Plants in a Changing World 2024

Scientific meeting organised by the Centre of Excellence in Tree Biology and the Viikki Plant Science Centre (ViPS)

Date: 25-27th September 2024
Practical information

Time: Wednesday 25th September 15:15-18:15; Thursday 26th September 09:00-19:00 (Conference dinner 19:00-); Friday 27th September 09:00-13:00.

Location: Hotel Rantapuisto, Vuosaari, Helsinki

Getting there:The hotel can be accessed by public transport (metro & bus) and a short walk of approximately 600m. There is also a hotel car park for conference guests.

 

 
Program

15:15-16:00 Welcome refreshments

16:00-16:10 Welcoming words - Ari Pekka Mähönen (Co-chair of the Centre of Excellence in Tree Biology, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Session 1 - Translational, chair Ari-Pekka Mähönen

16:10-16:40 Anna Karlberg, Stora Enso, Sweden
Forest industry in the future- the role and need for science from an industrial perspective

16:40-17:10 Totte Niittylä, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Sweden
New insights into carbon uptake and storage in trees

17:10-17:40 Uwe Sonnewald,Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
The long and bumpy road from basic science to high yielding cassava genotypes

17:40-18:00 Short break

18:00-18:10 Alan Schulman, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LuKe) & University of Helsinki, Finland
A faba bean pan-genome for advancing sustainable protein security

18:10-18:20 Alexey Shapiguzov & Matleena Punkkinen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LuKe) & University of Helsinki, Finland
New ideas and approaches in plant phenotyping

18:20-18:30 Timo Hytönen, director of ViPS, University of Helsinki, Finland
Strawberry revolution: genetic basis of high yield in controlled environment

Session 2 - Environment 1, chair Teemu Hölttä

09:30-10:00 Rainer Hedrich, University of Würzburg, Germany
Ion channel optogenetics – remote controlling plant biology for habitation in a changing world

10:00-10:30 Maurizio Mencuccini, The Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Spain
Plant water use from organ to biosphere

10:30-12:00 Coffee break & poster session 1

12:00-12:10 Tanja Pyhäjärvi, University of Helsinki, Finland
Forest tree genetic diversity across glacial cycles

12:10-12:20 Jasmin Kemppinen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Exploring the role of GHR1 in plant immunity: insights from Arabidopsis mutants with constitutively open stomata

12:20-12:30 Roosa Laitinen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Natural variation in flower size plasticity in Arabidopis thaliana

12:30-12:40 Anna Lintunen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Do we need to care about water loss through bark and bark photosynthesis in trees under changing climate?

12:40-12:50 Tiina Mattila, University of Oulu, Finland
Parallel adaptation to northern latitudes in Arabidopsis lyrata

12:50-13:00 Kristiina Himanen, University of Helsinki, Finland
High throughput phenotyping of Arabidopsis ecological magic trait mutants

13:00-14:00 Lunch

Session 3 - Environment 2, chair Maija Sierla

14:00-14:30 Kelly Swarts, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Climate adaptation from natural forest trees

14:30-15:00 Polina Novikova, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding, Cologne, Germany
The role of the environment in whole-genome duplication cycles

15:00-15:30 Christophe Maurel, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, University of Montpellier, France
Plants in need for water: root water uptake in challenging environments

15:30-15:40 Hannes Kollist, University of Tartu, Estonia and Universite-Paris-Saclay/INRAE, France
CO2 and Ozone sensing in stomatal guard cells

15:40-15:50 Mianzhi Wang, University of Helsinki, Finland
Differentiation of nighttime transpiration and stem refilling using VPD and dendrometers

15:50-16:00 Mikael Brosché, University of Helsinki, Finland
Reactive oxygen species and transcriptional regulation

16:00-16:30 Coffee break

Session 4 - Development 1, chair Timo Hytönen

16:30-17:00 Malcolm Bennett, University of Nottingham, UK
Lessons from underground: discovering how plant roots sense environmental stresses

17:00-17:30 Rishikesh Bhalerao, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Sweden
Understanding how plants process noisy environmental signals-lessons from robust control of bud break in trees

17:30-19:00 Poster session 2

19:00 - Conference dinner

 

 

Session 5 - Development 2, chair Ykä Helariutta

09:00-09:30 Sarah Robinson, Sainsbury Lab, Cambridge, UK
The mechanics of plant development

09:30-10:00 Liam Dolan, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria
Building a multicellular haploid plant

10:00-10:30 Sabrina Sabatini, University of Rome, Italy
Linking cell wall mechanical property to cell activity

10:30-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-11:10 Wiktoria Fatz, University of Helsinki, Finland
Balancing Growth and Defense: A Zinc Finger Transcription Factor Limits Secondary Growth and Boosts Defense in Arabidopsis Roots

11:10-11:20 Anna Happonen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LuKe)
Extracellular vesicles of Norway spruce contain precursors and enzymes for lignin formation

11:20-11:30 Teng Zhang, University of Helsinki, Finland
From spirals to whorls to spirals: how phyllotactic transitions occur in flowers?

11:30-11:40 Hiroyuki Iida, University of Helsinki, Finland
Periderm integrity is monitored by gas diffusion in Arabidopsis roots

11:40-12:00 Short break

12:00-12:10 Miki Iida & Aleksia Vaattovaara, University of Helsinki, Finland
Searching for the molecular mechanisms underlying stomatal development in gymnosperms

12:10-12:20 Hanna Hõrak, University of Tartu, Estonia
Stomatal form and function in the light side of the leaf

12:20-12:30 Jarkko Salojärvi, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore & University of Helsinki, Finland
Tropical plant genome evolution across space and time

12:30-12:40 Zixuan Liu, University of Helsinki, Finland
Phosphorylation of long-chain base regulates phloem unloading in Arabidopsis root

12:40  Closing words - Ykä Helariutta (Chair of the Centre of Excellence in Tree Biology, University of Helsinki, Finland)

 
Poster sessions

Maininki, posters 1.-10. 

  1. Xixi Zhang - Identification of cambium stem cell factors and their positioning mechanism
  2. Maitry Paul - Drought and Recovery in Barley: a physiological and transcriptomic study
  3. Yann Salmon - Understanding tree function through water and carbpon fluxes
  4. Eeva Vakkari - Developmental selection in Scots pine polyembryonic seed
  5. Dmitrii Rusakov - Lignocellulose biomass conversion into graphite-like materials
  6. Elena Ivandi - Impact of stomatal traits variation on grain yield in winter wheat
  7. Pengyan Zhou - Population structure and identification of outliers in genomic scan of a oil camellia, Camellia chekiangoleosa
  8. Xin Zhuang - Using 13C Isotope Tracer To Study How Sink Limitation Affects Birch Carbon Translocation
  9. Cui Wang - Single cell and spatial transcriptomics reveal shoot development in common reed
  10. Pirko Jalakas - Stomatal patterning is differently regulated in adaxial and abaxial epidermis in Arabidopsis

Cellar restaurant, posters 11.-20.

  1. Steven Taniwan - The missing enzyme of the Scots pine pinosylvin pathway
  2. Anniina Mattila - Can evolutionary potential help plants survive climate change?
  3. Juan Alonso Serra - Hydraulic control of secondary growth
  4. Munan Lyu - The dynamic and diverse nature of parenchyma cells in the Arabidopsis root during secondary growth
  5. Sampo Muranen - Tree Architecture: The Role of Gravitropism and Proprioception
  6. Paula Elomaa - Synchrotron-based imaging of vascular patterns in flower heads
  7. Tina Blomster - Zinc finger proteins as secondary growth regulators in hybrid aspen and Arabidopsis
  8. Ville Pennanen - Adventures with POLY(A) BINDING PROTEINS
  9. Juha Immanen - Speed-breeding – Accelerated breeding for improved hardwood growth and quality
  10. James Ord - Population epigenetic variation in birch

Maininki, posters 21.-30.

  1. Santeri Kankaanpää - Finding a piece in the puzzle; EVs in lignification
  2. Sanna Ehonen - Systemic signalling in stomatal regulation
  3. Jan Hoffman - The role of MAF2-5 in flower size plasticity
  4. Sylvain Poque - Optimizing Light Regimes to Reduce Electricity Costs in Vertical Farming
  5. George Woodward - Understanding Carbon Sequestration and Cambial Dynamics in a Model Boreral Tree Species
  6. Leo Vainio - Bifacial stem cell in poplar cambium
  7. Ebe Merilo - Correlations between gas exchange traits and grain yield in barley
  8. Jennifer López Ortiz - Changing the shield: from endodermis to cork
  9. Ingmar Tulva - Pored beyond measure: how not to enhance plant growth
  10. Kalle Leppälä - New hyperparameter for BLUP

Cellar restaurant, posters 31.-41.

  1. Magdalena Held - Xylem conduits and inter-conduit pits scale with distance from the treetop in three boreal tree species
  2. Sara Forlani - Control of stomatal plasticity in fluctuating environmental conditions
  3. Brecht Wybouw - Xylem patterning by diffusion: auxin transport and thermospermine diffusion controls xylem vessel differentiation
  4. Moona Rahikoinen - ACONITASE 3 participates in the organellar stress response in Arabidopsis
  5. Priscille Steensma - The postharvest life of fresh-cut vegetables: a case study of lettuce
  6. Xin Wang - Cell fate plasticity of xylem-pole-pericycle in Arabidopsis root
  7. Richard Gossens - Nuclear protein RCD1 regulates the pre-spliceosome
  8. Jenni Sirén - The role of open chromatin in local adaptation of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and silver birch (Betula pendula)
  9. Nerea Valdebenito - GHR1 interactors and their role in stomatal regulation
  10. Johanna Jetsonen - How nitrogen fertilization alters plant growth and shapes soil chemistry
  11. Matleena Punkkinen - Mitochondrial perturbations affect photosynthesis through depletion of molecular oxygen in tissues
Invited Speakers

Rishikesh Bhalerao, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Sweden

  • Understanding how plants process noisy environmental signals-lessons from robust control of bud break in trees

Malcolm Bennett, University of Nottingham, UK

  • Lessons from underground: discovering how plant roots sense environmental stresses

Liam Dolan, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria

  • Building a multicellular haploid plant

Rainer Hedrich, University of Würzburg, Germany

  • Ion channel optogenetics – remote controlling plant biology for habitation in a changing world

Anna Karlberg, Stora Enso, Sweden

  • Forest industry in the future- the role and need for science from an industrial perspective

Christophe Maurel, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, University of Montpellier, France

  • Plants in need for water: root water uptake in challenging environments

Maurizio Mencuccini, The Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Spain

  • Plant water use from organ to biosphere

Totte Niittylä, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Sweden

  • New insights into carbon uptake and storage in trees

Polina Novikova, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding, Cologne, Germany

  • The role of the environment in whole-genome duplication cycles

Sarah Robinson, Sainsbury Lab, Cambridge, UK

  • The mechanics of plant development

Sabrina Sabatini, University of Rome, Italy

  • Linking Cell Wall mechanical property to cell activity

Uwe Sonnewald, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

  • The long and bumpy road from basic science to high yielding cassava genotypes

Kelly Swarts, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden

  • Climate adaptation from natural forest trees

Cyril Zipfel, University of Zurich, Switzerland

  • Roles of secreted signaling peptides in plant stress signaling
Organising committee
  • Paula Elomaa
  • Ykä Helariutta
  • Timo Hytönen
  • Teemu Hölttä
  • Melis Kucukoglu Topcu
  • Tanja Pyhäjärvi
  • Maija Sierla
  • Alan Schulman