We offer research modules, Bachelor and Master theses teaching innovative methods such as genome editing (CRISPR/CAS, TALEN), different plant transformation techniques and general state of the art methods of molecular biology such as gene expression analysis by qRT-PCR, promoter studies, Y1H and Y2H experiments, CHiP and pull-down assays or heterologous expression of proteins. If you are interested in our studies please write an email to gnoll@wwu.de.
Our model species Nicotiana tabacum belongs to the Solanaceae plant family like tomato or potato. Emerged from the tetraploidization of the facultative short-day species N. tomentosiformis and long-day species N. sylvestris, N. tabacum exhibits a day-neutral flowering behaviour thereby representing an ideal species to study the evolution of photoperiod-dependent floral initiation. We could show that FLOWERING LOCUS T is an essential key regulator in the genus Nicotiana when it comes to flowering (Beinecke et al., 2018; Schmidt et al., 2020).
Interestingly, some FT-like proteins function as floral inhibitors, being atypical for FT-like proteins (Harig et al., 2012). When overexpressed, these floral repressing FTs induce a tremendous increase in biomass pointing towards potential biotechnological applications which are currently investigated in our group. The antagonistic action of FTs in Nicotiana spec. might be mediated by specific amino acid motifs at the protein surface. Different cofactors might be recruited via these motifs, thereby differentially regulating the expression of downstream targets. Currently, we examine the putative interaction partners and downstream targets of floral activating and repressing FTs as well as their protein structure to identify motifs determining the function of Nicotiana FT-like proteins.
Russian dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz) is considered as a potential alternative rubber source due to its ability to produce large amounts of industrially usable, high quality rubber. Although the quality of the natural rubber and the products made from it (e.g. car tires) meet all the criteria of an excellent alternative to Hevea rubber, the breeding of T. koksaghyz elite lines still poses a great challenge: Due to high variations in flowering time of this diploid, sexually reproducing species, efficient seed production and breeding is still impaired. In their natural habitat, approximately one third of the T. koksaghyz plants flower in the first year of their cultivation, ranging from May/June sometimes until late autumn, while the others require a cold period (vernalization) for flower induction and therefore only flower during spring/summer in the second year. Hence, one important aspect for making this undomesticated species arable and commercially valuable is to understand the exogenous and endogenous factors controlling flower development. In this field, we are working on the identification and characterization of key factors involved in flowering time control with special emphasis on the dependency of plants on a cold period for floral induction. The ultimate goal is the development of specific genetic markers that support precision breeding of T. koksagyhz lines with desired flowering habit in the future. We already identified homologs of the key floral regulator FLOWERING LOCUS T in T. koksaghyz and are now particularly interested in their specific regulation under certain conditions, their upstream regulators and downstream targets.
