Research

Our group aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying plant cell division and developmental pattern formation by using the moss Physcomitrium patens as a model. P. patens is one of the representative lineages of the basal land plants. During its lifecycle, P. patens undergoes two-dimensional (protonemata) as well as three-dimensional (gametophores) growth, thus being an attractive system for studying the adaptive changes in cell division patterns and developmental signaling during plant evolution. Currently, our group is of particular interest in cell polarity, asymmetric division, polar cell growth and morphogenesis, and cytoskeleton-dependent intracellular trafficking. We use a wide range of methods including genetics, molecular biology, live-cell imaging, and biochemistry to investigate the function of cytoskeletal elements as well as their regulators in these processes.