Neighboring Parenchyma Cells Contribute to Arabidopsis Xylem Lignification, while Lignification of Interfascicular Fibers Is Cell Autonomous

Author Profile

Rebecca A. Smith and Mathias Schuetz

Rebecca A. Smith

Current Position: PhD student in the Department of Botany and Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia

Education: B.Sc. (2008) in Botany (Honours) at University of Manitoba, Canada

Non-scientific Interests: Reading, music, baking.

In the second year of my undergraduate studies at the University of Manitoba I took a course called "Medicinal and Hallucinogenic Plants" which served as my introduction to the fascinating and complex world of plant secondary metabolism. This subject area intrigued me, especially with respect to how plants produce these metabolites and what cells are involved in the process. I decided to pursue this interest as a graduate student in Lacey Samuels' lab at the University of British Columbia. My PhD research involves the study of lignin, a product of secondary metabolism, specifically to determine which cell types are involved in the synthesis of lignin monomers. We have found that non-lignified xylem cells can produce lignin monomers and contribute to xylem lignification, as described in this paper (Smith et al., 2013). Lignin is the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth and is vital for plant development and therefore it is important to understand the basic biology behind lignin biosynthesis and deposition.

Mathias Schuetz

Current Position: Research Associate, Lacey Samuels Lab, Department of Botany, University of British Columbia

Education: PhD: Plant Developmental Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Non-scientific Interests: Hiking, climbing, gardening, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

I completed my undergraduate studies at Simon Fraser University located in the suburbs of Vancouver, Canada. In my final undergraduate year I met Jim Mattsson, my future PhD supervisor, who encouraged me to continue and work in his laboratory as a graduate student. My PhD thesis research focused on how the plant hormone auxin promotes the formation of leaves from the shoot apical meristem and how the pattern of leaf vascular tissues is established. I subsequently joined Lacey Samuels' lab at the University of British Columbia as a post doctoral fellow working within the 'Working on Walls' training program, which is a collaborative plant cell wall research group. The evolution of my research interests have lead me to investigate how the cell biology supports the lignification of xylem tracheary elements. I use advanced live cell imaging, high-resolution two-photon microscopy, biochemical analysis and genetic manipulation of key enzymes in the phenylpropanoid pathway in Arabidopsis plants to answer these questions. Together with Rebecca Smith, a PhD student in the Samuels lab, we have elucidated that non-lignifying cell types contribute to the lignification of tracheary elements in Arabidopsis plants (Smith et al., 2013 Plant Cell). I have always had a keen interest in plant form and function, and I am continuously learning new tools to explore outstanding questions in plant biology.