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A1: Organ-specificity of plastic responses to light quality and temperature

Prof. Dr. Kerstin Kaufmann

Institute of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13 (Haus 22), 10115 Berlin

Tel. +49-30-209349740, kerstin.kaufmannhu-berlinde

https://www2.hu-berlin.de/biologie/flower/

 

Open positions:

Position DR/002/24 – PhD student Kaufmann group

Position DR/003/24 – PhD student Kaufmann group

 

Summary

A1 (Kaufmann) will study plasticity of leaves and flowers to temperature and to light quality in Arabidopsis thaliana. While leaves show a high plasticity to a range of environmental cues, floral organs generally are much less plastic, and their growth is highly integrated. The project will characterize the phenotypic responses of leaf and floral traits to variation in temperature and light quality and query the degree of phenotypic integration between vegetative and reproductive organs. Quantitative genetics complemented by organ-specific and single-cell transcriptomics will identify loci affecting plasticity and the level of phenotypic integration.

 

Project-related publications

Smaczniak C., J.M. Muiño, D. Chen, G.C. Angenent, K. Kaufmann (2017): Differences in DNA Binding Specificity of Floral Homeotic Protein Complexes Predict Organ-Specific Target Genes.Plant Cell. 29(8):1822-1835.

Yan, W., D. Chen, and K. Kaufmann (2016): Molecular mechanisms of floral organ specification by MADS domain proteins.Current Opinion in Plant Biology. pp. 154-162.

Chen, D., W. Yan, L. Fu and K. Kaufmann (2018) Architecture of gene regulatory networks controlling flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana.Nature Communications. 9: 4534

Yan W, D. Chen, J. Schumacher, D. Durantini, J. Engelhorn, M. Chen, C.C. Carles, and K. Kaufmann (2019) Dynamic control of enhancer activity drives stage-specific gene expression during flower morphogenesis.Nature Communications. 10: 1705.

Neumann M, X.Xu, C. Smaczniak, J. Schumacher, W. Yan, N. Blüthgen, T. Greb, H. Jönsson, J. Traas, K. Kaufmann, and J. Muino (2022) A 3D gene expression atlas of the floral meristem based on spatial reconstruction of single nucleus RNA sequencing data.Nature Communications. 13: 2838.