Dr. Ykä Helariutta
University of Helsinki, Finland
“On a two-way street between Arabidopsis and tree research“
Abstract
Initially my lab has been using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for tree biology with the focus on vascular development. We have discovered several concepts, some of which (such as the role of cytokinin phytohormone signaling in controlling cambial development or callose, b-1,3-glucan as a spacer in cell wall) have been subsequently tested in a tree system, Populus. More recently we have started to work on a genetic approach in Betula trees, with the focus on branch development. We have uncovered new concepts that have been subsequently validated in Arabidopsis. I will give an update on both approaches.
Recent publications
- Su C et al. (2023) Tree architecture: A strigolactone-deficient mutantreveals a connection between branching order and auxin gradient along the tree stem. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 120:48.
- Bourdon M et al. (2023) Ectopic callose deposition into woody biomass modulates the nano-architecture of macrofibrils. Nat. Plants 9: 1530–1546.
- Roszak P, Heo JO, Blob B, Toyokura K et al.(2021) Cell-by-cell dissection of phloem development links a maturation gradient to cell specialization. Science (374):6575.
- Alonso-Serra J et al. (2020) ELIMÄKI Locus Is Required for Vertical Proprioceptive Response in Birch Trees. Curr Biol. 30:589-599.
- Miyashima S, Roszak P, Sevilem I et al. (2019) Mobile PEAR transcriptionfactors integrate positional cues to prime cambial growth. Nature 565: 490-494.
Short Bio
Ykä Helariutta got his Ph.D. in 1995 at the University of Helsinki on biochemical genetics in Gerbera (Teeri lab). From 1995 to 1998 he did a post-doc at New York University on root development (Benfey lab). Since 1999 he has been leading the Wood Development Group at the University of Helsinki (and during 2014-22 at the University of Cambridge).
If anyone is interested in meeting with the speaker, please contact Javier Agustí
