Dr. Eva-Sophie Wallner

We aim is to discover the minimal molecular networks that regulate development of flat photosynthetic plant structures – a major evolutionary success that allows land plants to efficiently capture sunlight and CO2. Our main research model is the Marchantia polymorpha sporeling that develops a flat thallus de novo from a single-celled, haploid spore. We are investigating the molecular mechanisms that regulate sporeling development in response to external (e.g. light) and internal (e.g. hormone) signals: from initiation of the first flat prothallus structure to patterning of the dorsoventral thallus. The thallus is functionally analogous to the vascular leaf but evolved independently. Deciphering the regulatory networks of thallus development will thus allow us to investigate the level of conservation vs. divergence among independently derived flat photosynthetic structures.