Anke Steppuhn: Using molecular tools to unravel how plants defend themselves

November 4, 2011 at 2 pm

Auditorium A2-70.01 (3-11)
Thorvaldsensvej 40
Frederiksberg C

 

Prof. Anke Steppuhn Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences Free University of Berlin Germany

Dr. Anke Steppuhn is professor of Molecular Ecology at the Institute of Biology, Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences at the Free University of Berlin.

Her group successfully combines Ecological Methods (e.g. field studies and bio-assays to determine factors that affect regulation, function and costs-benefit tradeoffs of plant defence responses); with Analytical Methods (e.g. HPLC-DAD, GC-MS, protein activity assays to quantify plant secondary metabolites); and Molecular Methods (e.g. different PCR techniques, cloning of genes, sequencing, quantitative real time PCR to study the regulation of plant defence responses and insect immune responses). Their goal is to unravel costs and benefits of induced plant defences; effects of host plants on insect immune responses and the evolutionary aspects of plant defences.

 

Selected Publications:
Steppuhn A., Gaquerel E. & Baldwin I.T. (2010) The two alpha-dox genes of Nicotiana attenuata: overlapping but distinct functions in development and stress responses. BMC Plant Biology 10, 171

Steppuhn A., Schuman M.C. & Baldwin I.T. (2008) Silencing jasmonate signalling and jasmonate-mediated defences reveals different survival strategies between two Nicotiana attenuata accessions. Molecular Ecology, 17, 3717-3732.

Steppuhn A. & Baldwin I.T. (2007) Resistance management in a native plant: nicotine prevents herbivores from compensating for plant protease inhibi-tors. Ecology Letters, 10, 499-511.