Keynote Speakers

BRAD BINDER

Work in Brad Binder’s lab focuses on ethylene signal transduction with a major focus on understanding the roles and functions of the receptors for ethylene in plants as well as how ethylene receptors function in bacteria. They combine imaging techniques with biochemistry, molecular biology, computational molecular modeling, and genetics to unravel the complexities of ethylene signaling.

CAREN CHANG

ERIC SCHALLER

Eric Schaller’s lab use biochemical, molecular, and genetic strategies to study how plants grow and respond to changes in their environment. Their research is focused on the roles played by the plant hormones ethylene and cytokinin, and is relevant to solving real-world agricultural problems, such as the control of ripening and senescence.

JOSEPH KIEBER

Research in the Kieber lab focuses on the plant hormones cytokinin and ethylene. They study the perception and signaling mechanisms, the biosynthesis, and the physiological roles for these hormones. Their primary model system is the model dicot plant Arabidopsis thaliana, but they have extended their studies to the monocot rice.

KEITH LINDSEY

Our research programme is focused on the developmental biology of plants, and in particular on molecular control mechanisms in embryogenesis and root development. We make use of a range of techniques in functional genomics, and exploit the many advantages of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model experimental organism. Current projects relate to the question of how genes and signalling systems regulate the specification and activity of cells in the root meristem. This includes the mechanisms underpinning root responses to environmental stresses, the distribution of PIN proteins, the control of signalling receptor function and the role of alternative RNA splicing in regulating these processes. A feature of our work is the integration of predictive mathematical models with experimental approaches to describe gene-hormone signalling network interactions.

ROBERT SCHAFFER

Robert Schaffer’s lab works is focussed on fleshy fruit development and ripening.  Working predominantly in Actinidia sp. (kiwifruit), his lab is using genomics, transcriptomics and CRISPR gene editing to understand the molecular control of fruit maturation and ripening.  Utilising the newly manually annotated kiwifruit genome, and rapid flowering gene edited plants, they are exploring the transcriptionally controlled gene networks associated with ethylene and fruit ripening.  Utilising diverse genetics found in germplasm collections, they are investigating how these networks control consumer desirable traits such as flavour, texture and colour.

 HONGWEI GUO

Dr. Hongwei Guo is a chair professor in the department of Biology at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China. He is also the director of the newly established Institute of Plant and Food Science (IPS) at SUSTech. Dr. Hongwei Guo has devoted himself and his lab to the research field of plant hormone biology for decades. Particularly, his group had made tremendous contributions to the understanding of ethylene signaling mechanisms and regulatory framework. They have originally established the protein degradation and translation repression modes for ethylene action, and revealed the crosstalk and network between ethylene and other phytohomones (e.g. auxin, JA, GA and SA) as well as environmental factors (e.g. light, salt, and other stresses) in a wide range of biological processes. Significant discoveries and findings from Guo’s lab were published in top-tier journals such as Cell, Science, PNAS, Plant Cell, Current Biology, among others. He has served as an editor or editorial board member for Plant Cell, Mol Plant, PCP, JIPB.

CHI KUANG WEN

The lab led by Dr. Chi-Kuang Wen, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, focuses on the signal transduction of ethylene, a gaseous plant hormone involved in various biological processes including fruit ripening. The truncated ETR1 receptor protein fragment (ETR1^1-349) is capable of receptor signal out in the absence of the Raf-like proetein CTR1, depending on the Golgi- and endoplasmic reticulum-associated RTE1, via  differential cooperation with other receptor isoforms through the GAF domian. Dr. Wen and his colleagues revealed that ethylene signaling can be inhibited in the absence of CTR1 and propose that the unphosphorylated Ser⁶⁴⁵/Ser⁹²⁴ residues at EIN2 may not be sufficient to EIN2 conversion to an active state and a cryptic mechanism may be required for EIN2 activation. Dr. Wen also promotes appropriate application of statistical analyses for interpretation of studies involving quantification.

DOMINIQUE VAN DER STRAETEN

Climate extremes resulting from global change severely reduce crop yields. As extreme weather events often hit underdeveloped regions, climate change particularly threatens food security for the most vulnerable populations on the planet. Nutritional security poses an additional considerable challenge. Micronutrient malnutrition, the "hidden hunger" caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals, affects almost half of the world population.

In the Laboratory of Functional Plant Biology at Ghent University, headed by Dominique Van Der Straeten, sustainable and nutritious plant production is a central theme. Research is conducted towards a triple goal: 1) Understanding plant growth in both normal and adverse conditions; 2) developing tools for plant health monitoring allowing the fine-tuning of stress control; and 3) biofortification of staple crops to eradicate micronutrient deficiencies.

The first theme centralizes around the plant hormone ethylene. Recent research focuses on cell type specificity of ethylene in growth as well as in stress responses, and on the role of ACC as a signal independent of ethylene, besides its function as an ethylene precursor.

JOSE ALONSO

Our main interest is to understand the molecular circuits plants use to integrate environmental and developmental signals to produce specific responses. Towards this general goal, we have been focusing on the identification of the molecular “signal integrators” or “logic gates” involved in the interaction between two plant hormones, ethylene, and auxin, in the regulation of root growth. Using a multidisciplinary approach (genetics, molecular biology, genomics, metabolomics, cell biology, etc.), we have uncovered a complex multistep integration process with both spatial and temporal components. Our research has shown that ethylene activates the transcription of auxin biosynthetic genes in the root meristem (root tip) and then auxin is transported upwards to where it sensitizes the cells in the division zone enabling them to properly respond to ethylene. Our more recent findings suggest that translation regulation represents a key aspect of this “sensitization” mechanism triggered by auxin. In parallel, these studies have allowed us to decipher the first complete auxin biosynthetic pathway in plants and we continue to investigate the role of auxin biosynthesis in development. Finally, we combine our interests in basic biology with the development and implementation of new genetic technologies to accelerate discoveries in plant biology. Currently, we are working on several areas: gene modification in a chromosomal context using recombineering approaches, high-resolution whole-genome analysis of translation using next-generation-sequencing (NGS) enabled ribosome footprinting, the implementation of synthetic biology approaches to generate transcriptional reporters for plant hormones, the generation of CRISPR-Cas9 based logic gates and the development of high throughput morphodynamics tools to link genotype and temporal dynamics of plant growth.

GLORIA MUDAY

The emphasis of research in the Muday lab is the understanding of hormone and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling. We are using genetic and molecular biological approaches to study the role of the plant hormone, ethylene, in plant growth and development and how ethylene and auxin signaling pathways interact. We are using a systems biology approach to identify the receptor and transcriptional signaling networks that control ethylene-modulated root development in the model species of Arabidopsis thaliana, including stimulation of root hairs, and inhibition of primary root growth and lateral root initiation. We are also examining the hormonal regulation of synthesis of flavonols, plant specialized metabolites that act as antioxidants. We are studying both the biochemical machinery by which flavonols are synthesized and how flavonols modulate ROS homeostasis in multiple developmental processes in both Arabidopsis and tomato.

SONIA PHILOSOPH-HADAS

Dr. Sonia Philosoph-Hadas managed a research unit of ornamentals, responsible for examination of postharvest problems of cut flowers, greens, potted plants and geophytes for export from Israel. This work resulted in numerous applied achievements, development of commercial solutions for postharvest problems, and establishment of several new lines of basic research in plant physiological processes, such as gravitropism, senescence, abscission, and pigmentation in cut flowers. The role of ethylene and other plant hormones in regulation of these processes was intensively studied. Her current research is focused on biochemical, physiological and molecular aspects of shoot gravitropism, pigments, and abscission in cut flowers.