Graduate School Life Science Munich
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Prof. Dr. Thomas Ott (Genetics, Plant Molecular Biology)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Ott

Plants are continuously challenged with a wide range of biotic and abiotic stimuli such as pathogens and drought. Since plants are sessile organisms they developed refined survival systems. However, they also interact with beneficial microorganisms that need to be recognised on a molecular level to avoid defence reactions triggered by the plant’s immune system. Our group studies regulation of cellular signal transduction processes in plants during interactions with both pathogenic and symbiotic microbes. The current work focuses on a family of plant-specific proteins (remorins) that may act as molecular scaffold proteins to facilitate assembly of functional receptor and signalling complexes. We are using a whole array of molecular, cell biological and genetic technologies to study protein-protein interactions and dynamics of complex assembly in vivo.

The lab focuses on the analysis of plant-microbe interactions in the model systems Arabidopsis thaliana, Lotus japonicus and Medicago truncatula. Latter two model plants allow us to gain valuable insights into beneficial interactions during root nodule symbiosis and arbuscular mycorrhiza. Both symbioses greatly contribute to plant nutrition and have a tremendous impact on modern agriculture. These studies are complemented by the analysis of molecular mechanisms underlying plant resistance against plant pathogens such as the fungus powdery mildew and the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae.

Website: http://www.bio.uni-freiburg.de/ag/ott


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