Abstract:
Plants are sessile organisms that had to develop molecular mechanisms to deal with changes in their environment. One of such mechanism is formation of stress-induced condensates called Stress Granules (SGs). SGs are liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) biomolecular condensates composed of proteins, mRNA and metabolites. The main function of the SGs is protective sequestration of their components. With the use of cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology and omic approaches, our group is interested to uncover the mechanism of SGs formation/disassembly but also the true role of SGs in stress signaling and tolerance. Recent research in our lab shows that by manipulation of key SG proteins or they biophysical properties we can affects the overall SG dynamics leading to improved stress tolerance. Our discoveries suggests that SGs play very important role in plant stress signaling and tolerance.

Bio:
Monika Chodasiewicz completed her PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Plant Physiology in Potsdam Germany in 2014. Her PhD research contributed significantly to the discovery of the oxygen sensing mechanism in plants, which was recognized by Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe in his 2019 Nobel lecture. She continued at Max Planck as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Prof. Lothar Willmitzer and Dr. Aleksandra Skirycz, where she studied small molecule-protein interactions using novel methods in biochemistry. Professor Chodasiewicz developed her research topic during this time, and formed her research group at the KAUST Center for Desert Agriculture in 2020 to continue it.