Vilde Olsson Lalun

Image of Vilde Olsson Lalun
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Room 4303
Username
Visiting address Blindernveien 31 0371 Oslo
Postal address Postboks 1066 Blindern 0316 Oslo

Academic interests

Postdoctoral project

Experimental biology with focus on the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and Atlantic cod. 

I am part of the REPEAT project doing experimental biology. We are an interdisciplinary group, where we use bioinformatics and experimental work to investigate the importance of short tandem repeats (STRs) in the genome of various organisms.  In the REPEAT project, we ask: how does plants and animals adapt to changes in the environment, such as climate changes? How is the genomes of various organisms able to change and thereby adjust to stressful situations such as more extreme weather or warmer climate? 

Even though the role of natural selection in evolution is widely accepted, we do not understand how changes in the phenotype relate to genetic change. With the advancement in whole genome sequencing projects in various organisms, such as the 1001 genome project in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), our understanding of the genome as a dynamic structure has changed. Differences in gene copy number, inversions, transposable element dynamics and variation in short tandem repeats (STRs) are all major parts of the different genomic architecture observed within a population. STRs consisting of repetitive DNA motifs have been shown to regulate gene expression and protein function consequently affecting the phenotype of an organism. The REPEAT project tries to understand how variation in STRs influences the organism. This project focuses on the functional modulation of regulatory mechanisms affecting the phenotype by variations in STRs residing inside (coding) and in the vicinity (or in introns) of genes.

PhD project

The main focus of my PhD was peptide ligand-receptor interaction in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Plants use small peptide ligands to control developmental processes as well as to respond to biotic and abiotic stimuli. The Arabidopsis  genome encodes hundreds of receptor kinases (RKs) acting to perceive these ligands and transferring the information from the extracellular stimuli into an intracellular response. Receptors containing an extracellular domain of Leucine-Rich Repeats (LRR) is the largest family within the Arabidopsis RKs containing around 200 members. These RKs are involved in regulating numerous responses in planta. The different LRR-RKs are structurally similar and often utilize common signaling components. However, activation of the RKs lead to specific cellular responses. During  my PhD, I aimed to understand how structurally similar RKs are involved in regulating specific cellular outcomes.

I used the INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION (IDA)-HAE/HSL2 peptide-receptor pair which regulates the process of floral organ abscission as a model for my studies. 

I am interested in:

  • Molecular work 

  • Generation of transgenic organisms to understand gene and/or protein function 

  • Imaging, including live cell imaging

  • The connection between large scale bioinformatic analysis and the confirmation of observed results by experimental work. 

Teaching in: 

Background

2013: BSc Molecular Biology, UiO
2015: MSc Molecular Biology, Plant Genetics, UiO
2020: PhD in Genetics, IBV, UiO. Thesis name: "Molecular investigation of receptor kinase signaling specificity in Arabidopsis thaliana"

 

 

 

Publications

  • Lalun, Vilde Olsson; Breiden, Maike; Galindo Trigo, Sergio; Smakowska-Luzan, Elwira; Simon, Rüdiger & Butenko, Melinka Alonso (2023). A dual function of the IDA peptide in regulating cell separation and modulating plant immunity at the molecular level. eLIFE. ISSN 2050-084X. 12, p. 1–37. doi: 10.7554/eLife.87912.1. Full text in Research Archive
  • Breiden, Maike; Olsson, Vilde; Blümke, Patrick; Schlegel, Jenia; Gustavo-Pinto, Karine & Dietrich, Petra [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2021). The Cell Fate Controlling CLE40 Peptide Requires CNGCs to Trigger Highly Localized Ca2+ Transients in Arabidopsis thaliana Root Meristems. Plant and Cell Physiology. ISSN 0032-0781. 62(8), p. 1290–1301. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcab079.
  • Reinar, William Brynildsen; Olsson, Vilde; Reitan, Trond; Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd & Butenko, Melinka Alonso (2021). Length variation in short tandem repeats affects gene expression in natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell. ISSN 1040-4651. 33(7), p. 2221–2234. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koab107. Full text in Research Archive
  • Olsson, Vilde; Joos, Lisa; Zhu, Shanshuo; Gevaert, Kris; Butenko, Melinka Alonso & De Smet, Ive (2019). Look closely, the beautiful may be small: Precursor-derived peptides in plants. Annual Review of Plant Biology. ISSN 1543-5008. 70, p. 153–186. doi: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-042817-040413.
  • Hohmann, Ulrich; Santiago, Julia; Nicolet, Joel; Olsson, Vilde; Spiga, Fabio M & Hothorn, Ludwig A. [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2018). Mechanistic basis for the activation of plant membrane receptor kinases by SERK-family coreceptors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(13), p. 3488–3493. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1714972115.
  • Shi, Chunlin; von Wangenheim, Daniel; Herrmann, Ullrich; Wildhagen, Mari; Kulik, Ivan & Kopf, Andreas [Show all 16 contributors for this article] (2018). The dynamics of root cap sloughing in Arabidopsis is regulated by peptide signalling. Nature Plants. ISSN 2055-026X. 4(8), p. 596–604. doi: 10.1038/s41477-018-0212-z.
  • Mazurek, Sylwester; Garroum, Imène; Daraspe, Jean; De Bellis, Damien; Olsson, Vilde & Mucciolo, Antonio [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2017). Connecting the molecular structure of cutin to ultrastructure and physical properties of the cuticle in petals of arabidopsis. Plant Physiology. ISSN 0032-0889. 173(2), p. 1146–1163. doi: 10.1104/pp.16.01637.

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  • Kausrud, Kyrre; Melteig, Elina; Olsson, Vilde & Galteland, Torborg (2022). Biopodden -Zoonoser . [Internet]. https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jddi3-11d3759.
  • Kausrud, Kyrre; Olsson, Vilde; Melteig, Elina & Galteland, Torborg (2022). Biopodden -Skog og Klima. [Internet]. https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-c8rck-12057a0.

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Published Nov. 5, 2015 9:12 PM - Last modified Sep. 1, 2022 9:32 AM

Research groups