Our Current Research
Plant dormancy in a changing climate
We use the potato plant (Solanum tuberosum) as a model system to study bud dormancy and vegetative growth. Since dormancy cannot be studied in classical plant models, the potato tuber offers an attractive system to study bud dormancy because its burst and growth are not limited by a seasonal cycle and can be investigated under various temperature and light conditions.
Sugar metabolism as a mechanism for abiotic stress tolerance
Using vacuolar invertase CRISPR/Cas9 mutants, we have discovered alternative plant pathways that allow them to cope with abiotic stresses. We combined a biochemical study with transcriptome analysis and genome editing to show the upregulation of ROS, ROS-scavenging and osmoprotectant-related genes during cold induced sweetening. We showed that CRISPR vacuolar invertase mutants expressed lower oxidative stress and higher antioxidant gene expression. Enhanced myo-inositol osmoprotection and enhanced ethylene-biosynthesis pathway constituents were found to dominate the mutants' response to cold and drought stresses. We, therefore, identified a pathway involving osmoprotection and ROS scavenging that promotes better tolerance to abiotic stresses.
The role of PCD in plant apical dominance
We intend to identify and characterize functional genes that will affect the future yield of propagation material. We research factors that affect apical dominance and plant shape using potato tuber as a case study of vegetative propagation organs. In this framework, we study the role of developmental programmed cell death (PCD) in the loss of apical dominance in response to abiotic stress.
