Dr Walter Dewitte

Overview

We seek to understand how cell division is integrated with growth and development in plants. The regulation of the cell division is important in every stage of a plants life, and we believe that it is  important for correct patterning.

After fertilisation of the egg, the single cell zygote developpes into a patterned multicellular embryo with organised root and shoot meristems. Postembryonically, the pattern of these meristems is maintained by the zonation of cell division activity. This is achieved by a cross talk of the core cell cycle machinery with molecular signalling pathways. Plant growth displays a high degree of plasticity, in which self-organisation leading to the specification of new tissues and even meristems intertwined with the control of cell division is thought to be important. The pathways involved can operate at multiple levels (epigenetic, transcriptional, translational as well as post translational control of activity including protein-protein interactions) and scales (single cells to tissues and organs). Their dynamics can be conceptually integrated into networks. Plant growth regulators, which can act locally but also can be transported, play a key role in the regulation of cell division.

 Current topics of interest are:

- Understanding cell cycle regulation in the root meristem

- Tthe role of CYCD3 in shoot regeneration

- The function of D-type cyclins in the stomatal lineage

Experimental strategies include epigenomics, transcriptomics, histology, quantitative confocal imaging including FRET-FLIM. Our research benefits from collaborations with systems biologist and specialists in genomics, mathematical biology, biophotonics and image analysis.