Dr. Kai Konrad
Group Dr. Kai Konrad
University Wuerzburg
Biozentre, Julius-von-Sachs-Institute for Biosciences
Department for Molecular Plant-Physiologie and Biophysics - Botany I
Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 2
97082 Wuerzburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 931 31-81413
Fax: +49 931 31-86158
Focus of the group
How do plant cells grow and what are the molecular players for cell expansion? This is what we are working on and especially on the role of anion channels in polarity control of tip growing plant cells like root hairs and pollen tubes. The rapid growth process together with the possibility to grow pollen tubes and seedlings in vitro makes them an ideal model cell system to study growth. We are interested in subjects related to ion signaling, growth and adaptation during pollen tube and root hair formation.
Growth of pollen tubes and root hairs strictly depends on a steep cytosolic Ca2+-gradient at the tip of the cell. By which mechanisms the Ca2+-gradient regulates tip growth is largely unknown. Using a combination of cell biology-, molecular biology-, electrophysiology and imaging techniques we dissect the Ca2+-signal decoding network and identify the mechanism by which Ca2+ controls growth.
