Trial lecture
The candidate will first give a trial lecture on the following topic: 'The Plant Microbiome and the Phytobiome Revolution'
Time and place: Dec. 4, 2025 10:15 AM, Nucleus, Bikuben, Kristine Bonnevies hus
Main research findings
As most daily calorie consumption by humans is provided by seeds, knowledge on how seeds develop is of utmost importance. In seeds of flowering plants, nutrients are stored in a tissue called the endosperm. Correct development of the endosperm is vital, as the endosperm serves as a nutrient source for the embryo during the later stages of seed development. In this thesis, failure of endosperm development was investigated in species of the genus Arabidopsis using mutants and interspecific hybrids. The work highlights the importance of maternal expression of components of the APC/C cell cycle regulator in early seed development. Furthermore, opposite shifts in developmental timing of the endosperm were found to be causative for seed failure in hybrid crosses using the same species as mothers and two different species as fathers. Genes previously shown to regulate endosperm development displayed abnormal expression in hybrid seeds, explaining the opposite endosperm phenotypes in the two hybrids. Moreover, changes in temperature were found to affect hybrid endosperm development and seed viability. Taken together, these results identify several genes important for seed development and demonstrate an effect of temperature on hybrid seeds, with the potential to contribute to temperature resilience in food crops and natural populations facing global climate change.
Adjudication committee
Prof. Levi Yant, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
Research Scientist Filipe Borges, Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin, INRAE Centre IdF, Versailles, France
Prof. Melinka Alonso Butenko, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Chair of defense
Prof. Rein Aasland, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Supervisors
Prof. Anne Krag Brysting, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Prof. Paul E. Grini, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo