Robert Malinowski
Department of Integrative Plant Biology
Institute of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Ul. Strzeszynska 34
60-479 Warszawa
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October 9th 2020
Arabidopsis is undoubtedly an important object of scientific research in Poland. The total value of signed contracts for projects on this model plant by the National Science Center Poland in 2019 was 2,973,265 EUR. The net value of other ongoing NCN-funded Arabidopsis projects that have started in previous years was 9,471,097 EUR.
Similarly to other countries, in Poland Arabidopsis has dual use as a model to study basic processes in plants and a very practical system facilitating functional studies for crop species. Due to the multidisciplinary character of plant research and complexity of studied subjects our scientists cooperate internationally. Such example could be the work of Lopez et al. published in 2019, that results from Polish-American co-operation.
Lopez VA, Park BC, Nowak D, Sreelatha A, Zembek P, Fernandez J, Servage KA, Gradowski M, Hennig J, Tomchick DR, Pawłowski K, Krzymowska M, Tagliabracci VS (2019) A Bacterial Effector Mimics a Host HSP90 Client to Undermine Immunity. Cell 179: 205-218.e221
The authors report the discovery of bacterial effector kinase HopBF1, which has the ability to modulate plant host immunity by phosphorylation of the HSP90 protein. The work describes a new, previously unknown phenomenon in the interaction between the plant and the pathogen.
In 2019, two important scientific conferences were held in Poland. The first is the 44th Federation of European Biochemical Societies Conference, during which plant-related subjects (including Arabidopsis)were widely discussed. The second conference was the 9th Polish Society of Experimental Plant Biology Conference. Here, works on Arabidopsis were very strongly represented by both Polish scientists and international leaders. In particular flowering, seed formation, epigenetics, interactions of plants with biotic and abiotic factors were discussed.
The subject of plant responses to stress is very actively explored in Poland. This is also reflected by increasing number of papers in this field published every year.
New Resources and Software tools available for Arabidopsis Researchers that have been initiated or funded in 2019
Web application AFproject - a joint effort to benchmark, improve and simplify alignment-free sequence analysis. [http://afproject.org/app/]
Zielezinski et al. Benchmarking of alignment-free sequence comparison methods. Genome Biology, 2019, 20, p144. doi: 10.1186/s13059-019-1755-7
Conferences, Workshops and Outreach events
- 44th Federation of European Biochemical Societies Conference – Krakow, Poland, July 6-11, 2019
- 9th Polish Society of Experimental Plant Biology Conference - Torus, Poland, September 9–12, 2019
Selected Publications
Research conducted on Arabidopsis:
Kwasniak-Owczarek M, Kazmierczak U, Tomal A, Mackiewicz P, Janska H. 2019. Deficiency of mitoribosomal S10 protein affects translation and splicing in Arabidopsis mitochondria. Nucleic Acids Research 47(22): 11790-11806.
Kwasnik A, Wang VY-F, Krzyszton M, Gozdek A, Zakrzewska-Placzek M, Stepniak K, Poznanski J, Tong L, Kufel J. 2019. Arabidopsis DXO1 links RNA turnover and chloroplast function independently of its enzymatic activity. Nucleic Acids Research 47(9): 4751-4764.
Maszkowska J, Dębski J, Kulik A, Kistowski M, Bucholc M, Lichocka M, Klimecka M, Sztatelman O, Szymańska KP, Dadlez M, et al. 2019. Phosphoproteomic analysis reveals that dehydrins ERD10 and ERD14 are phosphorylated by SNF1-related protein kinase 2.10 in response to osmotic stress. Plant, Cell & Environment 42(3): 931-946.
Mazur R, Mostowska A, Szach J, Gieczewska K, Wójtowicz J, Bednarska K, Garstka M, Kowalewska Ł. 2019. Galactolipid deficiency disturbs spatial arrangement of the thylakoid network in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Journal of Experimental Botany 70(18): 4689-4704.
Olszak M, Truman W, Stefanowicz K, Sliwinska E, Ito M, Walerowski P, Rolfe S, Malinowski R. 2019. Transcriptional profiling identifies critical steps of cell cycle reprogramming necessary for Plasmodiophora brassicae-driven gall formation in Arabidopsis. Plant J 97(4): 715-729.
Rozpądek P, Nosek M, Domka A, Ważny R, Jędrzejczyk R, Tokarz K, Pilarska M, Niewiadomska E, Turnau K. 2019. Acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus and alterations in sugar metabolism in response to inoculation with endophytic fungi. Plant, Cell & Environment 42(4): 1408-1423.
You Y, Sawikowska A, Lee JE, Benstein RM, Neumann M, Krajewski P, Schmid M. 2019. Phloem Companion Cell-Specific Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Analyses Identify MRF1, a Regulator of Flowering. The Plant Cell 31(2): 325-345.
Research conducted on other plant species:
Lopez VA, Park BC, Nowak D, Sreelatha A, Zembek P, Fernandez J, Servage KA, et al. 2019. A Bacterial Effector Mimics a Host HSP90 Client to Undermine Immunity. Cell 179(1): 205-218.e221.
Pawela A, Banasiak J, Biała W, Martinoia E, Jasiński M. 2019. MtABCG20 is an ABA exporter influencing root morphology and seed germination of Medicago truncatula. The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology 98(3): 511-523.
Major Funding Sources
• National Science Centre Poland
https://www.ncn.gov.pl/
• Foundation for Polish Science
https://www.fnp.org.pl/
• The National Centre for Research and Development https://www.ncbr.gov.pl