Being the primary photosynthetic organ, plant leaves show striking variability in morphology and (bio)chemical compositions to fulfil their functions under diverse conditions. We study how leaf functional traits ― of which many are polygenic (controlled by multiple genes) ― arise in different genotypes during development and in response to environmental fluctuations by combining quantitative and spatiotemporal analyses.

1. Schneider T, Bolger A, Zeier J, Preiskowski S, Benes V, Trenkamp S, Usadel B, Farre EM, Matsubara S (2019) Fluctuating Light Interacts with Time of Day and Leaf Development Stage to Reprogram Gene Expression. Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.18.01443 [Abstract]
2. Poorter H, Niinemets U, Ntagkas N, Siebenkas A, Maenpaa M, Matsubara S, Pons TL (2019) A meta-analysis of plant responses to light intensity for 70 traits ranging from molecules to whole plant performance. New Phytol. doi: 10.1111/nph.15754 [Abstract]
3. Matsubara S (2018) Growing plants in fluctuating environments: why bother? J Exp Bot 69(20):4651-4654. [Abstract]
4. Ruts T, Matsubara S, Wiese-Klinkenberg A, Walter A (2012) Aberrant temporal growth pattern and morphology of root and shoot caused by a defective circadian clock in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J 72(1):154-161. [Abstract]
5. Beisel KG, Jahnke S, Hofmann D, Koppchen S, Schurr U, Matsubara S (2010) Continuous turnover of carotenes and chlorophyll a in mature leaves of Arabidopsis revealed by 14CO2 pulse-chase labeling. Plant Physiol 152(4):2188-2199. [Abstract]

Interview at CEPLAS Faces