Lab News

The Future is Here

Does anyone else feel like 2023 flew by? Here are some of the many highlights from the Designer Glycans team in the last 6 months: In the summer, both Annika and Madalen submitted their doctoral dissertations in Germany. Annika successfully defended her thesis in November. We wish Annika continued success with her postdoctoral journey at… Continue reading The Future is Here

Four #SynBio Positions 4 You

The Designer Glycans group is delighted to have funding for several new positions. Apply by May 15, 2023 for full consideration. Choose your own adventure: The latter three positions will be co-supervised with Dr. Andrew Hanson (adhansonlab.org) to set up a Biofoundry at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). UF/IFAS… Continue reading Four #SynBio Positions 4 You

New MAP for cellulose biosynthesis

In collaboration with Katharina Bürstenbinder\’s team at IPB Halle, we used reverse genetics to characterize IQ67 DOMAIN 9 (IQD9) and KINESIN LIGHT CHAIN-RELATED 1 (KLCR1) as two microtubule (MT) associated proteins that guide cellulose distribution during seed mucilage biosynthesis. IQD9 physically interacts with KLCR1, and mutations in IQD9 as well as in KLCR1 lead to compact mucilage capsules with aberrant cellulose distribution. Resembling… Continue reading New MAP for cellulose biosynthesis

Student and Postdoctoral Positions to Join the Designer Glycans Lab in Florida

Although carbohydrate polymers are essential for our health, energy and materials needs, the metabolic pathways related to these complex molecules have been challenging to study in plants (Voiniciuc, 2022; https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18091). The Designer Glycans group uses synthetic biology in yeast and plant model systems to discover how cell wall glycans are made and how their structure/function… Continue reading Student and Postdoctoral Positions to Join the Designer Glycans Lab in Florida

SynBio talks at the Plant Biology 2022 Worldwide Summit | July 9-13, 2022

The first concurrent session of ASPB Plant Biology 2022 meeting on “Living Factories for Plant-Based Products” will be chaired by Catalin Voiniciuc and feature a diverse panel of speakers, contributing synbio insights from all career stages. Invited Speakers: Plants and microorganisms produce a wide range of products that are at the cornerstone of our lives,… Continue reading SynBio talks at the Plant Biology 2022 Worldwide Summit | July 9-13, 2022

Live on bioRxiv: how IQD, KLCR and TRM proteins guide cellulose distribution via microtubules

In our new pre-print, we explore two outstanding questions that have been challenging to address in plant cells: What proteins control the microtubule cytoskeleton and how do they function together to influence the polarized deposition of complex polysaccharides in the cell wall? Using Arabidopsis seed coat epidermal cells as a genetic model system, we discovered… Continue reading Live on bioRxiv: how IQD, KLCR and TRM proteins guide cellulose distribution via microtubules

Designer Glycans students shine as summer ends

We are proud to highlight some of the some of our students’ accomplishments this summer. • At the start of July, Annika Grieß-Osowski and Madalen Robert received awards for their presentations (poster and talk, respectively) at the 7th International Conference on Plant Cell Wall Biology (PCWB2021) organized remotely from Japan. Congratulations to both PhD students… Continue reading Designer Glycans students shine as summer ends

Designer Glycans, live at PCWB2021

The Designer Glycans lab is represented by four members (Catalin, Annika, Bo, and Madalen) at the 7th International Conference on Plant Cell Wall Biology (PCWB2021). Originally scheduled to take place in Sapporo, Japan last year, this meeting is now in a digital format to accommodate a global audience from June 27 to July 1, 2021.… Continue reading Designer Glycans, live at PCWB2021

Building modular hemicellulose synthases, now out in Biotechnology for Biofuels

We are happy to announce the publication of our work on modular hemicellulose production in Biotechnology for Biofuels, a leading (open-access!) journal for advancing the biological production of fuels, chemicals, and biomaterials. Here, we describe how enzymes from the cellulose synthase-like superfamily (found throughout the plant kingdom) can be assembled as modular parts (akin to… Continue reading Building modular hemicellulose synthases, now out in Biotechnology for Biofuels