Search Calendar
Seminar - Steven Penfield: Parenting for plants: a manual for the successful control of progeny seed behaviour for mothers
28-Apr-2015 13:00 - 14:00
Seminar
Speaker:
Steven Penfield
John Innes Centre UK
Title Parenting for plants: a manual for the successful control of progeny seed behaviour for mothers
Host: Maria Eriksson
Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9
Abstract:
In humans we understand that fitness is about more than just progeny yield, but also about parental optimisation of progeny behaviour. But what about plants where little is known about the influence of parents on progeny attributes beyond a shared genetic heritage? In this talk I will discuss how dynamic environmental signalling processes in the mother plant are used to generate trans-generational information flows that control offspring behaviour and permit coordination of plant life history by seasonal cues. I will show that seasonal detection pathways converging on Flowering Locus T play a key role in this process and in so doing reveal why flowering time control is important for plant fitness.
Seminar - Janice Cooke: Living on the edge: Responses of an evolutionarily co-evolved and a naïve pine host in the face of mountain pine beetle range expansion
04-May-2015 10:00 - 11:00
UPSC Seminar Series 2015
Speaker:
Janice Cooke
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Title: Living on the edge: Responses of an evolutionarily co-evolved and a naïve
pine host in the face of mountain pine beetle range expansion
Host. Ulrika Ganeteg
Room: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9
Abstract:
The current epidemic of mountain pine beetle (MPB) has impacted more than
28 million hectares of pine forests in western North America. Lodgepole
pine, with a range overlapping that of MPB, has been the main species of
pine affected by the present outbreak. From its historic range in British
Columbia, MPB has spread across the Rocky Mountains into northern Alberta.
In this novel habitat, lodgepole pine hybridizes with jack pine, a boreal
forest species. We used species-distinguishing markers to refine this
hybrid zone, and demonstrate that MPB has undergone host range expansion
to pure jack pine. We are testing the hypotheses that (1) host quality
differs between lodgepole and jack pine and (2) that abiotic stresses such
as water limitation affect these responses. Lesion development following
inoculation with the MPB fungal associate Grosmannia clavigera was slower
in jack pine than lodgepole pine, with water deficit delaying lesion
development in both species. G. clavigera inoculation significantly
increased levels of jasmonic acid in both species. Microarray analyses
revealed that thousands of genes are invoked in the response of these pine
species to G. clavigera infection, that there are substantial differences
in responses of lodgepole and jack pine, and that water limitation alters
this transcriptional programme.
Thesis defense - Iftikhar Ahmad
05-May-2015 10:00 - 13:00
Title: New insights into plant amino acid transport and its contribution to nitrogen nutrition Dissertation
Respondent: MSc Iftikhar Ahmad, Institutionen för skoglig genetik och växtfysiologi
Opponent: Associate Professor Janice Cooke, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada
Supervisor: Ulrika Ganeteg
Seminar - Qian Ma: Functional Characterization of a Novel F-Box Protein in Arabidopsis
11-May-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker:
Quian Ma
postdoc
Title: Functional Characterization of a Novel F-Box Protein in Arabidopsis
Host: Stephanie Robert
Room: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9
UPSC Seminar - Lars Ostergaard: Symmetry Matters in Arabidopsis Gynoecium Development
18-May-2015 10:00 - 11:00
UPSC Seminars
Speaker: Lars Ostergaard
John Innes Centre
Head of the Department of Crop Genetics
Norwich Research Park,
Norwich, UK
Title: Symmetry Matters in Arabidopsis Gynoecium Development
Host: Urs Fischer
Place: Lilla hörsalen KB3A9
Thesis defense - Xu Jin: The role of auxin in abscission of organs and tissues
18-May-2015 13:00 - 16:00
Title: The Role of Auxin in Abscission of Organs and Tissues
Defendant: Xu Jin
Opponent: Lars Østergaard, Crop Genetics Department, John Innes Centre
Supervisor: Urs Fischer
EMG Seminar - Xiao-Ru Wang: Optimization of genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) strategies for population genomic research
20-May-2015 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker:
Xiao-Ru Wang
Title:
Optimization of genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) strategies for population genomic research
Room: KB5C2
Contact: Mehdi Cherif
Fascination of Plants Day - Fascinerande växters dag 2015
23-May-2015 11:00 - 17:00
This year the event will take place on the Arts Campus, Umeå University.
Welcome to a day in the fascinating world of plants, indoors and outdoors on the Arts Campus. In a few hours you can meet plant scientists and other plant experts, participate in experiments, field trips, listen to short presentations and follow the beauty of plants in presentations and exhibitions.
The Fascination of Plants Day is an international initiative of European Plant Science Organization ESPO organised at many different places worldwide. The day is organized for the third time even in Umeå. The Fascination of Plants Day will inspire and fascinate about plants and demonstrate the importance of plant research for the environment and nature conservation, energy, agriculture, forestry and our own benefit.
In Umeå Fascination of Plants Day is a collaboration between several organisations: Umeå University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå Municipality, Arboretum Norr, and Bonsai Sällskapet.
This year the day is arranged in collaboration with Bildmuseet and Sliperiet, and will be part of Umeå University's 50th anniversary and SLU's 100th anniversary.
More information: http://www.fascinerandevaxtersdag.se
Contact:
Stefan Jansson, Professor, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant Physiology
Tel.070-677 23 31
Cutting Edge Seminar - Jose Alonso: The many layers of plant hormone interactions: from metabolic networks to translation regulation
25-May-2015 13:00 - 14:00
Cutting Edge Seminar
Speaker:
José Alonso
University of Pennsylvania and The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Title:
The many layers of plant hormone interactions: from metabolic networks to translation regulation
Host: Karin Ljung
Room: NOTE! Stora hörsalen KB3B1
Abstract:
Fine-tuning of the growth and development programs with the changes in the environment is a process of critical importance for plants that, due to their sessile lifestyle, cannot escape adverse environmental conditions. Plant hormones play a key role in the integration of signals triggered by endogenous and exogenous stimuli. To dissect the involvement of plant hormones in signal integration, the interaction between ethylene and auxin in the regulation of a highly plastic phenotype, root elongation, was chosen as a model. Our initial studies have uncovered an unexpected role of ethylene in the precise spatiotemporal regulation of auxin biosynthesis. Current work using genome-wide ribosome footprinting is uncovering the molecular mechanisms linking this hormone perception to the activation of a novel gene-specific translational control mechanism. Characterization of one of the targets of this translational regulation indicates that the signaling molecule EIN2 and the nonsense-mediated decay proteins UPFs play a central role in this ethylene-induced translational response. Our findings represent a new mechanistic paradigm of gene-specific regulation of translation in response to a key growth regulator in plants.
https://genetics.sciences.ncsu.edu/index.php/people/jose-alonso
UPSC Symposium for young plant scientists
28-May-2015 13:30 - 14:30
Thursday 28th of May, KB3A9, Lilla Hörsalen
13.30 – 14.00: Yin Wang, INRA Versailles, France
Title: Identification and regulation of laccases responsible for lignification in stems.
14.00 – 14.30: Tamara Verdeja, University of Madrid, Spain
Title: Molecular mechanisms regulating Arabidopsis cold acclimation and Poplar winter dormancy
14.30 – 15.00 Melis Kucukoglu, UPSC
Title: Which genes allow a tree “to grow as a tree”? - Lessons from Populus and Norway spruce.
15.00 – 15.30 Stefano Papazian, UPSC
Title: Omics Responses to Ozone and Herbivore Stress in Brassica nigra
15.30 – 16.00 Thomas Vain, UPSC
Title: Chemical Genomics To Unravel Auxin Perception Controlling Arabidopsis Seedling Development
16.30 – UPSC BBQ (Bring your own food and drinks)
Docent lectures at SLU
08-Jun-2015 9:00 - 16:00
Session Hall, P-O Bäckström Hall, SLU Umeå
9:00-9.10 Welcome and docent procedure (presentation sakkunniga) Prof. Lena Gustafsson (chair)
9.10-9.55 Dr.Jonas Oliva Palau (Dr. Benedicte Albrectsen, Peter Aspengren, Alexandra D´Urso )
9.55-10.40 Dr. Eugene Ezebio (Dr. Göran Bostedt, Peter Aspengren, Alexandra D´Urso)
10.40-10.55 Coffee
10.55-11.40 Dr. Mattihas Peichl (Prof. Thomas Kätterer, Peter Aspengren, Alexandra D´Urso)
11.40-13.00 Lunch
Dr. Karin Ljung (Chair)
13.00-13.45 Dr. Annika Felton (Prof. Petter Kjellander, Peter Aspengren, Alexandra D´Urso)
13.45-14.30 Dr. Monica Strömgren (Dr. Tord Magnusson, Peter Aspengren, Alexandra D´Urso)
14.30-14.45 Coffee
14.45-15.30 Dr. Stephanie Robert (Prof. Per Gardeström, Peter Aspengren, Alexandra D´Urso)
15.30-15.45 closing remarks
Welcome
Cutting Edge Seminar- Dan Szymanski: Integration of cytoskeletal and cell wall systems during plant cell morphogenesis
08-Jun-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Cutting Edge Seminar
Speaker:
Dan Szymanski
Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, I, USA
Title: Integration of cytoskeletal and cell wall systems during plant cell morphogenesis
Room: lilla hörsalen, KB3A9
Host: Stephanie Robert
Seminar - Azim-Berdy Besya
15-Jun-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker:
Azim-Berdy Besya, postdoc
Title: tba
Host: Andreas Grönlund
Room: Lilla hörsalen KB3A9
Postdoctoral Seminar - Guadalupe Dominguez: Functional analysis of ASR1 transcription factor in Solanaceae
22-Jun-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker:
Guadalupe Dominguez
Title: Functional analysis of ASR1 transcription factor in Solanaceae
Host
Totte Niitylä
Place: Lilla hörsalen KB3A9
PhD Thesis Defence - Prashant Mohan Pawar
26-Jun-2015 10:00 - 13:00
Place and time: Björken (Skogis), 26th June 2015, 10:00 am
Opponent: Peter Ulvskov, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Seminar - John O'Neill, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge
25-Aug-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker:
John O'Neill
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Cambridge University, UK
Title: Metabolic Oscillations in Yeast and Circatidal Cycles in Eurydice pulchra share - Features Conserved among Circadian Rhythms
Host. Maria Eriksson
Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9, KBC
Abstract:
Circadian rhythms allow organisms to temporally orchestrate their internal state to anticipate and/or resonate with the external environment. Although 24-hr periodicity is observed across aerobic eukaryotes, the central mechanism has been hard to dissect because few simple models exist, and known clock proteins are not conserved across phylogenetic kingdoms. In contrast, contributions to timekeeping made by a handful of post-translational mechanisms, such as phosphorylation of clock proteins by casein kinase 1, appear conserved among phyla. These kinases have many other essential cellular functions and are better conserved in their contribution to timekeeping than any of the clock proteins they phosphorylate. Temperature compensation and metabolic rhythms are other universal features of circadian timekeeping. Here, we use comparative chronobiology to distinguish fundamental clock mechanisms from species-specific adaptations and thereby identify features shared between the mammalian cellular clock, ultradian respiratory oscillations in budding yeast and circatidal rhythms in the crustacean Eurydice pulchra. Our data point to common mechanisms underlying all three biological rhythms and suggest two interpretations: either certain biochemical systems are simply permissive for cellular oscillations (with frequencies from hours to days) or this commonality arose via divergence from an ancestral cellular clock.
WWSC Academy-UPSC Meeting, August 31st – September 2nd
31-Aug-2015 8:45 - 9:45
More information:
http://www.upsc.se/about-upsc/news/4758-wwsc-academy-upsc-meeting-august-31st-september-2nd.html
Registration form (deadline August 10)
Work environment course part 1
09-Sep-2015 9:00 - 11:30
Working environment at UPSC part 1
September 9th Large seminar room KBC KB3B1 9:00-11:30
Participation is mandatory for everyone at UPSC
Questions to Thomas Hiltonen or Ingela Sandström
Schedule
Seminar John Baison: Identification of disease resistance candidate genes in three Malus populations
21-Sep-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker:
John Baison
postdoc
Title:
Identification of disease resistance candidate genes in three Malus populations
Local: Lilla hörsalen KB3A9
Host: Totte Niittylä and Rosario Garcia Gil
PhD Thesis defence - Paulina Stachula
23-Sep-2015 10:00 - 12:00
Defendant: Paulina Stachula
Opponent: Dr. Dirk Hincha, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, Postdam, Germany.
Place and Time: 2015-09-23 10.00, KBC-huset, KB3A9 (lilla hörsalen i KBC-huset)
Seminar-Shinya Kajita: Genetic engineering of lignin using a bacterial gene
24-Sep-2015 14:00 - 15:00
UPSC-Seminar
Shinya Kajita
Graduate School of Bio-Applications and System Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Title of the seminar:
Genetic engineering of lignin using a bacterial gene
Host: Edouard Pesquet
Room: Lilla hörsalen KB3A9
Lignin is one of the major components of the plant cell wall. It is an aromatic polymer with different types of chemical linkage. The most abundant linkage unit in typical native dicot lignin is the ß-aryl ether (ß–O–4) unit, which accounts for over 50% of all units. The benzylic ß-positions of ß–O–4-units are usually hydroxy-substituted. The ß-keto-ß–O–4 units, with carbonyl groups at the benzylic positions, are also found in natural lignins at very low concentrations. These ß-keto ß–O–4 units can be cleaved under alkaline and/or oxidative conditions more easily and faster than the typical ß–O–4-units with benzylic hydroxyl groups. Thus, increasing the abundance of ß-keto-ß–O–4 units as opposed to the typical ß-hydroxy-ß–O–4 units in the lignin backbone can contribute to a reduction in the cost and energy required for chemical pulping and biomass pretreatment processes in cellulosic ethanol production.
Sphingobium sp. strain SYK-6 , a gram-negative bacterium, can utilize various monomeric and dimeric aromatic compounds that are intermediates in the lignin biosynthetic pathway, such as cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde, and ß–O–4 dimers. In our previous studies, we isolated and characterized a lot of genes from the bacterium, which were involved in the degradation of these compounds. One of the genes, ligD, encodes C? dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the first step in the cleavage of the ether bond of ß–O–4 dimers. This enzyme oxidizes the alcohol group at benzyl position of the dimers and oligomers to the carbonyl group. Thus, in the present study, we introduced ligD into the plant genome and attempted to generate transgenic plants whose lignin can be easy to remove from the holocellulose fraction. Recombinant LigD , and transgenic Arabidopsis plants with ligD and their lignins have been characterized by chemical, biochemical, and genetic methods.
Reference: Tsuji et al. Plant Biotech J, 13, 821-832 (2015).
PhD Thesis defence - Ogonna Obudulu
25-Sep-2015 13:00 - 15:00
Respondent: MSc Ogonna Obudulu, Institutionen för skoglig genetik och växtfysiologi
Opponent: Professor Einar Jensen, UIT Norges Arktiske Universitet, Tromsø
Time and Place: :2015-09-25 13.00 Umeå, Björken (SLU building)
Seminar - Ross Whetten
02-Oct-2015 14:00 - 16:00
Ross Whetten
North Carolina State University, USA
Host: Harry Wu
Time & Place: 2015-10-02 14.00 Stora Hörsalen KBC
Seminar - Stefano Manzoni
15-Oct-2015 14:00 - 16:00
Title: Eco-hydrological optimality explains global patterns in plant hydraulic traits
Time & Place: Thursday 15th October 2015 14:00-15:00 Room KB3B3
Abstract: Plant hydraulic traits exhibit both trade-offs (e.g., xylem safety vs. efficiency) and coordination (e.g., correlation of liquid- and gas-phase conductances). While some of these patterns can be explained by physiological features at the conduit scale, here we present the hypothesis that trait coordination and trade-offs can emerge from eco-hydrological optimality criteria. In the short-term and in moist conditions, plants need to transport water fast to match the atmospheric evaporative demand, which causes a steep water potential gradient between leaves and soil. The larger this gradient, the higher the transpiration rate, until cavitation ensues and xylem hydraulic conductivity is decreased. Hence, there is a tradeoff between hydraulic efficiency and driving force, resulting in maximum transpiration rates at intermediate values of leaf water potential. Using a minimalist model of plant hydraulics, we show that maximum transpiration can be attained when saturated hydraulic conductivity and resistance to cavitation are inversely proportional (i.e., there is a xylem safety vs. efficiency trade-off), and that indeed maximum rates are reached across biomes. Plants also need to use soil water effectively when it becomes limiting. To do so, two strategies might be selected for: avoidance of hydraulic failure in dry periods and long-term maximization of transpiration rate (assumed as a proxy for plant fitness). Results show that both strategies require that stomatal closure is coordinated with loss of conductivity due to cavitation. Moreover, the optimal combinations of xylem and stomatal traits depend on both total rainfall and its distribution during the growing season. Drier conditions or intense rainfall events interspaced by prolonged dry spells favor plants with high resistance to cavitation and delayed stomatal closure as soils dry. In contrast, plants in mesic conditions benefit from cavitation prevention through earlier stomatal closure. The proposed eco-hydrological optimality criteria can be used as analytical tools to interpret variability in plant water use and predict trends in plant productivity and species composition under future climates.
Seminar - Simon Hawkins
16-Oct-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Title: Organ-specific proteomics and targeted cell wall analyses in flax
Time & Place: Friday 16th October 2015 10:00-11:00 Room KB3B3
Abstract: Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a fiber plant species that has been used since antiquity for the fabrication of textiles (linen), as well as for the production of oil (linseed). Flax is also an excellent model to study cell wall biology as the inner- and outer-stem tissues of this plant contain cells with highly contrasted wall compositions. Cells from the inner xylem core have heavily lignified secondary cell walls containing up to 31 % lignin whereas the thick secondary cell walls of the long bast fibers present in outer stem tissues are richer in cellulose and contain only 4 % lignin. The use of an organ-specific proteomics approach allowed us to identify 1,242 non-redundant proteins present in 3 different fractions (soluble, membrane and cell wall) from 4 different flax organs (inner-/outer-stems, leaves and roots). Subsequent analyses of these proteins, as well as of other published flax proteomics data, enabled us to identify 405 proteins potentially involved in cell wall metabolism in this species. A study of potential protein networks using STRING (http://string-db.org) underlined organ-/tissue-specific differences in protein networks potentially related to contrasted cell wall structure/metabolisms. Phylogenetic analyses of the flax cell wall proteins also allowed us to identify a marked paralogy in the XTH (Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase) IIIA family involved in cell wall remodeling events and potentially associated with the differentiation of flax bast fibers.
PhD Thesis defence - Henrik Serk
16-Oct-2015 13:30 - 14:30
Defendant: Henrik Srk
Opponent: Prof. Simon Hawkins, Department of Functional and Structural Glycobiology, University of Lille, France.
Time & Place: 16:th of October 2016, 13.30
Abstract:
Lignin is the second most abundant biopolymer on earth and is found in the xylem (wood) of vascular land plants. To transport the hydro-mineral sap, xylem forms specialized cells, called tracheary elements (TEs), which are hollow dead cylinders reinforced with lateral secondary cell walls (SCW). These SCWs incorporate lignin to gain mechanical strength, water impermeability and resistance against pathogens. The aim of this thesis is to understand the spatio-temporal deposition of lignin during TE differentiation and the relationship with its neighbouring cells. In vitro TE differentiating cell cultures of Zinnia elegans and Arabidopsis thaliana are ideal tools to study this process: cells differentiate simultaneously into 30-50% TEs while the rest remain parenchymatic (non-TEs). Live-cell imaging of such TEs indicated that lignification occurs after programmed cell death (PCD), in a non-cell autonomous manner, in which the non-TEs provide the lignin monomers.
This thesis confirms that lignification occurs and continues long after TE PCD in both in vitro TE cultures and whole plants. The cooperative supply of lignin monomers by the non-TEs was first demonstrated by using in vitro TE cultures and confirmed in whole plants by using lignin monomer synthesis gene mutants that exhibit a reduction in TE lignification. The XP specific complementation of these mutants led to nearly completely rescuing the TE lignin reduction of the mutants. Experiments with in vitro TE cultures further revealed that non-TEs supply reactive oxygen species (ROS) to TEs and that ROS are required for TE post-mortem lignification. Non-TEs exhibit further an enlarged nucleus with increased DNA content, thus indicating that non-TEs are in fact endoreplicated xylem parenchyma (XP) cells. Microscopic analysis of the spatial distribution of lignin in in vitro TE cultures and whole plants revealed that lignification is restricted to TE SCWs in both protoxylem and metaxylem. These specific lignin deposition domains were found to be established by phenoloxidases, i.e. laccases and peroxidases. Laccases were cell-autonomously produced by developing TEs, indicating that the deposition domains are defined before PCD.
Altogether, these results highlight that the hydro-mineral sap conduction through TEs is enabled by the spatially and temporally controlled lignification of the SCW. Lignification occurs post-mortem by the supply of monomers and ROS from neighboring XP cells and is restricted to specific deposition domains, defined by the pre-mortem production of phenoloxidases.
Defence of Master Thesis - Dimitrios Ilanidis
21-Oct-2015 13:00 - 14:00
Master Thesis Defence
Dimitrios Ilanidis
Title:
Does the white rot fungus, Trametes versicolor, have the ability to decompose lignocellulose?
Place: KB4C10
Supervisor: Anita Sellstedt
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Seminar Ioanna Antoniadi: Heterogeneous intra- and extra-cellular distribution and perception of cytokinins in Arabidopsis roots
02-Nov-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Title: Heterogeneous intra- and extra-cellular distribution and perception of cytokinins in Arabidopsis roots
Host: Karin Ljung
Seminar-Michael Karady: Organic electronic ionic pumps and plant hormone analysis
09-Nov-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Speaker
Michael Karady
Postdoc
Title:
Organic electronic ionic pumps and plant hormone analysis
Place:
Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9
Halftime Seminar- Julia Haas: Abiotic stress and the role of the microbiome in Norway spruce establishment and growth
16-Nov-2015 10:00 - 11:00
Halftime - Seminar
Julia Haas
Title:
Abiotic stress and the role of the microbiome in Norway spruce establishment and growth
Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9