Cells are the smallest units of life. Due to their sessile lifestyle, plants rely in particular on intracellular reactions to cope with changing environmental conditions. Thus, our research focus is to understand how plant cells behave during stress situations.
We aim to understand the cellular and molecular processes which allows for cell elongation and eventually plant growth. To this end, we use a combination of cell biological, genetic and biochemical approaches. Especially vesicle transport along actin filaments and morphological changes of cell organelles (e.g. the vacuole) are being investigated during abiotic and biotic (pathogens) stress. Deciphering these specific intracellular processes will allow to understand stress-induced plant growth regulation which might help to establish more robust plants withstanding future challenges.