Update: The talk is cancelled. The new date will be communicated later.
Professor Ikram Blilou takes great delight in inviting you to the Plant Science Seminar with Professor Tom Beeckman, who will be visiting us from Ghent University in Belgium.
Root Branching: An Evolutionary Perspective
February 6, 2024 (save to calendar)
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Between BL 2 & BL3 Auditorium, level 0
Abstract
The appearance of root systems in plant evolution took place independently at least two times. Due to the sparse availability of fossil records, the evolution of the branching capacity of roots is difficult to reconstruct. While in lycophytes branching is dependent on the division of a single apical stem cell, in ferns recurrent specification of stem cells allows for lateral branching. In seed plants, a continuous file of stem cells guarantees high flexibility in branching patterns even in response to changing edaphic conditions. I will provide an update on the work ongoing in my group trying to get insight into the control mechanisms of stem cell activity for root branching.
About the speaker
Tom Beeckman studied botany at the Ghent University in Belgium and after performing postdoctoral research at the Molecular Genetics Department at the same university, he became group leader of the Root Development group at the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (VIB) in 2001. From 2007 onwards he became a professor at Ghent University mainly teaching plant developmental biology. His research is devoted to understanding how cell division and hormone signaling is integrated into plant developmental processes, especially during the branching of roots. More recently, the focus of his research has broadened to the study of root development in non-seed plants. This is an in-person seminar with no Zoom option or recordings.
