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Laura Bacete Cano (left) and Kelly Swarts (right) are the most recent female group leaders at UPSC (photo left: Mattias Petterson, Umeå University, photo right: Johan Gunséus).
How can we empower women and girls to pursue a career in science and achieve gender equality? Laura Bacete Cano and Kelly Swarts think that it is important to encourage curiosity and create a more supportive and inclusive academic environment. On today’s International Day for Women and Girls in Sciences, we have asked the two most recently recruited female group leaders at UPSC about their experiences and motivation to go into science.
Why did you choose to become a scientist?
Laura Bacete Cano: My curiosity drove me to become a scientist. When I was a kid, my favourite words were “¿por qué?” – which means - “why?”. I’ve always been eager to understand how things work and I enjoy mental challenges. Finding answers to my questions is deeply satisfying. As someone from a farming family, I also chose to specialize in plant science, because I know how important plants and agricultural production are.
Kelly Swarts: I have always like understanding systems and how things work and research (whether in a company or in academia) is just pushing beyond what is already known. From a practical perspective, I like that my job is different every day.
Do you remember a key moment that influenced your decision to go into science?
Kelly Swarts: I think I always knew that I wanted to do something in science but my path into research was decided when I was working as a middle manager in a company and felt, intellectually, under stimulated. This has never been a problem in research.
Laura Bacete Cano: As a teenager, I was uncertain about my future and whether university was the right path for me. Despite excellent grades, I disliked high school and doubted my abilities as a student. But I was really interested in science, especially Biology, and I have always had a desire to address societal issues. Then I bought a book entitled “Choose What You Want to Become”. It was a list with all the higher education programs (university degrees and advanced vocational studies) in Spain, my home country, at that time. Each of them came with a description of what it is about and a short interview with two people involved in it (former students, professors, etc.). I fell in love with the Biotechnology degree because it was closely related to biology and, at the same time, I could see a big impact in society. So, I decided I wanted to become a biotechnologist, and since then, I was much more motivated to go to high school and keep a good average so that I could qualify for that degree.
What has helped you to move on with your academic career?
Laura Bacete Cano: My passion for science is a significant motivator, though academia can sometimes be challenging, especially for minorities, including women. I have seen many good friends leaving Academia or settling for positions that do not allow progress in their careers, just because they feel that they do not fit in here. And they are very smart and kind people. I felt at some point I did not want to continue in this career. But then I thought that if everybody, who is not a perfect fit, leaves, then this toxic environment will never change. So, I chose to stay, hoping to contribute to a more inclusive environment from within and make decisions that reflect these values.
Kelly Swarts: I have had wonderful mentors and peers at every stage and have really benefitted from excellent academic environments. This, combined with (a lot) of dedication and hard work, has been instrumental in getting me to where I am today. I also have had my feet in a number of fields (archaeology, biology, computer science and statistics) and I think that this has been a real benefit, as a lot of innovation happens at the intersection of fields, or ways of thinking.
What kind of obstacles do you had to overcome during your career (so far)?
Kelly Swarts: During my master’s degree, my primary advisor left for other opportunities as I was going to begin my analysis. In the end, I reached out to others, who were very generous with their time and expertise, and I was able to complete the project. The moral of this story is, do not hesitate to ask for help from any source when you need it. The worst they can say is no.
Laura Bacete Cano: Being the first in my family to attend university and pursue a PhD presented challenges, as did battling depression during and after my PhD. The lack of understanding and support for mental health issues and the pressure to continuously work without breaks were particularly tough. Other obstacles included language barriers, frequent relocations for positions, and adapting to different cultures.
What do you think can we do to inspire the next generation of women in science?
Kelly Swarts: Inspiration is not the problem. All young children are curious about their world, but this needs to be encouraged and nurtured as kids grow up. The trickier questions are political, social and logistic. The opportunities available to women need to, obviously, be equal. However, what this means varies by context.
Laura Bacete Cano: We need to acknowledge the challenges women encounter instead of dismissing them as just the way things are. This includes addressing clear issues like ensuring equal parental leave and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment, as well as tackling less obvious concerns. As I said before, the toxic atmosphere in academia often drives people away, which is something we urgently need to change. At the undergraduate level, there's nearly an equal split between men and women, but this balance shifts dramatically at the professor level, as illustrated by the famous “Scissors Diagrams”. I used to think this disparity was due to changes over time, but now, I see it is a widespread issue. The struggle to maintain a healthy balance between personal life and a successful career often leads to burnout, especially for women who face additional expectations in their personal and family lives. This imbalance is a significant reason why many women leave academia before or shortly after completing their PhDs, based on what I have observed and heard from friends. I am convinced that creating a more supportive and inclusive academic environment will encourage more women to pursue and excel in scientific careers at every level.
Do you have any tips for young (female) researchers who want to start a career in science?
Laura Bacete Cano: Believe in yourself and your ability to be a scientist. There are no specific requirements, just a curious mind. Overcoming stereotypes and not letting them deter you from pursuing science is important. I read the other day an interview with the actress Sofia Vergara where she said she had assumed she will only play some kind of roles because of how she looks (very “explosive”) and how she sounds in English (Colombian accent), and she literally said nobody will ever call her to play a role of a scientist in a movie. That is the mistake. We have an image of what a scientist is, but it is not real, and not seeing ourselves in that image should not discourage us from being scientists. Because the reality is that science is actually (and must be even more in the future!) much more diverse than what the stereotypes suggest.
Kelly Swarts: Focus on the big questions (rather than tools or techniques, which change constantly), work hard and ask lots of questions!
More about the two researchers
Laura Bacete Cano started to establish her research group at UPSC when she became Assistant Professor at Umeå University in 2023. She also leads a project at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, where she worked before as postdoc. Laura Bacete Cano investigates plant cell walls focussing especially on the dynamic processes that allow the cell wall to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Kelly Swarts became Associate Senior Lecturer at SLU in 2023 and has now moved part of her research group from the Gregor Mendel Institute/Max Perutz Labs in Vienna to UPSC. Since 2023, she is also fellow of the SciLifeLab & Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS). In her research, she is combining her background in biology, archaeology, genetics and computer sciences to study how conifers have adapted over time to changing climate conditions.
More about the International Day for Women and Girls in Science
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Photo: Jenny Svennås-Gillner, SLU
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation allocates SEK 272 million to a strategic research initiative on forestry research at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The grant includes funding for a new research school within Future Silviculture, five recruitment packages to establish new research groups and the extension of two ongoing research programmes. One of them is coordinated by UPSC.
The future use and conservation of forests is in the centre of this strategic research initiative at SLU. The main part of the grant is allocated to a new research school in Future Silviculture which will be coordinated by the Faculty of Forest Sciences. More than 50 doctoral students including 14 industry doctoral students will be trained in this research school involving also doctoral students and researchers from UPSC.
The grant will also cover five recruitment packages for new research groups. Two of them will be established at UPSC. Moreover, the two ongoing research programmes “Future Silviculture”, coordinated by the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at SLU, and “Forest Biology and Biotechnology”, coordinated by UPSC will be extended until 2030.
“Together with the already existing support to the “Future Silviculture” and “Forest Biology and Biotechnology” projects, this represents by far the largest investment we have ever seen in forestry-related research”, says Ove Nilsson, director of UPSC and coordinator of the research programme “Forest Biology and Biotechnology". “This will provide a solid foundation and stability for the basic research and knowledge needed to develop a sustainable forestry taking into account both productivity, survival and biodiversity aspects in the face of a changing climate.”
News from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (English)
News from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Swedish)
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Stefan Jansson (photo: Fredrik Larsson)
Stefan Jansson, plant researcher and professor at Umeå University, is honoured by Örebro University and The Hamrin Foundation for his research communication.
There is a conscious effort behind Stefan Jansson's success in reaching out to the society with his research. For many years, he has chosen to set aside one day a week for public outreach.
"Many researchers do not have this opportunity because it hinders their academic career. It is therefore very good that this prize exists as the academic system does not manage to reward research communication very well," he says in an interview with Örebro University.
Stefan Jansson is professor of plant cell and molecular biology at the Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, and group leader at Umeå Plant Science Centre. He receives the prize of SEK 100 000 "for decades of patiently contributing the scientific perspective in the polarised debate on genetically modified crops".
In addition to a number of debate articles, Stefan Jansson has also written a book on GMOs, which has been published in several languages, and given a number of lectures on his research.
Read the full interview and more about the award on Örebro University's website (in Swedish only)
Text: Sara-Lena Brännström (Umeå University)
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Vice-president Madhusree Mitra and president Maximiliano Estravis Barcala of Umeå Postdoc Society (Photo: Mattias Pettersson)
As many as 220 postdocs at Umeå University and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences are connected to Umeå Postdoc Society, UPS. President Maximiliano Estravis Barcala and vice-president Madhusree Mitra, both postdocs at UPSC, are halfway through their “tenure” and have the important task to further improve the postdoc experience in Umeå.
“Being president carries significant responsibility, but it is truly rewarding when postdocs express gratitude, spread positive word of mouth, and attract new members after events. I personally struggle with delegating and trying to have everything under control at the same time. Fortunately, I am surrounded by excellent colleagues who are helpful and understanding,” says Maxi, postdoc at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).
Umeå Postdoc Society, UPS, is a network of postdocs in Umeå. Its purpose is to create an open and inclusive network environment, regardless of the postdoc’s length of stay or employment situation (contract or stipend holder). It aims to bring about more collaborating opportunities, provide a platform for raising awareness of postdoc rights, career development opportunities, and a forum for voicing disquiet. Furthermore, it is a checkpoint to meet new friends and feel welcome in Umeå.
“I feel both privileged and stressed in the UPS leadership, receiving appreciation in feedback is always a relief. But it is not all on us. As the motto of UPS implies ‘for postdocs, by postdocs’, indeed this is a big responsibility for all UPS members to improve the overall postdoc experience here in Umeå,” says Madhusree, postdoc at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU.
Started during the pandemic
UPS was created in 2020 as a way for postdocs to connect and support each other in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first postdoc association of Northern Sweden.
“When UPS started, several months were spent in bureaucratic tasks writing the bylaws, constituting an advisory board, and setting up a website and mailing list. Also, the first active members were recruited. Thanks to the hard work of that 'first generation', we can now focus on organizing events for an established and solid community of postdocs,” says Maxi.
He describes that the organization of career development events, particularly the big events, works very well. This year UPS has organised a Postdoc Day in February, a Postdoc Retreat in September, and most recently a Young Investigators Symposium (co-organized with UCMR). Each of these events had between 50 and 100 participants.
Young Investigator Symposium arranged by UPS in October was a success (Photo: Mattias Pettersson)
Aims to widen the community
The previous leadership strived to gain a campus wide presence in Umeå. It is a task that now continues and has high priority. The society is well-known in centres like KBC, UCMR and departments at the Faculty of medicine and the Faculty of science and technology, but very few postdocs represent the faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences.
“We want to change this and work to extend our communication so that more postdocs from all fields know about our events and to recruit active members in as many departments at Umeå University and SLU as possible,” says Maxi.
Another development area is to try to improve the awareness in the society about postdoc rights, working conditions and mental health related issues.
“We aim to become more aware of what is going on, what actions are needed and more importantly have a voice in these matters. I know that in our short tenure of one year most probably we cannot achieve all we plan, but we will take a sincere approach to make these attainable in the future,” says Madhusree.
Discussion on postdoc problems at the Retreat in September (Photo: Madhusree Mitra)
Step into the unknown
Being a postdoctoral researcher is a transient phase between the PhD degree and a permanent career path, therefore embarking on a postdoc journey can be both exciting and challenging. Most postdocs who arrive in Umeå are from foreign countries, and many come on their own, without any support network of colleagues, family, or friends. The situation can be full of struggle, both personal and work-related.
“For them, UPS can work both as a source of information on what to do before and after arriving in Sweden, and as a way to meet like-minded people and socializing,” says Maxi.
Maxi and Madhusree emphasize that UPS is a place where postdocs are having lots of fun.
“We organize many social events, like board game nights, pub nights, and hikes out in nature. It really feels like a friends’ gathering, which is valuable when you are new in Umeå and not knowing anyone,” says Maxi.
“Far away from home in a place where it is dark and cold most of the time, UPS has also helped me to meet new people and friends, explore Swedish nature, and learn new things. I am enjoying every bit of it and hope that our members do too,” says Madhusree.
Board Game Night at KBC atrium (Photo: Maximiliano Estravis Barcala)
Barbeque at Hamptjärnsberget in Umeå after hiking (Photo: Maximiliano Estravis Barcala)
Wanted: passionate members
“In my opinion, what works less well in UPS is recruiting and maintaining a constant base of active members. We are working hard on that,” says Maxi.
Even though the mailing list reaches around 220 postdocs in Umeå, only around 15 are active members, which forms the important core of the society.
“Therefore, we have started departmental fika crawls and are attending departmental meetings to introduce the roles and responsibilities you can take within UPS. In all our major events, we emphasize the importance of active members, encouraging them to contribute a small amount of time from their busy research lives for a significant impact. We have recently attracted more interest and recruited eight new active members,” says Madhusree.
Make a difference
Joining UPS enables postdocs to make a difference by contributing ideas for events and enhancing the experience of fellow and future postdocs, fostering a strong sense of team spirit and commitment.
“Also, demonstrating event organization and coordination skills is advantageous for a CV, highly valued by recruiters especially outside academia,” says Maxi.
Madhusree adds: “People are always vocal about what should change in a researcher’s condition like how to improve work-life balance, the lack of collaboration and information, and so on. By joining UPS one can enact those changes instead of worrying about things.”
Before leaving their posts, Maxi and Madhusree would like to develop a code of conduct – that is, to establish the ethical standards that the organization expects postdocs and people in leadership positions to follow – to make sure that all postdocs feel welcome and safe in the context of UPS.
Feeling good doing fun stuff together, here at an excursion with Postdoc Society to Hamptjärnsberget. (Photo: Maximiliano Estravis Barcala)UPS has an advisory board consisting at present of ten PIs from different departments, who generously put aside a part of their funding on a general account for UPS expenditures. They also meet with the advisory board to report activities and get feedback from them. They have also applied for independent funding from KBC and the Forestry Faculty of SLU for event organization.
UPS website: www.umeapostdocs.com
Contact for inquiries:
For more information, please contact:
Maximiliano Estravis Barcala, President of UPS
Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
E-mail:
Madhusree Mitra, Vice-Presiden of UPS
Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
E-mail:
Text: Ingrid Söderbergh
UPSC Symposium for Early Career Plant Scientists: Attracting talented researchers to Northern Sweden
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Speed dating under the time control of Laura Bacete (right front) at the symposium in June 2023 - postdoctoral candidates and UPSC group leaders interacted with each other in different formats to identify common interests. Photo: Stéphanie Robert
How to encourage talented young researchers to move to Northern Sweden? UPSC is inviting them for the UPSC Symposium for Early Career Plant Scientists – a concept that has been revived this year. The postdoctoral candidates had the opportunity to see the place and the research environment, and their overall feedback was very positive. After a successful symposium in June this year, UPSC is now accepting applications for the next symposium which will take place on March 21-22, 2024.
Long, cold and dark winters, short summers – the geographical location of Umeå might discourage many talented scientists from applying for open positions. However, Umeå has a lot to offer: two universities and a university hospital with cutting-edge research infrastructure on one campus in a growing and vibrant city. UPSC is located right in the middle as part of both universities and that is what UPSC wants to show to those talented, young plant scientists that will be invited to the UPSC symposium in March 2024.
“UPSC is a great place to work. We have about 30 research groups with strong international reputation, and the centre is impressively well-equipped with shared platforms and facilities for all kind of plant research”, says Stéphane Verger, group leader at UPSC, who took the initiative to restart organising the UPSC symposium for Early Career Plant Scientists this year. “It is an excellent environment for learning new techniques and acquiring new skills, and Umeå with its beautiful surrounding is a good place to live.”
Six postdoctoral candidates from Canada, France, Germany and India were invited for two days in June for the last symposium. All of them were at the end of or have recently finished their PhD and were selected because they had high chances of being successful in applications for competitive European postdoctoral fellowships. During the symposium, the candidates presented their research, met and discussed possible projects with UPSC group leaders and visited UPSC’s facilities.
“The research discussions were of course central to the programme, but we also offered a workshop with Umeå University’s Research Support and Collaborations Office to provide information about European research grants as well as time for social interactions and networking”, says Petra Marhava, one of the main organisers of the previous and the coming symposium. “We received very positive feedback from the participants which reassured us to continue with the same format also next year.”
The programme for the upcoming symposium in March is not finalised yet but the organisers plan to address the suggested improvements from the participants of the previous symposium. For instance, they moved the symposium from June to March so that the postdoctoral candidates and the group leaders have more time to prepare applications for European postdoctoral fellowships, which mostly have a deadline in autumn. They will also try to include an inspirational lecture by a more senior group leader in addition the one by a junior group leader to give a more complete picture about the possible challenges of an academic career.
“The most difficult point to address is that the invitation to the symposium does not come along with a definite job offer. Postdoctoral fellowships from Marie Curie, EMBO or HFSP are very prestigious, but it costs time to apply, and they are very competitive”, says Laura Bacete, who recently started her research group at UPSC and was invited herself to a similar symposium in Norway before starting her postdoc there a couple of years ago.
“We think that the participation in the symposium is still very valuable for the invited candidates because they can get feedback on their research and expand their network without any expenses from their side.”
Stéphane Verger adds: “As a group leader you are depending on qualified staff that fits into your team. If I meet such a candidate that is willing to apply together with me for a fellowship, I will try my best to find a backup solution in case the application is not successful. Moreover, there are all the time new postdoc opportunities coming up at UPSC and those candidates might fit well to one of these openings.”
The application for the symposium is still open until Tuesday, the 9th of January. Besides their CV and references, applicants are expected to send in a cover letter explaining their research interests and motivation and they should mention UPSC group leaders they would be interested in working with. Once the application is closed, an evaluation committee will go through all applications, select the most promising candidates, and invite them for the symposium in March.
More information about the UPSC Symposium for Early Career Plant Scientists
For questions regarding the symposium, please contact:
Laura Bacete, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University
Email:
https://www.upsc.se/laura_bacete
Petra Marhava, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Email:
https://www.upsc.se/petra_marhava
Stéphane Verger
Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University
Email:
https://www.upsc.se/stephane_verger
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Catherine Bellini received a project grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation to investigate adeventitious root formation in aspen trees (photo: Anne Honsel).
Why do stem cuttings of aspen trees have problems forming adventitious roots? Catherine Bellini, professor at Umeå University and group leader at UPSC, will investigate the molecular mechanisms that control the formation of such roots. She recently received a project grant from the Danish Novo Nordisk Foundation, and in the frame of her project, she aims to optimize the vegetative propagation of trees by improving their rooting ability.
- Congratulations on your project grant! Is it the first time you have received funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation?
Catherine Bellini: Yes, this is the first time. The Danish Novo Nordisk Foundation extended its calls for research projects to Nordic countries only three years ago. This is a great new opportunity for us.
- According to your project title, you will study adventitious root development in trees, focusing on aspen. What are adventitious roots, and why are they interesting?
Catherine Bellini: Plants have the fascinating property of propagating vegetatively, which means that they can reproduce without producing seeds. This method is crucial for many plant species, ensuring genetic continuity and survival in challenging environments. Vegetative propagation is widely exploited in horticulture and forestry for cloning plants with desirable traits, and its success depends on the development of adventitious roots that arise from non-root plant parts, such as stems, leaves, or even old woody tissues.
- Why did you choose to focus on Aspen in your project?
Catherine Bellini: Some genotypes possess inherent traits that promote the initiation and growth of adventitious roots, making them more amenable to propagation through methods such as cutting or layering. In contrast, aspen trees have genetic constraints that limit their ability to root effectively. Juvenile aspen trees can be easily vegetatively propagated, but stem cuttings of older aspen trees are unable to regenerate adventitious roots, which significantly limits the use of vegetative propagation techniques. We want to understand what mechanisms repress adventitious root development in woody stem cuttings of aspen.
- What is the Swedish Aspen collection and how can it help you to find a solution to the rooting problem?
Catherine Bellini: The Swedish Aspen collection comprises 116 aspen individuals collected from twelve sites all over Sweden. These clones were shown to contain high levels of genetic variation with a low degree of relationship and inbreeding that allows us to identify marker genes controlling certain plant features like the ability to form adventitious roots. We plan to characterize the rooting performance of these clones at the phenotypic, molecular and physiologic levels to improve our understanding of adventitious root development and identify additional regulatory elements.
- How does this project connect to your previous research?
Catherine Bellini: For twenty years, we have used the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to dissect the molecular networks controlling adventitious root initiation and identified several regulatory modules connecting different signalling pathways. It was about time to translate this research to other species for which vegetative propagation through cuttings is problematic. The existence of the Swedish Aspen collection, established by colleagues at UPSC offered an excellent opportunity to do so.
- What will be the possible benefit of your project?
Catherine Bellini: We hope to identify the genes that control rooting and to understand better how they work. This may provide new means to improve propagation of recalcitrant genotypes and species, advance the regeneration of genetically engineered plants.
The project
The project “Adventitious root development in trees: exploring the genetic variation in the Swedish Aspen collection” was funded within the call for Project Grants for research within Plant Science, Agriculture and Food Biotechnology 2023 from Novo Nordisk Foundation.
More information about the call on the Novo Nordisk Foundation homepage
For questions, please contact:
Catherine Bellini
Umeå Plant Science Centre
Department of Plant Physiology
Umeå University
Email:
https://www.upsc.se/catherine_bellini
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Marta Derba-Maceluch (middle) was presented the UPSC Agrisera Prize 2023 by Catherine Bellini (left), chairmen of the UPSC Board, and Joanna Porankiewicz-Asplund (right) from Agrisera
Marta Derba-Maceluch receives this year’s UPSC Agrisera Prize for her scientific contributions and dedication to providing excellent technical support for users of the UPSC Microscopy Facility. In its motivation, the UPSC Board highlights Marta Derba-Maceluch’s commitment to maintaining a safe work environment at UPSC. The prize was presented yesterday during the traditional UPSC Christmas lunch.
Marta Derba-Maceluch started working at UPSC in 2009 when she joined Ewa Mellerowicz’s research group as a postdoc. Since then, she has contributed to over twenty publications on wood biology and plant cell wall research and a patent for genetically modified plants with improved saccharification properties.
Marta Derba-Maceluch took over many responsibilities for the anatomy and microscopy equipment available at UPSC, and since 2022, she has been managing the UPSC Microscopy Facility. She also regularly gives courses on working with highly allergenic compounds and ensures that all rules are followed to provide a safe environment for everyone at UPSC.
The nomination for Marta Derba-Maceluch highlights her strong skills in anatomy and microscopy and her dedication to pass on this knowledge to her colleagues at UPSC. It also emphasizes Marta Derba-Maceluch’s approachability and commitment to achieve the best possible results.
“We are very grateful for such competent and engaged colleagues like Marta, and this prize allows us to thank them for their work and commitment,” says Catherine Bellini, chairperson of the UPSC Board, who presented the prize today to Marta Derba-Maceluch together with Joanna Porankiewicz-Asplund from Agrisera.
The UPSC Board awards the UPSC Agrisera Prize every year for the best scientific achievement and significant commitment to improving the UPSC work environment. Agrisera sponsors it in the form of a travel voucher. Everyone at UPSC can nominate a PhD student, postdoctoral researcher, staff scientist, or technician. The prize recipient is chosen by the members of the UPSC Board and announced during the traditional UPSC Christmas lunch.
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Karin Ljung received on Saturday the Roséns Linnaeus Prize in Botany (Photo: Fredrik Larsson)
Last Saturday, Karin Ljung was presented the Roséns Linnaeus Prize in Botany from the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund. She is awarded for her research efforts investigating root development and root-to-shoot communication in plants. Karin Ljung is sharing the prize with Jon Ågren from Uppsala University.
Karin Ljung’s research primarily focuses on plant growth and development. She investigates how plant hormones, which are small substances regulating plant growth, control the formation of roots and coordinate the communication between plant tissues above and below ground. Together with her group, she has developed analytical methods to measure plant hormones in various tissues and cells, and recently even in different compartments within a cell.
“I feel very honoured receiving this prize, says Karin Ljung. “Research is a group effort, and I especially would like to thank my group members for their contribution and Umeå Plant Science Centre for providing an excellent research environment.”
After establishing her group at Umeå Plant Science Centre in 2005, Karin Ljung became a professor at SLU in 2015. She has published more than 160 papers, many of which have been highly cited. Since 2014, she has consistently appeared on the Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers. Earlier recognitions for her contributions to plant research include the OlChemIm Award, the SPPS Prize given by the Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society, and earlier this year, the Arvid Lindman medal from SLU.
The Roséns Linnaeus Prizes in Botany and Zoology have been presented every third year since 1935. The recipients are Swedish researchers deemed highly deserving by the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund. This year’s prizes were handed over at the society’s annual meeting in Lund on December 2nd.
More information
The Royal Physiographic Society of Lund
Medals and prizes awarded by the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund
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PhD student Pierrick Bru is measuring how much light energy is converted into heat in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Photo: Alexis Brun
Just like people can get sunburned, plants can also suffer from too much sunlight. To stay healthy, they use an internal “sun protection mechanism”. Pierrick Bru, a PhD student working with Alizée Malnoë at Umeå Plant Science Centre and Umeå University, has been studying a special component of this plant "sun protection mechanism" called qH and found it is quite adaptable.
The magic of photosynthetic organisms is that they can produce energy from sunlight. Plants have tiny structures in their cells, that, similarly to mini solar panels, catch sunlight and turn it into energy-rich compounds which the plant is then utilizing to grow and stay healthy. However, when there is too much light, these structures can get overloaded and damaged. To prevent this from occuring, plants use a photoprotection mechanism known as non-photochemical quenching, which converts excess sunlight into heat, allowing it to dissipate harmlessly.
“qH is one of the components of this non-photochemical quenching system and it is the component that we focussed on in our research,” explains Pierrick Bru. “This component does not work quickly. It takes hours to turn on and off, and it is mainly active when plants are under prolonged excess of light stress, especially when combined with other environmental cues such as cold and/or drought.”
To understand more about qH, Pierrick and his colleagues did experiments with the plant model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. They modified the plant by removing one or more of the mini solar panels and found that the plant has a backup system: if one panel is missing, the others can compensate for it. However, when a particular small panel, known as Lhcb6, is not there, qH could not work properly and less of the excess sunlight was turned into heat.
The researchers did not stop here but went on to investigate further how this photoprotection mechanism works and to search for other missing actors that regulate the qH mechanism. They introduced random changes in the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, where the plant’s blueprint is stored, and looked for modified plants that had issues with their sunlight protection. Out of 22,000 plants screened, they found 150 with altered protection mechanisms. They took a closer look at 61 of them and identified about eighteen new actors that could be involved in the qH mechanism.
Two of these actors are involved in building or repairing photosystem II – one of the two functional units where photosynthesis takes place. If either of the two actors found did not work well, photosystem II could not function as usual, and this caused problems also for the plants to use the qH sun protection mechanism.
Pierrick Bru and his colleagues do not know yet how exactly the defects of photosystem II impact the qH protection mechanism. They will continue investigating this in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana, where it is easy and fast to make new discoveries. This understanding will open doors to investigate if photoprotection qH is regulated similarly in crops.
“Crops are suffering already now from more extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. This will affect our capacity to grow healthy crops and good food for an increasing population,” explains Pierrick Bru. “Understanding how qH works and how plants cope with environmental stress will help to find ways to improve plant resistance to excess of sunlight, improving plant growth and increase agriculture productivity.”
About the public defence
Pierrick Bru, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, defends his PhD thesis with the title “Investigating the molecular mechanism of photoprotection qH, in Arabidopis thaliana” on Friday, 8th of December 2023. Faculty opponent is Stefano Caffarri, Department of Biology, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France. The thesis was supervised by Alizée Malnoë.
Link to Pierrick Bru's PhD thesis
For more information, please contact:
Pierrick Bru
Umeå Plant Science Centre
Department of Plant Physiology
Umeå University
Email:
Text: Pierrick Bru, Anne Honsel
- Details
At the field site in Wuhan, China: Young aspen trees (in front) keep their leaves longer than older trees (in the back). Photo taken on November 23, 2023 by Kejing Wang.
In a forest, even trees have their generational conflicts. Young trees often find themselves under the canopy of the older trees. Their survival strategy is to kick off their growth earlier in spring and stay longer green in autumn. A research team from Umeå Plant Science Centre, SLU, and Huazhong Agricultural University in China has revealed that a small RNA molecule acts as a master regulator in aspen, modulating the length of the growing season in an age dependent manner.
The study was published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
It takes time for a young tree in a forest to grow tall enough to escape the shading of the surrounding adult generation. To establish themselves, young trees employ a risky strategy: they extend their growing season to capture light before and after being fully shaded by the older trees. This phenomenon was observed earlier but it was not clear how trees adjust the length of their growing season based on age.
“Initially, we did not aim to study growth cessation but rather the role of a short RNA molecule – microRNA156 – known to control plant maturation,” explains Ove Nilsson, professor at SLU and group leader at Umeå Plant Science Centre. “These microRNAs bind to RNAs of other genes to degrade them or inhibit their activity.”
When the research groups of Ove Nilsson and Jihua Ding, a former postdoc in Ove Nilsson’s group, investigated how hybrid aspen trees responded to an increased activity of microRNA156, they observed that the trees stopped their growth and set their buds later than control trees. The researchers grew the plants under greenhouse conditions and simulated seasonal changes by adjusting temperature and day length. Under these conditions, the modified trees also opened their buds earlier.
“We did not expect this behaviour and got intrigued to study it further,” adds Jihua Ding who is now leading a research group at Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, China. “We studied the literature and realized that several papers describe findings that juvenile forest trees often extend their growing season compared to older trees in the same forest. However, the underlying mechanisms were not yet understood.”
The researchers focused on the seasonal growth stop in autumn and analysed the molecular changes accompanying the increased activity of microRNA156. The activity of several genes known to control the timing of bud set in the fall was strongly affected in the modified trees. It turned out that microRNA156 acts as a master regulator during growth cessation through the so-called SPL genes and the central seasonal growth regulator FT2, connecting tree maturation and the regulation of seasonal growth regulation.
“The regulation mechanism that we discovered in aspen is different than what was previously described in the model plant Arabidopsis,” says Ove Nilsson. “Perennial trees have evolved different survival strategies than annual plants, and it is obvious that these strategies are regulated differently dependent on the age of the tree. When we better understand the underlying mechanisms of these strategies, we can gain a clearer understanding of how trees adapt to a changing environment and climate change.”
The article
Xiaoli Liao, Yunjie Su, Maria Klintenäs, Yue Li, Shashank Sane, Zhihao Wu, Qihui Chen, Bo Zhang, Ove Nilsson and Jihua Ding. Age-dependent seasonal growth cessation in Populus. PNAS (2023). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2311226120
MicroRNAs play a role in regulating a broad range of biological processes, including development, cell proliferation and responses to environmental stress, among others. They are present in nearly all eukaryotic organisms, including mammals and plants, and are highly conserved throughout evolution.
For questions, please contact:
Professor Ove Nilsson
Umeå Plant Science Centre
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Phone: +46 702 869 082
Email:
https://www.upsc.se/ove_nilsson