Events under 'Dissertations'

Joint Workshop - Profiling Technologies & Bioinformatics
Riken Institute (Japan)
Umeå Plant Science Centre (Sweden)
MPI-MP (Germany)

Programme

Welcome

The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), GKVK, in Bangalore is a distinguished University in its field. In an on-going effort to recruit students from abroad to UPSC and in order for foreign students to get well trained in state-of-the art plant biology, UPSC and three Departments from UAS have started discussion within a grant from the Linneus-Palme exchange program to establish future collaborations. Within this program, two professors and Head of Departments from UAS, will visit UPSC October 28 - 30 to start the discussion about a possible future collaboration.

 

They will give lectures about their University and activities at their Departments at UAS Wednesday October 28, between 9 -12, in KB4C10.

 

Dr. Vudayagiri Radhakrishna Sashidhar

Department of Crop Physiology

http://www.uasbangalore.edu.in/asp/agriBangCropFacuList.asp

 

Dr. Ramanjini Gowda

Department of Biotechnology

http://www.uasbangalore.edu.in/asp/agriBangBTecFacuList.asp

The KBC Days 2009 will take place on 16-17 November 2009

All members of the KBC-Departments are welcome to two days of communication, celebration and inspiration. We cordially invite our research partners and friends who like to learn more about our centre.

Read more ...

The KBC Days 2009 will take place on 16-17 November 2009

All members of the KBC-Departments are welcome to two days of communication, celebration and inspiration. We cordially invite our research partners and friends who like to learn more about our centre.

Read more ...

On November 25--27, the "Third UPRA Meeting on Plant Integrative Biology" will be held at Champenoux, France. UPRA is a "European Open Laboratory" initiative between UPSC and INRA. The program for the upcoming meeting can be viewed here.
Information about the venue and accomodation can be found here .
For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2010 International Workshop on Wood Biorefinary and Tree Biotechnology
Organized by FuncFiber and Biorefinery of the future
Place: Örnsköldsvik
http://biorefinery2010.funcfiber.se/

Title: The art and design of functional metagenomic screens - exploiting the hidden catalytic potential of microbial communities for the discovery of novel biocatalysts
by Marcus Taupp, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
University of British Columbia
Place: KBF30, UPSC

The Circadian Clock in Annuals and Perennials
Coordination of Growth with Environmental Rhythms
Mikael Johansson, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå university
Place: KB3B1, KBC

Opponent: Dr. Seth J. Davis, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Köln, Germany

Title: New Insight into Growth Cessation and Dormancy in Tree
by Lars Resman, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU
Place: Björken, SLU, Umeå

Opponent: Dr. Janice Cooke, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Title: The chloroplast talks - Insights into the language of the chloroplast in Arabidopsis

Peter Kindgren, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå university
Place: KB3A9, KBC

Opponent: Prof. Barry Pogson, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

Read more

Title: A Study of the Molecular Pathways of Wood Formation using Peptide Mass Spectrometry

Civ. ing. Robert Nilsson, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU, Umeå

Place: P.-O. Bäckströms sal, SLU

Opponent: Professor Geert De Jaeger, Department of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgien

Title: Phosphorylation in State Transition Less Cause More Effect
Jakob Damkjaer, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå university
Place: N450, Naturvetarhuset

Opponent: Professor Eva-Mari Aro, Department of Molecular Plant Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Title: Nitrogen Status and Biomass Allocation in Forest Plants - the importance of nitrogen source for seedling establishment in the field.
Time & Place: 14:30 Friday 11th in the fourth floor Coffee room, SLU.

Institute: EMG.
Title: Estimating silicate weathering rates: a shot in the dark?
Time: 14:30, Wednesday 9th March
Place: Coffee room, fourth floor, SLU building

 Umea_Renewable_Energy_Meeting_2011.pdf

Title: ABA and Chromatin Remodelling Regulate the Activity-Dormancy Cycle in Hybrid Aspen
by Anna Petterle, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU, Umeå
Place: Sal Björken, SLU, Umeå

Opponent: Professor Olavi Junttila, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tromsø, Norway

Umeå Plant Science Centre organises a conference on:
Plant Proteases, 10-14 April 2011, in Hemavan, Sweden.

For further information: http://www.plantproteases.se/

Title: Molecular Analysis of Factors Regulating Wood Formation and Seasonal Growth Cycles in Hybrid Aspen
by Anna Karlberg, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU, Umeå
Place: Sal Björken, SLU, Umeå

Opponent: Dr. Andrew Groower, Institute of Forest Genetics, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, California, USA

Title: Changes in the Transcriptome and Metabolome during the Initiation of Growth Cessation in Hybrid Aspens
by Daniel E. Hoffman, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU, Umeå
Place: Sal Björken at SLU in Umeå

Opponent: Dr Alex Webb, Department of Plant Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Storbritannien

Title: Spatiotemporal Patterns of Genetic Variation for Growth and Fertility in Scots Pine
by Johan Kroon, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU, Umeå
Place: Lecture Hall Björken, SLU, Umeå

Opponent: Docent Leopoldo Sánchez, Franska forskningsinstitutet för skogs- och lantbruk (INRA), Orleans, Frankrike

Title: Distribution and regulation of Auxin in Arabidopsis root cells
Sara V. Petersson, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU, Umeå
Place: Sal Björken at SLU in Umeå

Opponent: Dr Angus Murphy, Department of Horticulture, Purdue University, USA

UPSC days on 29-30 Aug 2011
More information and programme will come soon.

Register at http://www.upsc.se/upsc_days_2011

Programme and Abstracts here

Thesis Defence:
Sara Abrahamsson
Title:
Genetic Dissection of Quantitative Traits in Scots Pine

Opponent: Professor Ricardo Alía
Institute national de invstigacion y tecnologia agraria y alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain

Supervisor: Rosario García Gil

Place P-O Bäckströms sal, SLU

Welcome to a presentation of the research within the strategic initiative "Trees and Crops for the Future (TC4F), involving SLU, UmU and Skogforsk in close collaboration with Berzelii Centre for Forest biotechnology, Future Forests, The Spruce Genome Project, ICON and others. It is a large initiative that started in 2010 with a budget exceeding 20 MSEK/year.

The meeting takes place January 24, in P-O Bäckströms sal, at the Faculty of Forest Sciences in Umeå, between 10- ca 16. Researchers within the different Themes dealing with aspects of trees and forests will present the projects funded by the program and the plans for the future.

You are all most welcome, a preliminary program is presented below.

10.00 Presentation of TC4F - Jan-Erik Hällgren

10.15 Theme 1.The impact of climate on nitrogen and carbon dynamics in forests - Torgny Näsholm and collaborators

11.15 Theme 2. Forest genetics and next generation of forest trees.- Stefan Jansson and collaborators

12.15- 13.30 Lunch

13 30 Theme 3. Sustainable and adaptive forest management- Urban Nilsson and collaborators

14 30- Coffe

15.00-15 45 Discussion and questions.

So book January 24 in your calendars

Jan-Erik Hällgren

Öppna föreläsningar:
Möjligheternas skog
Den 6 mars 13:00 till 17:30 P O Bäckströms sal, SLU
program som pdf

• Annika Nordin, SLU: Skogen och kolet
• Elisabet Sonntag-Öström, Umeå universitet: Skog för vila och återhämtning
• Mats Nilsson, SLU, Biosfärens betydelse för atmosfärens växthusgasbalans
• Tomas Lämås, SLU, Framtiden - en skog av möjligheter
• Hannele Tuominen, Umeå universitet:, Skogsbioteknik för ett grönare samhälle
• Kim Wickman, SLU: Implementering av ett genusperspektiv i skogs- och jägmästarutbildningarna
• Runar Brännlund, Umeå universitet: Hur ska vi använda skogen? Koka, såga, bränna eller spara den?
• Inga-Lill Persson, SLU: Älgens påverkan på skogsekosystemet
• Erland Mårald, Umeå universitet: Humanister i skogen

For the fourth time the Chemistry and Biology Centre (KBC; www.kbc.umu.se) at Umeå University, Sweden, organizes 14-16 March 2012, a Renewable Energy symposium at Umeå University, Sweden.

Organizing Committee:
Hannele Tuominen, Johannes Messinger, Stellan Marklund, Per Gardeström, Göran Samuelsson

Webpage of the meeting:
http://www.kbc.umu.se/events/renewable-energy-meeting-2012

Presentation of Master Thesis - Umut Rende Title: Role of the photosystem II associated CAH3 in the oxygen evolving machinery in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
Umut Rende
Place: KB4C10, UPSC
Supervisor: Göran Samuelsson

The 4th UPSC-INRA (UPRA) bilateral meeting
26 - 28 March 2012, Umeå Plant Science Centre
Chemical Biological Centre (KBC) Umeå University, Sweden

Webpage of the meeting:
http://www.kbc.umu.se/events/upra-meeting

Presentation of Master Thesis
Barbara Terebieniec
Title:
 "Gene Expression Analysis in Populus RNAi lines Targeting Xylan Biosynthesis Gene Family GT43"


Place: KBF30 Welcome!

Supervisors: Ewa Mellerowicz, László Bakó

Docentföreläsning/
Trial lecture for appointment as a docent

Torgeir Hvidsten
Umeå Plant Science Centre/Plant Physiology

Title:
"Is biology more than stamp collecting?"

Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Welcome!

Göran Samuelsson

Göran Samuelsson and Stefan Jansson
UPSC

Success factors in grant applications

Slim and Stefan will talk about the writing a grant application and
the evaluation process, respectively

Time: Tuesday 3 April at 13.00
Place: KB3A9 "Lilla hörsalen", KBC

Welcome!

Contact: Jakob Prestele

UPSC Seminars 2012
Speaker: Thierry Delatte
Laboratory of Plant Physiology
Wageningen UR, The Netherlands

Title: "Trehalose 6-phosphate, a local signal with a global impact"
Place: KB3A9 "Lilla hörsalen", KBC

Seminar:

Santiago Gonzalez-Martinez
Center of Forest Research,Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria INIA, Spain

Strong population genetic structure, recent demographic decline and selection shape diversity of taxol-related genes in European yew (Taxus baccata L.) 

Room: KBF 30

Department of Ecology and Environmental Science

Thesis Defence

Carolina Bernhardsson

Title:
Molecular population genetics of inducible defense genes in Populus tremula. 

Opponent: Santiago Gonzalez-Martinez
Center of Forest Research,Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria INIA, Spain

Supervisor: Stefan Jansson, UPSC 

Room: KB3B1

Umeå Plant Science Centre UPSC
Half-Time PhD seminar

Speaker
Dmitry Kremnev

Title:
PLASTID REDOX INSENSITIVE 2, is a putative regulatory component that controls PEP transcription

Bastiaan Brouwer is defending his thesis.
Title: Shedding Light on Shade- and Dark-Induced Leaf Senescence
Place: KB3A9

Opponent:
Karin Krupinska, Professor
Department of Plant Cell Biology,
Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel/Kiel University

Supervisor: Per Gardeström
 

Department of Chemistry

Seminar

Sacha Baginsky

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Biochemie und Biotechnologie, Abteilung Pflanzenbiochemie

 

Title:

 Functional characterization of plant proteome dynamics

 

Place : Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9, KBC

Host Christiane Funk

Abstract: 

Different functional proteomics tools are now available that enable the quantitative characterization of proteome dynamics and the mapping of posttranslational modifications. We report here examples how we used these tools to characterize the functional proteome of Arabidopsis and rice cell organelles, with a focus on the plant-specific plastids. We analyzed the Arabidopsis proteome at genome-scale and provide quantitative information about organellar proteomes in different plant organs by "normalized spectral counting" (Science, 320: 938-41). For a functional characterization of plastid protein import, we analyzed the proteomes of plastid protein import mutants and searched for N-terminal acetylated peptides in genome-scale WT, ppi1 and ppi2 proteomics data. These analyses revealed the accumulation of precursor proteins in the cytosol of the import mutants. In order to assess the short-term regulation of the chloroplast proteome in response to environmental signals, we analyzed the chloroplast phosphoproteome and characterized its dynamics during a circadian cycle (Plant Physiol, 150: 889-903). Differential protein phosphorylation was assessed by relative protein quantification with "extracted ion chromatograms". We present here our data, comment on reliability and reproducibility and propose strategies to increase both at a reasonable cost.

Sacha Baginsky

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Biochemie und Biotechnologie, Abteilung Pflanzenbiochemie, Weinbergweg 22 (Biozentrum),

06120 Halle (Saale)

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thesis Defence - Department of Chemistry

Harald Aigner

Title:
Characterization of FtsH proteases in the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana 

Opponent: Sacha Baginski, Professor, Institut fur Biochemie und BioTechnologie, Martin Luther Unitersität, Halle Wittenberg.

Supervisor: Christiane Funk

Lilla hörsalen , KB3A9

UPSC Seminar

Speaker:
Grégory Mouille
Institute JP Bourgin, INRA Versailles, France

Title:
The control of cell wall quality during plant development

Place: Lilla hörsalen KB3A9

UPSC Seminar

Speaker:
Georgia Drakakaki
UC Davis California, USA

Title:
 “Understanding the relation of endomembrane trafficking and polysaccharide deposition using proteomics and chemical genomics”
 
Place: KB3A9 “Lilla hörsalen”, KBC

Host: Stephanie Robert

Presentation of her Master Thesis (30 hp):

Patricia Lang

Title:
KREUZ UND QUER gene function during root epidermal patterning in
Arabidopsis thaliana

Supervisor: Markus Grebe

Room: KBF 30, 14.00
 

Department of Chemistry

 

Seminar

Beverley Green

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

 

Title: Algal genomics and the evolution of light-harvesting antennae

 

Host: Christiane Funk

Place: Lilla Hörsalen, KB3A9, KBC

 

Abstract:

The ocean is the new frontier in genomics research! The marine algae are particularly important because of their influence on global climate as well as their major contribution to the oceanic food web. The recently sequenced genomes of a number of these algae have illuminated the wide range of photosynthetic biodiversity in the ocean. Particularly interesting are the algae with chlorophyll a/c light-harvesting antennas, such as the diatoms and brown algae, which acquired their plastids by secondary endosymbiosis, and have derived new varieties of light-harvesting antennas.

Seminar

professor Kazuya Kikuchi

Osaka University

Graduate School of Engineering

WPI-Immunology Frontier Research Center

Osaka, Japan

 

Title: Design, synthesis and biological application of in vivo imaging probes with tunable chemical switches

 

Host: Gunnar Öquist

Place: KBC, Large Lecture hall "Stora hörsalen"

 

Abstract: 

One of the great challenges in the post-genome era is to clarify the biological significance of intracellular molecules directly in living cells. If we can image a molecule in action, it is possible to acquire biological information, which is unavailable if we deal with cell homogenates. One possible approach is to design and synthesize chemical probes that can convert biological information to chemical output. Protein fluorescent labeling provides an attractive approach to study the localization and function of proteins in living cells. Recently, a specific pair of a protein tag and its ligand has been utilized to visualize a protein of interest (POI). In this method, a POI is fused with a protein tag and the tag is labeled with the ligand connected to a fluorescent molecule. The advantage of this protein labeling system is that a variety of fluorescent molecules are potentially available as labeling reagents, and that the protein tag is conditionally labeled with its fluorescent ligand. I have designed a protein labeling system that allows fluorophores to be linked to POI. The protein tag (BL-tag) is a mutant class A ?-lactamase (TEM-1) modified to be covalently bound to the designed specific labeling probes and the labeling probes is consisted with a ?-lactam ring (ampicillin, cephalosporin) attached to various fluorophores. A fluorogenetic labeling system can be designed using the unique property of cephalosporin, which release leaving group by subsequent reaction after opening the lactam ring. For further sophisticated application, multicolor imaging was done by adopting the colorful fluorophores.

Umeå Plant Science Centre
Seminar

Speaker:
Janne Lehtiö
Clinical Proteomics Mass Spectrometry, Karolinska Institutet, SciLifeLab Stockholm
Science for Life Laboratory

Title:
Defining human proteome using high resolution peptide isoelectric focusing coupled to mass spectrometry (HiRIEF-LC-MS) and the application of this method to improve cancer treatment

Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Host Anders Nordström

Title: The effect of arginine on root system development in Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) somatic embryos.
Date: Wednesday 20/6
Place: KBF30
Time: 13-14

MSc Lorenz Gerber, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology is defending his dessertation thesis.

Title: Cell Wall Chemotyping for Functional Genomics. Applications of Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry.
Opponent: Professor Shawn Mansfield, Department of Wood Science, The University of British Columbia, UBC, Canada
When and Where: 2012-09-14 10:00, Umeå, KB3A9, KBC huset, Umeå universitet

Workshop on Plant Proteomics with Focus on Redox Proteomics

 

The workshop is organized by the KBC Proteomics Facility in collaboration with the International Plant Proteomics Organization (INPPO).

Speakers:

Ian Max Møller (Aarhus University, Denmark)
Per Hägglund (Technical University of Denmark)
Bob Buchanan (University of California, Berkeley)
Thomas Kieselbach (Umeå University)

The workshop will give an introduction into the chemistry of post-translational protein modifications by carbonylation and thiol oxidation and present methods to study them by proteomics. As for carbonylation, a brief introduction to the analysis of stress-induced ROS production and metal-catalyzed protein oxidation and will be given and the consequences of irreversible protein oxidation will be discussed. As for thiol oxidation different, the workshop will provide an introduction to different techniques to study target proteins of thioredoxin (Trx) using mass spectrometry and gel based approaches. This includes the use of ICAT reagents for Trx-target identification and the analysis of Trx-targets using 2-D fluorescence electrophoresis and affinity chromatography by means of monocysteinic Trx-ligands. The opportunities and limitations of these techniques will be discussed using examples from different research projects.

Please register by sending an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Location: KBF 31

Special Seminar by Bob Buchanan

Bob Buchanan has kindly offered to present the video of an interview that he recorded some weeks ago with Andrew Benson. The video highlights Andrew Benson's contribution to the discovery of the Benson Calvin cycle, gives credit to less-known persons who made important contributions to the research of Melvin Calvin and gives some interesting insights into how laboratory work looked like in those days. In addition to the video presentation Bob Buchanan offered to give a seminar to introduce the topic. This activity is going to be both a research seminar and a presentation of an interesting chapter of research history.

Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Scandinavian Plant Proteomics Day
Organised by Plant Link, International Plant Proteomics Organization, and the KBC Proteomics Platform

Speakers:
Michael Palmgren, Copenhagen University, Denmark
Svante Resjö, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, Alnarp
Ian Max Møller, Aarhus University, Danmark
Per Hägglund, Technical University of Denmark
Bob Buchanan, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
Yogesh Mishra, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå
Gunnar Wingsle, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå
Sven Kjellström, Lund University
Johannes Hansson, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå
Thomas Kieselbach, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, and Umeå Plant Science Centre

Please register to the workshop by sending an Email to Thomas Kieselbach, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by filling in the registration form

Abstract book and programme for download

More information and link to registration form will appear here soon.

Thesis Defence - Tania Tibiletti - Department of Chemistry

Title: Functional studies on the Light-harvesting-Like (LiL) proteins in Cyanobacteria and Cryptophytes

Opponent: Prof. Dr. Martin Hagemann, University of Rostock, Plant Physiology, Germany.

Supervisor: Christiane Funk

Lilla hörsalen , KB3A9

Title: Regulation of Phenology and the Juvenility-to-Maturity Transition in Trees
Opponent: Professor Isabel Allona, Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics U.P.M. -I.N.IA Parque Cientifico y Tecnoloqico de la U.P.M. Campus de Montegancedo, Madrid, Spanien
When and Where: 10 :00, i Aulan, SLU Umeå

UPSC Seminar
Speaker:
Cristian Ibáñez
La Serena University, Chile

Title:
Dissecting the genetic potential of Prosopis chilensis trees in response to salinity stress

Host:
Maria Eriksson

Room:
KB3A9, Lilla hörsalen

In conjunction withe the 1st annual meeting of the EU/FP7 funded project "ProCoGen" (Promoting a functional and comparative understanding of the conifer genome? implementing applied aspects for more productive and adapted forests), there will be a Training workshop organised here in Umeå. The training workshop is open to all interested parties, the schedule for the workshop can be found below.

On Jan 30 the lecture will be given in "Stora Hörsalen (KB3B1)" while the lectures on Jan 31 and Feb 1 the lectures are given in "Lilla Hörsalen (KB3A9)

Programme

Umeå Renewable Energy Meeting 2013 will take place in Umeå from 25 - 27 February at Kemiskt Biologiskt Centrum KBC.

Please go to the conference webpage for more information on the programme and registration:
http://www.kbc.umu.se/events/renewable-energy-meeting-2013.html


Organizing Committee:
Johannes Messinger, Per Gardeström, Hannele Tuominen, Johannes Hanson, Leif Jönsson

UPSC seminar by

Henrik Vibe-Scheller
University of California, Berkeley

Title:

'Optimizing plant cell walls for biofuel production'

Place KB3A9, Lilla hörsalen KBC

Henrik Vibe Scheller is an adjunct professor and vice-President of feedstocks division at JBEI (Joint BioEnergy Institute). He investigates the genes and proteins involved in biosynthesis of complex polysaccharides and glycoproteins in the plant cell wall, using arabidopsis and rice as model plants. Besides the fundamental scientific importance of these studies, understanding wall biosynthesis and regulation may allow us to develop crop plants that are more suitable feedstocks for biofuel production. Techniques used in the lab include biochemistry, spectroscopy, molecular genetics, cell biology and bioinformatics.

Publications from 2012-2013:

Bartley LE, Peck ML, Kim SR, Ebert B, Maniseri C, Chiniquy D, Sykes R, Gao L, Rautengarten C, Vega-Sanchez ME, Benke PI, Canlas PE, Cao P, Brewer S, Lin F, Smith WL, Zhang X, Keasling JD, Jentoft RE, Foster SB, Zhou J, Ziebell A, An G, Scheller HV, Ronald PC. Overexpression of a BAHD Acyltransferase, OsAt10, alters rice cell wall hydroxycinnamic acid content and saccharification. Plant Physiol. 2013 Feb 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Arabinosylation of a Yariv Precipitable Cell Wall Polymer Impacts Plant Growth as Exemplified by the Arabidopsis Glycosyltransferase Mutant ray1. Gille S, Sharma V, Baidoo EE, Keasling JD, Scheller HV, Pauly M. Mol Plant. 2013 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Vega-Sanchez M, Verhertbruggen Y, Scheller HV, Ronald P. Abundance of mixed linkage glucan in mature tissues and secondary cell walls of grasses. Plant Signal Behav. 2013 Jan 8;8(2). doi:pii: e23143. [Epub ahead of print]

Chen X, Vega-Sánchez ME, Bartley L, Verhertbruggen Y, Chiniquy D, Canlas P, Fagerström A, Prak L, Christensen U, Oikawa A, Chen M, Zuo S, Auer M, Willats W G.T., Harholt J, Scheller HV, and Ronald PC. Inactivation of OsIRX10 leads to decreased xylan content in rice stem cell walls and improved biomass saccharification. Mol Plant, in press.

Liwanag AJM, Ebert B, Verhertbruggen Y, Rennie EA, Rautengarten C, Oikawa A, Andersen MCF, Clausen MH, Scheller HV. (2012) Pectin Biosynthesis: GALS1 in Arabidopsis thaliana is a ?-1,4-galactan ?-1,4-galactosyltransferase. Plant Cell, 2012 Dec;24(12):5024-36. doi: 10.1105/tpc.112.106625. Epub 2012 Dec 14.
Petersen PD, Lau J, Ebert B, Yang F, Verhertbruggen Y, Kim JS, Varanasi P, Suttangkakul A, Auer M, Loqué D, Scheller HV. (2012) Engineering of plants with improved properties as biofuels feedstocks by vessel-specific complementation of xylan biosynthesis mutants. Biotechnol Biofuels, 2012 Nov 26;5(1):84. doi: 10.1186/1754-6834-5-84.

Yang F, Mitra P, Zhang L, Prak L, Verhertbruggen Y, Kim JK, Sun L, Zheng K, Tang K, Auer M, Scheller HV and Loqué D. Engineering secondary cell wall deposition in plants. Plant Biotechnol J, Published Online: 12 NOV 2012, DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12016

Rennie EA, Hansen SF, Baidoo EEK, Hadi M, Keasling JD, Scheller HV (2012) Three members of the Arabidopsis glycosyltransferase family 8 are xylan glucuronosyltransferases. Plant Physiol 159, 1408-1417.

Harholt J, Sørensen I, Roberts A, Willats W, Scheller HV, Petersen BL, Banks JA, Ulvskov P. (2012). The glycosyltransferase repertoire of the spikemoss Selaginella moellendorffii and a comparative study of the cell wall structure. Plos One 7(5): e35846.

Hansen SF, Harholt J, Oikawa A, Scheller HV. (2012) Plant glycosyltransferases beyond CAZy: A perspective on DUF families. Frontiers Plant Physiol, 3:59

Parsons HT, Christiansen K, Knierim B, Carroll A, Ito J, Batth TS, xSmith-Moritz AM, Morrison S, McInerney P, Hadi MZ, Auer M, Mukhopadhyay A, Christiansen K, Scheller HV, Loque D, Heazlewood JL (2012). Isolation and proteomic characterization of the Arabidopsis Golgi defines functional and novel components involved in plant cell wall biosynthesis. Plant Physiol 159: 12-26

Vega-Sánchez ME, Verhertbruggen Y, Christensen U, Chen X, Sharma V, Varanasi P, Jobling SA, Talbot M, White, RG, Joo M, Singh S, Auer M, Scheller HV, Ronald PC (2012). Loss of Cellulose Synthase-Like F6 function affects mixed-linkage glucan deposition, cell wall mechanical properties and defense responses in vegetative tissues of rice. Plant Physiol 159: 56-69

Harholt J, Jensen JK, Verhertbruggen Y, Søgaard C, Bernard S, Nafisi M, Poulsen CP, Geshi N, Sakuragi Y, Driouich A, Knox JP, Scheller HV (2012). ARAD proteins associated with pectic Arabinan biosynthesis form complexes when transiently overexpressed in planta. Planta. 2012 Jul;236(1):115-28. Epub 2012 Jan 21.

Orfila C, Degan FD, Jørgensen B, Scheller HV, Ray PM, Ulvskov P (2012). Expression of mung bean pectin acetyl esterase in potato tubers: effect on acetylation of cell wall polymers and tuber mechanical properties. Planta. 2012 Jul;236(1):185-96.

Søgaard C, Stenbæk A, Bernard S, Hadi M, Driouich A, Scheller HV, Sakuragi Y (2012) GO-PROMTO illuminates protein membrane topologies of glycan biosynthetic enzymes in the Golgi apparatus of living tissues. PLoS ONE 7: e31324.

Rautengarten C, Ebert B, Ouellet M, Nafisi M, Baidoo EEK, Benke P, Stranne M, Mukhopadhyay A, Keasling JD, Sakuragi Y, Scheller HV (2012). Arabidopsis Deficient in Cutin Ferulate encodes a transferase required for ferulyolation of w-hydroxyfatty acids in cutin polyester. Plant Physiol 158: 654-665.

Chiniquy D, Sharma V, Schultink A, Baidoo EE, Rautengarten C, Cheng K, Carroll A, Ulvskov P, Harholt J, Keasling JD, Pauly M, Scheller HV, and Ronald PC. (2012) XAX1 from glycosyltransferase family 61 mediates xylosyltransfer to rice xylan. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109: 17117-17122.

Oikawa A, Lund CH, Sakuragi Y, Scheller HV. Golgi-localized enzyme complexes for plant cell wall biosynthesis. Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2012.07.002 Trends in Plant Science xx (2012) 1–10

Christensen U, Scheller HV (2012) Regulation of (1,3;1,4)-b-d-glucan synthesis in developing endosperm of barley lys mutants. J Cereal Sci 55: 69–76.

Atmodjo MA, Sakuragi Y, Zhu X, Burrell A, Mohanty SS, Atwood JA, Orlando R, Scheller HV, Mohnen D (2011) Galacturonosyltransferase (GAUT)1 and GAUT7 are the core of a plant cell wall pectin biosynthetic homogalacturonan:galacturonosyl-transferase complex. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:20225-20230.

The Swedish Metabolomics Centre Umeå celebrates it's inauguration with a symposium on
Monday, 11 March and Tuesday 12 March 2013.

More information and programme
Registration

Conference venue: Stora hörsalen, KBC, KB3B1
contact: Jonas Gullberg, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Manager of the Swedish Metabolomics Centre Umeå

KBC Seminar
Speaker:
Gunnar Öquist
professor UPSC
permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2003-2010
and member of the Academy's Research Policy Committee


Status of Swedish Research

Presentation of the Report to the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences

Room: Stora hörsalen, KB3B1

Contact: Göran Samuelsson, UPSC/Department of Plant Physiology

The Polish ambasador, Mr Adam Halacinski, will visit UPSC to meet Polish people  living in Umea.

Cell wall biology, biotechnology and genomics

UPSC is organising a symposium together with a Canadian program called WOW (working on walls) in July 3-4 in Umeå.
Read more

Thesis Defence

Márcia Sofia
Frescatada Rosa
Plant Physiology

"Dissecting sterol function during clathrin-dependent endocytosis and cytokinesis in Arabidopsis thaliana"

Opponent:
Wolfgang Lukowitz, Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, USA

Supervisor: Markus Grebe, UPSC

Place: KB3A9 "Lilla hörsalen", KBC

Defence of Master Thesis

Jean Claude Nzayisenga

Title
"Analyses of in vitro protein-protein interaction of ACT7 or ACT2 and AIP1-2 from Arabidopsis thaliana and in vivo analysis of AIP1-2 expression"

Tuesday, 22 October 13:00

Room: KBF 30
Supervisor: Markus Grebe

Thesis Defence

Joakim Bygdell
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title:
Plant biology through quantitative proteomics


Faculty Examinar: Prof. Einar Jensen, University of Tromsø, Norway
Supervisor: Prof. Gunnar Wingsle, SLU

Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

UPSC - Thesis Defence

Benjamin Bollhörner
Plant Physiology

Title:
Significance of hydrolytic enzymes expressed during xylem cell death

Faculty Examiner:
Moritz Nowack, Dr, VIB Department of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Supervisor: Hannele Tuominen

Place: Hörsal F, Humanisthuset

 

Trial lecture for appointment as a docent, Docentföreläsning

Maria Eriksson, Department of Plant Physiology
Title: Regulation of growth and development – it's about time!
Host: Göran Samuelsson
Time: Thursday, 28 November, 14.15
Place: KB3A9 "Lilla hörsalen", KBC

Title: Metabolomics and Wood Development. Catching a metabolome
Place & Time: P-O Bäckströms Sal SLU, December 13 2013 10.00
Opponent: Proffessor Markku Keinänen, Department of Biology, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

Thesis title: Physiological changes in response to light intensity and R: FR ratio in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Place: KB4C10
Time: 11 A.M
Supervisors: Professor Åsa Strand and Maria Rosario Garcia Gil.

Umeå Renewable Energy Meeting 2014 is planned to take place at Chemical Biological Centre.
The main organisers will be Thomas Wågberg, Ludvig Edman, department of Physics.

Date 17 - 19 March 2014

More about the annual meeting is found here:
http://www.kbc.umu.se/events/renewable-energy-meeting-2014.html

Title: Characterization of new players in planar polarity establishment in Arabidopsis.

Stefano Pietra, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå university

Place: KB3B1, KBC

Opponent: Dr. Niko Geldner, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne.

UPRA Meeting Montpellier

UPSC symposium for young plant scientists

9.00-9.15:  welcome, introduction

9-15-9-45: Envel Kerdaffrec,GMI Vienna, Austria
“Seed dormancy, Sweden and local adaptation”

9.45-10-15: Sunita Kushwah, National Institute for Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi, India
“The interaction between glucose and cytokinin signal transduction pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana”

10-15-10.45: Simon Law, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the University of Western Australia, Australia
“Characterisation of mitochondrial biogenesis during seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana”

10.45-11.15: Julia Wind, Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden
"The role of the transcription factors ABI3, ABI4 and ANAC089 in seed maturation and germination”

11.15-11.45: Lin Xu, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the University of Western Australia, Australia
“An evolutionary perspective of dual-targeted proteins in plants”

Contact: Stephanie Robert and Totte Niitylä, Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Room : Stora hörsalen KB3B1, KBC

Title: TBA
Place: Björken SLU
Time: Jun 4 10.00
Welcome

Place: Björken SLU
Time: 10.00

Titel: Long-Term Effects of Nitrogen (N) Fertilizer and Simulated N Deposition on Boreal Forest Growth

Disputation David Öhman
Title: Function of MAP20 and MYB103 in Cellulose and Lignin Formation of Xylem Secondary Cell Walls
Time and Place: 2014-06-13 13:00, Umeå, P-O Bäckströms sal SLU Umeå
Respondent: MSc David Öhman, Institutionen för skoglig genetik och växtfysiologi
Opponent: Professor Carl Douglas, Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Title: Sequencing the parents of an F1 population of Swedish aspen as a resource to support natural variation studies.
Time and Place: June 23rd, 14:00 in KBF30

The organization committee welcomes  to the

conference “Lignin 2014 – biosynthesis and utilization”

that will be held in

Umeå 24-28 of August 2014.


The conference aims to strengthen our knowledge on the various aspects of lignin biosynthesis and utilization, from the basic cell biology, molecular biology to pre-treatment of plant biomass and utilization of lignin.  

Further information will be announced continuously under www.lignin2014.se

Master Thesis Defence

Speaker:
Domenique André

Title:
The Role of The Populus FT Genes in the Regulation of Tree Phenology

Supervisor: Ove Nilsson

Room KBF30

Masters Thesis Presentation
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU

Marcus Andersson

Title:
Subcellular Localization of a Neutral Invertase from hybrid Aspen (Populus tremula x tremuloides)

Supervisor: Totte Niittylä

Place: KBF30

Department of Plant Physiology

Thesis Defence

Christian Kiefer

Title:
Characterisation of actin cytoskeletal functions and interactions during planar polarity formation in Arabidopsis

Faculty Examiner:
Dr Tijs Ketelaar, Universitair docent, Laboratory of Cell Biologogy, Wageningnen University, the Netherlands.
Supervisor:
Markus Grebe

Place: Room BiA201, Biologihuset

PhD Thesis Defence

Regulation of Metabolic Events during Embryo Development in Norway Spruce (Picea abies L. Karst)

Edward Businge
Department of Forest Genetics & Plant Physiology

Faculty Examiner: Dr. Claudio Stasolla, Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Supervisor: Ulrika Egertsdotter

Room: P-O Bäckströms sal SLU Umeå

UPSC, Department of Plant Physiology
Thesis Defence

Dmitry Kremnev

Title:
Get in tune: Chloroplast and nucleus harmony

Faculty Examiner: Professor Francis Andre Wollman, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique (IBPC), Paris, Frankrike.
Supervisor: Åsa Strand.

Room: KB3B1 Stora hörsalen

Thesis title: Sugar-modulated gene expression and cell division in cell culture and seedlings of A. thaliana.
Opponent: Prof. Alison Smith (Dept. of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK)

Department Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Thesis Defence

Mir Amir Hossein Mahboubi

Title:
New insights into carbon transport andincorporation to wood

Faculty Examiner/Opponent: Prof Robert Turgeon from Cornell University, USA
Supervisor: Totte Niittylä

Place: P-O. Bäckströms sal,  SLU.

UPSC, Department of Plant Physiology (UmU)
Thesis Defence

Malgorzata Pietrzykowska

Title:
Lhcb1 och Lhcb2 in regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting

Faculty Examiner: Jean-David Rochaix, professor, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Geneva.

Supervisor: Stefan Jansson

Place: Biologihuset, BiA201

Title: Molecular Analysis of Growth Cessation and Dormacy in Hybrid Aspen
Place: P.O. Bäckströms sal, SLU Umeå
Time: 10.00 2015-02-20

Respondent: MSc Szymon Tylewicz, SKOGLIG GENETIK O VÄXTFYSIOLOGI
Opponent: Professor Isabel Allona, Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics U.P.M. - I.N.I.A. Parque Cientifico y Tecnológico de la U.P.M. Madrid, Spanien.

PhD thesis defense at P-O Bäckströms sal (Aulan), SLU building 8th May, 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

PhD thesis defense at Rönnen, SLU building 18th May, 13.00

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

For the third time Umeå Plant Science Centre is coordinating the Fascination of Plants Day on a local level in Umeå.

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
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel.070-677 23 31

UPSC Seminar for young plant scientists

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)

Schedule for the docent lectures, 8 june, 9am-16pm

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

Title: Acetylation of Polysaccharides in Plant Cell Wall
Place and time: Björken (Skogis), 26th June 2015, 10:00 am
Opponent: Peter Ulvskov, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Thirty graduate students from the Wallenberg Wood Science Center Academy, accompanied by their coordinator Prof. Paul Gatenholm from Chalmers will be visiting UPSC during three days.
More information:
http://www.upsc.se/about-upsc/news/4758-wwsc-academy-upsc-meeting-august-31st-september-2nd.html


Registration form (deadline August 10)

Welcome to
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

Title: Short and long term low temperature responses in Arabidopsis thaliana.
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)

Title: Combined profiling in Aspen. A systems Biology approach
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)

Title: Cellular Aspects of Lignin Biosynthesis in Xylem Vessels of Zinnia and Arabidopsis
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.

UPSC  - Department of Plant Physiology
Master Thesis Defence

Dimitrios Ilanidis

Title:
Does the white rot fungus, Trametes versicolor, have the ability to decompose lignocellulose?


Place: KB4C10

Supervisor: Anita Sellstedt

---------

Title: Molecular Regulation of Vascular Cambium Identity and Activity
Respondent: Melis Kucukoglu
Opponent: Prof. Christian Hardtke, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

(http://wp.unil.ch/hardtkelab)


Time and Place: 2015-11-27, 10:00, Björken SLU

The Kempe Foundations present the
Gunnar Öquist Fellows 2015

Place: KB3B1, Stora hörsalen, KBC

Participants:
Carl Kempe, Kempestiftelserna
Gunnar Öquist, Department of Plant Physiology
Lena Gustafsson, Vice-Chancellor Umeå University
Karin Ljung, Dekanus, Faculty of Forest Sciences, SLU

and two new Gunnar Öquist Fellows

Title: New insights into the regulation of stomatal movements by red light, carbon dioxide and circadian rhythms
Respondent: Anastasia Matrosova
Opponent: Dr Tracy Lawson, University of Essex, UK

Time and Place: 2015-12-04 10.00 Aspen SLU

UREM 2016 - Understanding and applying photosynthesis for a safe future
Organizers: Christiane Funk, Sylvia Larsson, Johannes Hansson and Johannes Messinger

Registration is closed now!

Conference Website
 
This meeting is dedicated to presentations and discussions on how sunlight can be transformed into fuels or valuable products and applications. Examples are the storage of light energy in molecular hydrogen (H2), methanol or ethanol produced from water and or CO₂ by photosynthetic organisms or by artificial photosynthesis, the cleaning of waste water and CO₂-containing flue gasses with photosynthetic organisms, the production of fish food using algae and the efficient use of algae and forest biomass in biorefineries or for the production of biogas. We bring together world experts in the fields of natural and artificial photosynthesis, bioenergy and biorefinery that will interact closely with local researchers and the public to advance these fields.
 
The Umeå Renewable Energy meeting is an annual event in Umeå since 2009. UREM2016 will take place February 24 and 25. We will have 14 invited speakers (of which 3 give keynote lectures) and 14 local presentations. The meeting is highly interdisciplinary, with speakers and attendees having backgrounds in physics, chemistry, biology and physiology. The aim is to strengthen and focus the renewable energy related research in Umeå by inspiring the students and public. For this, also ‘Meet the speaker lunches’ will be organized for students and postdocs, and two public lectures will be held on February 23.


Conference Website

Thesis Defence
UPSC Department of Plant Physiology

Sacha Escamez

Title:
Xylem cells cooperate in the control of lignification and cell death during plant vascular development

Faculty Examiner:
Andrew Groover, Department of Plant Biology
College of Biological Sciences
University of California, Davis, USA


Supervisor: Hannele Tuominen

Place: Lilla hörsale KB3A9

8.30	Arne Pommerening, professor i skoglig matematisk statistik
	Title: Can't see the wood for the trees? - The journey of mathematical forestry
9.00	Vaughan Hurry, professor i skogsträdens fysiologi
	Title: Life in a hothouse world
10.00	Karin Ljung, professor in plant physiology
	Title: Forskningen går under jorden – Vad kan ett ogräs lära oss om växters och träds rotutveckling?
10.30	David Parsons, professor i växtodlingslära
	Title: Agricultural Systems – Finding clarity in the complexity

 
For more information look here: Nya professor at SLU Umeå

PhD School on environmental regulation of plant development in Valencia, Spain, 17-19, May 2016,

Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Thesis Defence
Zhi-qiang Chen

Title:
Quantiative Genetics of Norway Spruce in Sweden

Faculty Examiner:
Professor Fikret Isik, Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA.

Supervisor:
Harry, X. Wu

Place: P-O Bäckström sal, SLU Library Building, SLU, Umeå

We welcome you to the UPSC Days 2016!

They will take place the 30-31 May 2016 at Skogshögskolan (SLU, Umeå).

The meeting will focus on cutting edge research in plant science and highlight new initiatives and facilities here at the UPSC. Besides talks we will have an extended poster session during lunch and coffee breaks.

We like to encourage every participant to submit a proposal for a poster title together with the registration. The UPSC Young Scientist Symposium is included in the UPSC days.


Location: P.O. Bäckström salen and Åteln, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) in Umeå

Programme and registration

Contact: Anne Honsel, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

Franziska Bandau


Title: Importance of tannins for responses of aspen to anthropogenic nitrogen enrichment

Faculty Examiner: Lisbeth Jonsson, professor, Stockholm University,  Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences

Supervisor: Benedicte Albrectsen.

Room: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Master Thesis Defence

Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Álvaro Montiel Jordá

Title: The role of the BLADE-ON-PETIOLE genes in flowering

Supervisor: Ove Nilsson and Bo Zhang

Room: KB4C10 Lecture Room

Master Thesis Defence 

Department of Plant Physiology

Daniel Iglesias Duro

Title: CRISPR/Cas9-based transcriptional regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Supervisor: Markus Schmid

Room: KB4C10 Lecture Room

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

Louise Norén Lindbäck

Title: Coordination of two different genomes in response to light and stress.

Faculty Examiner: Dr Antony Dodd, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, UK

Supervisor: Åsa Strand

Room: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

Erik Edlund

Title: Regulatory Control of Autumn Senescence in Populus tremula.


Faculty Examiner: Paul Dijkwel, Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand

Supervisor: Stefan Jansson

Room: Stora hörsalen, KB3B1

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

Marie Holmgren

Title: Trametes versicolor as biodegrader of lignocellulose and biocatalyst during ethanol fermentation.

Faculty Examiner: Mohammad Taherzadeh, professor in Bioprocess Technology, Swedish Centre of Resource Recovery University of Borås.

Supervisor: Anita Sellstedt

Room: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

Huizu Vicky Guo

Title: Phenolics, Nitrogen, and Biotic interactions: A study of phenylpropanoid metabolites and gene expression in the leaves of Populus tremula.

Faculty Examiner: George Newcombe, Prof, Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, USA

Supervisor: Benedicte Albrectsen.

Room: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Welcome to the KBC DAYS 2016 at Chemical Biological Centre

8 - 9 November 2016

Place: Stora hörsalen KB.E3.03 (former KB3B1)

For more information and for registration have a look here:

http://www.kbc.umu.se/english/events/kbc-days/

Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to:
•Cellulose chemistry and derivatives
•Cellulose structures and composites
•Dissolution of cellulose
•Dissolving pulp preparation and properties
•Nanocellulose, Regeneration of cellulose
•Spinning of cellulosic fibres
 
Study visits to Domsjö Fabriker, SP Processum and MoRe Research.
Registration will open in April 1.
Researchers and industry representatives are invited to present latest findings.

Paper and poster applications to be submitted at latest May 30.

www.celluloseworkshop.com

Thesis Defence Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology (SLU)

Thomas Vain

Title: Chemical biology and digital image processing to unravel complex molecular mechanisms in Arabidopsis

Faculty Examiner: Dolf Weijers, Wageningen University, Netherlands

Supervisor: Stéphanie Robert

Room: Björken (Skogis)

Thesis Defence Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Fredrik From

Title: Long-Term Effects of Nitrogen (N) Additions on Boreal Forest

Faculty examiner: Professor Michelle Mack, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, USA

Supervisor: Annika Nordin (SLU)

Place & Time: Björken SLU Umeå, 2016-12-01 13.00

Thesis Defence Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Umut Rende

Title:  Sucrose cleavage pathways in aspen wood

Faculty Examiner: Professor Samuel Zeeman, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Supervisor: Totte Niittylä

Room: P-O Bäckström, SLU

We will start with the UPSC Christmas Party with a pot luck in our lunch room and move on later to the KBC cafeteria to join the KBC Christmas Party.

Johan Sjölander

Bachelor thesis project in Plant Biology

Title : Cloning and characterization of Arabidopsis clock- and stress-related genes and mutants

Supervisor: Maria E. Eriksson

The Umeå Renewable Energy Meeting 2017

February 14-17

For more information have a look here:

www.urem.se

Forskare från Umeå Plant Science Center – Umeå universitet och SLU – berättar om sin forskning.

P-O Bäckströms sal, SLU
9 mars kl  12:00 – 16:00

Populärvetenskapliga föredrag i huvudsak på svenska.

Kaffe och te i pausen.                             

Alla är välkomna!

Seminar by Professor Kjell Asplund

Chairman of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics (SMER)


Title: After Macchiarini - Reflections on research misconduct and ethics

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

David Sundell

Title: Novel resources enabling comparative regulomics in forest tree species

Faculty examiner: Klaas Vandepoele, VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, Belgium

Supervisor: Torgeir R Hvidsten, Nathanial Street

Place & Time: Lilla hörsalen, 13.00

For more information about the event have a look here:

www.fascinerandevaxtersdag.se

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

Daniel Decker

Title:

Englisch: UDP-sugar metabolizing pyrophosphorylases in plants

Swedish: Växters UDP-socker metaboliserande pyrofosforylaser

Faculty examiner: Henrik Vibe Scheller, Vice President for Feedstocks and Director of Cell Wall Biosynthesis, Joint BioEnergy Institute, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Supervisor: Leszek Kleczkowski

Place & Time: Lilla hörsalen, 10.15

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology

Zsofia Réka Stangl

Title: Acclimation of plants to combinations of abiotic factors: connecting the lab to the field

Faculty examiner: Lisa Ainsworth, Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

Supervisor: Vaughan Hurry

Place & Time: Stora hörsalen KB.E3.03, 13.00

Thesis Defence Department of Plant Physiology


Stefano Papazian


Title:

Black Mustard and the Butterfly Effect. Metabolomics of Plant-Insect Interactions under Multiple Stress Conditions


Faculty examiner: Edward (Ted) Farmer, Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland


Supervisor: Benedicte Riber Albrectsen


Place & Time: Lilla hörsalen, 10.00

Plant Science 50years in Umeå Symposium

Date: August 21-23

Place: KBC huset, Stora hörsalen

The full event is only open to registered people. However, everyone is welcome to join the talks in Stora hörsalen or via video stream in the seminar room KB.F3.01.

More information and the full programme here

Programme for download:
Programme_Anniversary_Symposium.pdf

Department Day of the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology (SLU)

Place: Ekorrsele, Vindeln
Date: 19th of September.

More information here

Oct 30-Nov 3, 2017

3 ECTS

Deadline for application: 1st of May 2017 (the number of participants is limited to 20)


Course description

Development of novel wood-based products requires an understanding of the biological processes that lead to wood cell differentiation including cell division, expansion, secondary cell wall formation and programmed cell death.

One week intensive PhD course provides a brief overview of wood organization, chemistry and structure in conifers and hardwoods, from the molecular level to the tissue organization level, followed by an update on molecular, genetic and physiological aspects of wood cell differentiation and cell wall formation. Current tools for studying wood structure and chemical composition, as well as the bioinformatics tools available for wood biology are introduced with practical demonstrations. Lectures and seminars are given by experts in the field. Many opportunities for social interactions and networking.

Organizers:

Prof. Ewa Mellerowicz, SLU, Sweden

Dr. Anna Kärkönen, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Luke, Finland

Prof. Teemu Teeri, University of Helsinki, Finland

Course literature:

Jörg Fromm – Cellular aspects of Wood Formation. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013. ISBN 978-3-642-36490-7

Approx. 20 research papers suggested by the lecturers.

Oct 30-Nov 3, 2017

3 ECTS

Deadline for application: 1st of May 2017 (the number of participants is limited to 20)


Course description

Development of novel wood-based products requires an understanding of the biological processes that lead to wood cell differentiation including cell division, expansion, secondary cell wall formation and programmed cell death.

One week intensive PhD course provides a brief overview of wood organization, chemistry and structure in conifers and hardwoods, from the molecular level to the tissue organization level, followed by an update on molecular, genetic and physiological aspects of wood cell differentiation and cell wall formation. Current tools for studying wood structure and chemical composition, as well as the bioinformatics tools available for wood biology are introduced with practical demonstrations. Lectures and seminars are given by experts in the field. Many opportunities for social interactions and networking.

Organizers:

Prof. Ewa Mellerowicz, SLU, Sweden

Dr. Anna Kärkönen, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Luke, Finland

Prof. Teemu Teeri, University of Helsinki, Finland

Course literature:

Jörg Fromm – Cellular aspects of Wood Formation. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013. ISBN 978-3-642-36490-7

Approx. 20 research papers suggested by the lecturers.

Oct 30-Nov 3, 2017

3 ECTS

Deadline for application: 1st of May 2017 (the number of participants is limited to 20)


Course description

Development of novel wood-based products requires an understanding of the biological processes that lead to wood cell differentiation including cell division, expansion, secondary cell wall formation and programmed cell death.

One week intensive PhD course provides a brief overview of wood organization, chemistry and structure in conifers and hardwoods, from the molecular level to the tissue organization level, followed by an update on molecular, genetic and physiological aspects of wood cell differentiation and cell wall formation. Current tools for studying wood structure and chemical composition, as well as the bioinformatics tools available for wood biology are introduced with practical demonstrations. Lectures and seminars are given by experts in the field. Many opportunities for social interactions and networking.

Organizers:

Prof. Ewa Mellerowicz, SLU, Sweden

Dr. Anna Kärkönen, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Luke, Finland

Prof. Teemu Teeri, University of Helsinki, Finland

Course literature:

Jörg Fromm – Cellular aspects of Wood Formation. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013. ISBN 978-3-642-36490-7

Approx. 20 research papers suggested by the lecturers.

Oct 30-Nov 3, 2017

3 ECTS

Deadline for application: 1st of May 2017 (the number of participants is limited to 20)


Course description

Development of novel wood-based products requires an understanding of the biological processes that lead to wood cell differentiation including cell division, expansion, secondary cell wall formation and programmed cell death.

One week intensive PhD course provides a brief overview of wood organization, chemistry and structure in conifers and hardwoods, from the molecular level to the tissue organization level, followed by an update on molecular, genetic and physiological aspects of wood cell differentiation and cell wall formation. Current tools for studying wood structure and chemical composition, as well as the bioinformatics tools available for wood biology are introduced with practical demonstrations. Lectures and seminars are given by experts in the field. Many opportunities for social interactions and networking.

Organizers:

Prof. Ewa Mellerowicz, SLU, Sweden

Dr. Anna Kärkönen, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Luke, Finland

Prof. Teemu Teeri, University of Helsinki, Finland

Course literature:

Jörg Fromm – Cellular aspects of Wood Formation. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013. ISBN 978-3-642-36490-7

Approx. 20 research papers suggested by the lecturers.

Oct 30-Nov 3, 2017

3 ECTS

Deadline for application: 1st of May 2017 (the number of participants is limited to 20)


Course description

Development of novel wood-based products requires an understanding of the biological processes that lead to wood cell differentiation including cell division, expansion, secondary cell wall formation and programmed cell death.

One week intensive PhD course provides a brief overview of wood organization, chemistry and structure in conifers and hardwoods, from the molecular level to the tissue organization level, followed by an update on molecular, genetic and physiological aspects of wood cell differentiation and cell wall formation. Current tools for studying wood structure and chemical composition, as well as the bioinformatics tools available for wood biology are introduced with practical demonstrations. Lectures and seminars are given by experts in the field. Many opportunities for social interactions and networking.

Organizers:

Prof. Ewa Mellerowicz, SLU, Sweden

Dr. Anna Kärkönen, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Luke, Finland

Prof. Teemu Teeri, University of Helsinki, Finland

Course literature:

Jörg Fromm – Cellular aspects of Wood Formation. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013. ISBN 978-3-642-36490-7

Approx. 20 research papers suggested by the lecturers.

You can find more information here.

The PhD students from the Doctoral Programme in Plant Sciences (DPPS) from the University of Helsinki will visit UPSC.

The programme will be published soon.

For questions please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The UPSC Christmas Dinner will start at 18:00h in the UPSC Lunch room. Later on, there will be the KBC Christmas Party with  music and dancing in the KBC Cafeteria.

UPSC Christmas lunch at Åteln, Skogis

Date: 12 December
Start: 12:00h
Place: Åteln at SLU, Umeå

Register here

Thesis defence

Mateusz Majda
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology


Title: Role of the cell wall in cell shape acquisition


Opponent: Malcolm Bennett, University of Nottingham, UK

Supervisor: Stéphanie Robert


Time and place: 9:30h, Björken, SLU

PhD thesis defence

Christoffer Johnsson
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Elucidating the phytohormonal control of xylem development

Opponent: Andrea Polle, Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, Büsgen Institute, University of Göttingen, Germany

Supervisor: Urs Fischer

Time and place: 13:00h, P-O Bäckströms sal, SLU

Thesis defence

Haleh Hayatgheibi
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology


Title: Quantitative genetics of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) wood quality traits in Sweden

Opponent: Yousry A. El-kassaby, Forest Sciences Centre, the University of British Columbia, Canada

Supervisor: Harry Xiaming Wu


Time and place: 10:00h, Björken, SLU

Thesis defence

Daria Chrobok
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: To "leaf" or not to "leaf" - Understanding the metabolic adjustments associated with leaf senescence

Faculty opponent: David Macherel, IRHS-MitoStress, University of Angers, France

Supervisor: Olivier Keech, Per Gardeström

29th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR 2018)

25 - 29 June 2018

Turku, Finland

More information: http://icar2018.arabidopsisresearch.org

29th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR 2018)

25 - 29 June 2018

Turku, Finland

More information: http://icar2018.arabidopsisresearch.org

Master thesis presentation

Benie Diane Nyirarukundo
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology (SLU)

Title: Studying the role of microtubule and cellulose during apical hook development in Arabidopsis thaliana

Supervisor: Rishi P. Bhalerao

29th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR 2018)

25 - 29 June 2018

Turku, Finland

More information: http://icar2018.arabidopsisresearch.org

29th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR 2018)

25 - 29 June 2018

Turku, Finland

More information: http://icar2018.arabidopsisresearch.org

29th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR 2018)

25 - 29 June 2018

Turku, Finland

More information: http://icar2018.arabidopsisresearch.org

Thesis defence

Johanna Carlsson
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Nitrogen uptake and assimilation during Norway spruce somatic embryogenesis - Investigating the role of glutamine

Faculty opponent: Francisco M Cánovas, Department de Biologia Molecular y Bioquimica, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus Universiatrio de Teatinos, Universidad de Málaga, Spain

Supervisor: Ulrika Egertsdotter

Thesis defence

Bernard Wessels
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: The significance of ethylene and ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTORS in wood formation of hybrid aspen

Faculty opponent: Kurt Fagerstedt, Professor, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki

Supervisor: Hannele Tuominen

Master thesis presentation

Johan Sjölander
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: What about the circadian clock in wood tissues?

Supervisor: Maria E. Eriksson


Room: KB.J3.01

Master thesis presentation

Zulema Carracedo Lorenzo
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Enzymatic activity of a member of the carbohydrate esterase family 15

Supervisor: Ewa Mellerowicz


Room: KB.J3.01 Seminar room

UPSC Christmas lunch at Åteln, Skogis

Date: 12 December
Start: 12:00h
Place: Åteln at SLU, Umeå

Register here

Thesis defence

Julia Haas
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Abiotic stress and plant microbe interaction in Norway spruce

Faculty opponent: Jennifer Baltzer, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Forest and Global Change Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada

Supervisor: Vaughan Hurry

Master thesis presentation

Mohamed Mounir Boucetta
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Generation of Arabidopsis proteolytic mutants using CRISPR

Supervisor: Panagiotis Nikolaou Moschou (SLU, Uppsala)

Co-Supervisor: László Bakó


Room: KBC Glasburen

Thesis defence

Lorenza Ferro
Department of Chemistry

Title: Wastewater treatment and biomass generation by Nordic microalgae - Growth in subarctic climate and microbial interactions

Faculty opponent: Luisa Gouveia, National Laboratory of Energy and Geology, Lisbon, Portugal

Supervisor: Christiane Funk (Department of Chemistry)

Master thesis presentation

Hannah Ohm
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Functional Analysis of the PIRIN2 interacting basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor

Supervisor: Hannele Tuominen
Co-Supervisor: Bernadette Sztojka

Room: KB.J3.01

On April 28 1999, the application to form Umeå Plant Science Centre was formally filed to the universities. Now - 20 years later - UPSC is a leading research centre for experimental plant biology. We want to celebrate this with an anniversary party for past and current employees and others who have had connections to UPSC.

On the same day, we will organise a symposium highlighting the contributions of Göran Samuelsson and Per Gardeström, long-term leaders of one of the UPSC departments, and both recently retired. The symposium will be followed by the official anniversary celebration, starting with a common activity. 

Please find more information and the programme here:
https://www.upsc.se/about-upsc/events/5472-welcome-to-the-20-years-upsc-celebration.html

Thesis defence

Nguyen Thi Hai Hong
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Genetics, breeding and deployment of Melaleuca and Norway spruce

Faculty opponent: Prof. Steven E. McKeand, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Resources, NC State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Supervisor: Harry Wu

For more information about the event from previous years have a look here:

www.fascinerandevaxtersdag.se

https://www.ishs.org/news/4th-international-fascination-plants-day-2017

Thesis defence

Ainhoa Calleja-Rodriguez
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Quantitative Genetics and Genomic Selection of Scots Pine

Faculty opponent: Heidi Dungey, Senior scientist and Science Leader of Forest Genetics, Scion (New Zealand Forest Research Institution), New Zealand

Supervisor: Harry Wu

Master thesis presentation

Elena van Zalen
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Integrating machine learning and co-expression networks to identify components of abiotic stress responses in Norway spruce 

Supervisor: Nathaniel Street

Room: KB.J3.02

Thesis defence

Kristoffer Jonsson
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Understanding The Molecular Basis Of Differential Growth During Apical Hook Development

Faculty opponent: Mads Eggert Nielsen, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Supervisor: Rishikesh Bhalerao

Master thesis presentation

Delphine Noel
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Characterization of Phanerochaete chrysosporium mutants resistant to extractives of Bagassa guianensis and Prunus avium.

Supervisor: Rodnay Sormani & Anita Sellstedt

Room: KB.J3.01

Master thesis presentation

Michele Schneider
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Effects of retrograde and light signalling on chloroplast development

Supervisor: Åsa Strand

Room: KB.J3.01

Master thesis presentation

Sanghyun Kim
Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies

Title: The effects of forest management on soil macro-micro fungal communities in Swedish boreal ecosystems

Supervisor: John Senior & Petter Axelsson
Co-Supervisor: Nathaniel Street

Room: KB.J3.01

Master thesis presentation

Johan Hansson
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Brassica nigra primed with thiamine incresaed the fitness parameters and reduced the performance of the P. brassicae.

Supervisor: Benedicte Albrectsen
Co-Supervisor: Jenna Lihavainen

Room: KB.J3.01

More information:

https://www.upsc.se/about-upsc/events/5588-visit-of-the-wallenberg-wood-science-center-summer-school.html

Master thesis presentation

Jonathan Lecoy
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: An evolutionary analysis of LP3, an ASR homolog found in Pine

Supervisor: María Rosario García Gil


Room: KB.J3.02

Master thesis presentation

Asma Dob
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: A novel molecular circuit guides IAA-JA crosstalk during adventitious rooting in Arabidopsis

Supervisor: Catherine Bellini


Room: KB.G4.02 Lecture room

More information can be found here (only in Swedish):

https://www.slu.se/ew-kalender/2019/10/slu-dagen/

Master thesis presentation

Han Nguyen
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Nitrogen fixation of two symbionts in the boreal area of Sweden

Supervisor: Anita Sellstedt


Room: KB.J3.01 Lecture room

More information can be found here:
https://www.umu.se/en/chemical-biological-centre/kbc_events/kbc-days-2019/

More information can be found here:
https://www.umu.se/en/chemical-biological-centre/kbc_events/kbc-days-2019/

Thesis defence

Abdellah Lakehal
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: A molecular network mediating adventitious root initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Faculty opponent: Malcolm Bennett, Plant and Crop Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, UK

Supervisor: Catherine Bellini

UPSC Christmas lunch in the KBC Caféteria

Date: 4th December 2019
Start: 12:00h
Place: KBC Caféteria

Register here for the UPSC Christmas lunch

Last date to register: Wednesday, 27th of November

PhD Thesis Disputation

Alexis Sullivan
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences

Title: A Forest Dark: An Evolutionary History of Norway Spruce

Faculty opponent: Prof. Bengt Oxelman, Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg

Supervisor: Xiao-Ru Wang

Thesis defence

Shashank Sane
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Molecular Regulation of Bud Phenology and Vegetative Phase Change in Populus Trees

Faculty opponent: Miguel Blazquez, Institute of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain

Supervisor: Ove Nilsson

The public dissertation will be broadcasted live on https://play.slu.se.

Thesis defence

Irena Fundová
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Quantitative genetics of wood quality traits in Scots pine

Faculty opponent: Philippe Rozenberg, Department of Forest, Grassland and Freshwater Ecology, French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE), France

Supervisor: Harry Xiaming Wu

The public dissertation will be broadcasted live on https://play.slu.se.

PhD thesis defence

Chanaka Mannapperuma
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Human-computer interaction principles for developing web-based genomics resources

Faculty opponent: Marek Mutwil, The School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Supervisor: Nathaniel Street

The public dissertation will be broadcasted live via Zoom:

https://umu.zoom.us/j/62366789113?pwd=Mjc2N3RVWlhaOXlYODJsRjREVy9KUT09
Meeting ID: 623 6678 9113
Password: 878277

Please join the meeting in time. When joining, you will first come to a waiting room before being able to join the defence (it will be released after the start of the defence). Please stay muted with no video. If you want to ask a question during the public question time at the end of the defence, send a message in the chat clearly stating that you have a question (e.g. like "I have a question"). You will then be unmuted that you can ask your question. 

Please note that the time has moved to 10:00 o'clock

PhD thesis defence

Bastian Schiffthaler
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Embracing the Data Flood - Integrating Diverse Data to Improve Phenotype Association Discovery in Forest Trees

Faculty opponent: Marek Mutwil, The School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Supervisor: Nathaniel Street


The public dissertation will be broadcasted live via Zoom:

https://umu.zoom.us/j/64861332450?pwd=TjBvM0Z0aTJmV3FBQ012MWlJV2ZUQT09
Meeting ID: 648 6133 2450
Password: 863393

Please join the meeting in time. When joining, you will first come to a waiting room before being able to join the defence (it will be released after the start of the defence). Please stay muted with no video. If you want to ask a question during the public question time at the end of the defence, send a message in the chat clearly stating that you have a question (e.g. like "I have a question"). You will then be unmuted that you can ask your question.

PhD thesis defence

Jean Claude Nzayisenga
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Autotrophic and heterotrophic culture of nordic microalgae in wastewater for lipid production

Faculty opponent: Professor Ashton Keith Cowan, Institute for Environmental Biotechnology, Rhodes University, South Africa

Supervisor: Anita Sellstedt

The public dissertation will be broadcasted live via Zoom:

https://umu.zoom.us/j/66172818246?pwd=T2dEcEIrKzgwQmxVV1BDRHJSRUFkQT09
Meeting ID: 661 7281 8246
Password: 575533

Please join the meeting in time. When joining, you will first come to a waiting room before being able to join the defence (it will be released after the start of the defence). Please stay muted with no video. If you want to ask a question during the public question time at the end of the defence, send a message in the chat clearly stating that you have a question (e.g. like "I have a question"). You will then be unmuted that you can ask your question.

PhD thesis defence

Linghua Zhou
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Towards genomic-based breeding in Norwary spruce

Faculty opponent: Marcio Resende, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Florida, USA

Supervisor: M. Rosario Garcia-Gil

The public dissertation will be broadcasted live on https://play.slu.se.

PhD thesis defence

Pieter Nibbering
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: The role and synthesis of β1,3-galactans in plant cell wall formation

Faculty opponent: Grégory Mouille, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, UMR 1318 INRAE-Agro Paris Tech, Versailles, France

Supervisor: Totte Niittylä

The public dissertation will be broadcasted live on https://play.slu.se.

PhD thesis defence

Bernadette Sztojka
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: New regulators of xylem lignification in Arabidopsis

Faculty opponent: Prof. Simon Hawkins, Department of Biology, University of Lille, France

Supervisor: Hannele Tuominen

The public dissertation will be streamed online.

We will have a small virtual Christmas celebration and also announce the winner of the UPSC Agrisera Prize 2020.
More information has been send out via mail.

PhD thesis defence

Yan Ji
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Regulation of chloroplast development during the greening process

Faculty opponent: Eevi Rintamäki, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Supervisor: Åsa Strand

The public dissertation will be streamed online.

PhD thesis defence

Jenny Lundströmer
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Adaption of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) to current and future climatic conditions

Faculty opponent: Darius Danusevičius, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania

Supervisor: María Rosario García Gil

The public dissertation will be broadcasted live via Zoom:
https://slu-se.zoom.us/j/69342594349?pwd=NVdFK1pJUU9BaEFacktzNlBrdVB1Zz09
Passcode: 269071

Link to thesis: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/21159/

PhD thesis defence

Sanaria Abbas Jaafar Alallaq
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Characterization of adventitious root formation in Populus species and Norway spruce

Faculty opponent: María Carmen Díaz-Sala Galeano, Department of Life Sciences, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain

Supervisor: Catherine Bellini

Connect to the Zoom meeting

PhD thesis defence

Domenique André
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Molecular Regulation of the Annual Growth Cycle in Populus Trees

Faculty opponent: Soraya Pelaz, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), Barcelona, Spain

Supervisor: Ove Nilsson

The public dissertation will be live broadcasted via Zoom:
https://slu-se.zoom.us/j/61529444980
Passcode: 286111


Link to thesis: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/24748/

PhD thesis defence

Anne Bünder
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: The biology and properties of wood for nanocellulose production

Faculty opponent: Ingo Burgert, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Supervisor: Totte Niittylä

The public dissertation will be live broadcasted via Zoom:
https://slu-se.zoom.us/j/67948993612
Passcode: 370438

Link to the thesis: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25573/

PhD thesis defence

Evgeniy Donev
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title: Modification of forest trees by transgenic biotechnologies. From design to the field

Faculty opponent: Sharon Regan, Department of Biology, Queens's University Kingston Ontario, Canada

Supervisor: Ewa Mellerowicz

The public dissertation will be live broadcasted via Zoom:
https://slu-se.zoom.us/j/64843961201
Passcode: 125433

Link to the thesis: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25690/

PhD thesis defence

Laxmi Mishra
Department of Chemistry, Umeå University

Title: FtsH metalloproteases and their pseudo-proteases in the chloroplast envelope of Arabidopsis thaliana

Faculty opponent: Catherine De Vitry, CNRS, Sorbonne University, Paris, France

Supervisor: Christiane Funk

The public dissertation will be live broadcasted via Zoom.

Link to Laxmi Mishra's PhD thesis

UPSC Christmas lunch at SLU Kårhus

The Christmas lunch will start at 12.00 o'clock and will include e.g. rice pudding, ham, glögg and more.

Date: Tuesday, 7th December 2019
Place: Skogis Kårhus (SLU’s student union house), Umeå

The registration for the lunch is closed. For questions please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Licentiate lecture

Matej Domevscik
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

Title:
Adapting Scots pine Regeneration to the Changing Climate: An investigation of the effects of seed coating, arginine addition, and planting position

Supervisor: Annika Nordin

Link to the thesis: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/id/eprint/26663 

You are welcome to attend the lecture online, via Zoom! To register, please contact Tinkara Bizjak, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
With a valid vaccination certificate you can also join the lecture in P-O Bäckströms sal, SLU Umeå.

PhD thesis defence

Pushan Bag
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: How do Christmas trees remain ever green? Photosynthetic acclimation of Scots pine and Norway spruce needles during winter

Faculty opponent: Francis Andre Wollman, Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology (IBPC), Laboratory of Membrane and Molecular Physiology of Chloroplast, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France

Supervisor: Stefan Jansson

PhD thesis defence

David Castro
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU

Title: Who comes first? Implications of the plantmicrobiome-soil continuum feedback on plant performance

Faculty opponent: Barbara Hawkins, Centre for Forest Biology, University of Victoria, Canada

Supervisor: Vaughan Hurry

The thesis defence will be live broadcasted via Zoom (please contact Vaughan Hurry for details).

PhD thesis defence

Andreas Schneider
Department of Plant Physiology

Title: Perturbance and Stimulation - Using nitrogen addition and high throughput sequencing to study fungal communities in boreal forests

Faculty opponent: Colin Averill, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Supervisor: Nathaniel Street

PhD thesis defence

Sonja Viljamaa
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU

Title: Carbon allocation in aspen trees

Faculty opponent: Andrew D Friend, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Supervisor: Totte Niittylä

PhD thesis defence

Isabella Hallberg-Sramek
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU

Title: Tailoring forest management to local socio-ecological contexts - Addressing climate change and local stakeholders’ expectations of forests

Faculty opponent: Professor Georg Winkel, Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

Supervisor: Annika Nordin

Assistant supervisors:
Camilla Sandström, Department of Political Science, Umeå University
Erland Mårald, Department of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, Umeå University
Eva-Maria Nordström, Department of Forest Resource Management, SLU Umeå

Location: The public defence will take place in P-O Bäckströms sal at SLU in Umeå and will be also broadcasted via Zoom.

The thesis will be available via the following link from May 3: https://doi.org/10.54612/a.6os9e6ei21

A brief description of the thesis:
Forests are expected to provide multiple ecosystem services and contribute to climate change mitigation, while also being adapted to the impacts of climate change. This thesis highlights the various competing expectations placed on forests in Sweden and how they can be addressed by tailoring forest management to local socio-ecological contexts in collaboration with local forest stakeholders, thereby reducing the gap between forest science and practice.

Keywords: sustainable forest management, climate-smart forestry, ecosystem services, media analysis, machine learning, co-production processes, local knowledge, forest policy, forest stakeholders, scenario modelling.

PhD Thesis Defence

Pierrick Bru
Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University

Title: Investigating the molecular mechanism of photoprotection qH, in Arabidopis thaliana

Faculty opponent: Stefano Caffarri, Department of Biology, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France

Supervisor: Alizée Malnoë

PhD Thesis Defence

Bodil Häggström

Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Title: Improving boreal forest regeneration in a variable climate

Faculty opponent: Douglass Jacobs, Fred M. van Eck Professor of Forest Biology, Department of Forest and Natural Resources, Purdue University, USA

Supervisor: Annika Nordin

Link to PhD thesis: https://publications.slu.se/?file=publ/show&id=128176 

 

You can also attend online:

https://slu-se.zoom.us/j/66376831020?pwd=c0VGYmVxa3Y1aWxLYzJWUlZqVnJVQT09

Code: 346198

All interested are welcome to attend!

PhD Thesis Defence

Johan Sjölander

Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University

Title: Timing is everything: Exploring the role of the circadian clock in plant growth and adaptation

Faculty opponent: Anthony Hall, Head of Plant Genomics, Earlham Institute, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK

Supervisor: Maria Eriksson

PhD Thesis Defence

Félix Barbut

Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU

Title: Unraveling the role of xylan in the integrity of secondary cell walls: insights from Arabidopsis and aspen 

Faculty opponent: Thorsten Hamann
Professor at the Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

Supervisor: Ewa Mellerowicz

PhD Thesis Defence

Camilla Canovi

Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University (UMU)

Title: Tackling a genomic abyss: Approaches to link long non-coding RNAs to potential biological function in Norway spruce and aspen.

Faculty opponent: Tanja Susanna Pyhäjärvi, Department of Forest Sciences Viikki Plant Science Centre (ViPS), Helsinki, Finland.

Supervisor: Nathaniel Street

Link to PhD thesis:

https://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1900774&dswid=6874

PhD Thesis Defence

Nabila El Arbi

Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University (UMU)

Title: Exploring the role of RNA metabolism in the context of plant development under temperature stress.

Faculty opponent: Artur Jarmolowski from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.

Supervisor: Marcus Schmid

Link to PhD thesis: