regulator responsible for coordinating changes in turgor pressure and cell wall stiffness in plants.

Victoria Mironova, Plant Ecology and Physiology, Radboud University, Nijmegen

Auxin maxima and minima dynamically reshape the root stem cell niche

Victoria discuss their recent studies on the dynamic redistribution of auxin in the root stem cell niche in a plant life cycle and upon abiotic stimuli.

The talk will be based on the recent papers:

Auxin role in columella functioning: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.560169/full

Regeneration in the RAM: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2006620117

Degeneration of the root meristem in striga parasitic plant: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plphys/kiac215/6584021

Programme:

09:40 Registration

09:55 Opening

10:00: Thorsten Hamann (NTNU, Norway): The role of plant cell wall integrity maintenance in modulating cell wall stiffness and ABA production

10:45 Coffee

11:15 Kasper van Gelderen (UU/Heidelberg): How and why do phytochrome-B photobodies form?

11:40 Francesca Bellinazzo (WUR): The role of PEBPs in tulip reproduction

12:05 Leonardo Jo (UU): Mechanistic insights into the central role of LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1) during plant embryogenesis

12:30 Lunch

13:45 Thalia Luden (LU): Natural variation in longevity and polycarpy in Arabidopsis thaliana

14:10 Max van Hooren (UvA): How does overexpression of PLC improve drought tolerance in plants?

14:35 Daan Weits (UU): Enigma of the low oxygen plant stem cell niche

15:00 Coffee

15:30 Victoria Mironova (RU): Auxin maxima and minima dynamically reshape the root stem cell niche

16:15 Closing

 


Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Programme will follow soon
Wageningen Campus
Bronland 1, Wageningen