Plant Molecular Physiology and Biochemistry

Our lab is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of carbon partitioning (between starch and sugars) at different stages of water deficit.

In the case of mild water stress, the partial closure of stomata can be sufficient to sustain plant performance, thus making guard cells a putative target to engineer drought avoidance in plants with minimal alterations of yield. We employ a diverse array of molecular and biochemical approaches to investigate the contribution of starch and sucrose metabolism in the regulation of stomatal movement in Arabidopsis guard cells over the diurnal cycle and in response to water deficit.

In case of more severe stress, one of the most important mechanisms of drought resistance is the accumulation of soluble sugars to avoid water loss and to protect membranes, enzymes and other structures against damage and denaturation. To identify the precise metabolic origin of the increased sugar pool and the way the stress-induced reprogramming of carbon metabolism is regulated, we perform ¹⁴CO₂ “pulse-chase” experiments in Arabidopsis wild type plants and a set of starch/sucrose-related mutants exposed to different levels of water stress.

• The evolution of functional complexity within the β-amylase gene family in land plants
  Thalmann M; Coiro M; Meier T; Wicker T; Zeeman SC; Santelia D
  BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, 19 10.1186/s12862-019-1395-2 FEB 28 2019
• Transitory Starch Metabolism in Guard Cells: Unique Features for a Unique Function 
  Santelia, Diana; Lunn, John E. 
  PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, 174 (2): 539-549 JUN 2017
• Starch as a determinant of plant fitness under abiotic stress 
  Thalmann, Matthias; Santelia, Diana 
  NEW PHYTOLOGIST, 214 (3): 943-951 MAY 2017
• Starch Turnover and Metabolism during Flower and Early Embryo Development 
  Hedhly, Afif; Vogler, Hannes; Schmid, Marc W.; et al. 
  PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, 172 (4): 2388-2402 DEC 2016
• Rethinking Guard Cell Metabolism 
  Santelia, Diana; Lawson, Tracy 
  PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, 172 (3): 1371-1392 NOV 2016
• Regulation of Leaf Starch Degradation by Abscisic Acid Is Important for Osmotic Stress Tolerance in Plants 
  Thalmann, Matthias; Pazmino, Diana; Seung, David; et al. 
  PLANT CELL, 28 (8): 1860-1878 AUG 2016

• Carbohydrate metabolism
• Guard cells
• Drought/desiccation tolerance

• Plant biochemistry and physiology
• Molecular genetics
• Cell biology