Phospholipid Signaling in Plant Stress and Development

Dr. Teun Munnik

Phospholipid Signaling in Plant Stress and Development by Kasuni Wattarantenne (and PLSC689A)

As plants can’t run away like humans do, they have successfully developed strategies that can quickly respond and adapt to sudden environmental changes. Plants encounter biotic and abiotic stresses throughout their life time. PSLA hosted Dr. Teun Munnik from the University of Amsterdam, who is a leading researcher of plant phospholipid signaling to talk about the role of phospholipid signals in response to heat and cold stresses, water stress and plant-pathogen interactions. Phospholipids act as second messengers (PPIs and Pas) to mediate fast and temporal responses. They also act as constitutive spatial signals and define membrane identity and cellular polarity. Using insertional mutagenesis, genetically encoded lipid biosensors and 32P labeling techniques as tools he studies how lipid second messengers and the enzymes involved in their metabolism are engaged in integrating stress and development in plants.