Kohlen Group – Hormonal regulation of mitotic re-activation of plant cells

The main mechanism by which secondary meristems are initiated is through the activation of lateral organ founder cells. A key feature of this type of meristem initiation is that cells are set aside and retain a stem cell-like identity until they are activated later to form a new meristem. However, in some cases an even greater form of plasticity is achieved: so called de novo meristem initiation. In contrast to founder cells, these meristems are initiated from fully differentiated cells.  

As a plant physiologist, I am mainly interested in the mechanisms controlling a plants ability to initiate meristems de novo, and what defines that some tissues are able to do this whereas others cannot. This with an emphasis on plant hormones and gene regulatory networks. My team focusses on analysing the hormonal-transcriptional network during the initiation of de novo meristems at a cell type specific resolution.  

Although shoot branching is crucial to determine the overall plant architecture in response to the environment, in agriculture this is often regarded as a problem. Much of a plants resources is invested in the formation of axillary buds and their outgrowth, thus reducing yield. As such, understanding - and ultimately controlling de novo meristem formation could contribute to improve agricultural practice.