Laboratory of Molecular and Ecological Physiology

Head

Staff

The laboratory currently employs 17 researchers, three of which are PhD students while four have a PhD and three have Habilitation.

Research interests

Regulation of plant morphogenesis
Search for key regulatory genes to modify plant growth and development in order to improve crop yield
Plant resistance to salt stress and oxidative stress
Mechanisms underlying high photosynthetic activity and productivity under stress conditions
Regulation and physiological role of autophagy in plants
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of phloem translocation and of cell-to-cell transport via plasmodesmata
Ecological trends in the evolution of vascular plants
Structure of secondary xylem in plants with different body plans

We use light, epifluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy as well as electron microscopy (cryo-EM, freeze-fracture/freeze-etching EM); analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence transients and of gas exchange in vivo; analysis of gene expression levels by qRT-PCR; immunoblotting; cloning and cell-specific localization of expression of genes of interest by means of in situ RNA-RNA hybridization; sterile culture of model plants; transformation of Arabidopsis and barley using Agrobacterium tumefaciens; generation, maintenance and analysis of databases.

Model plants:

Angiosperms: Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., Hordeum vulgare L. (barley), Nicotiana tabacum L. (tobacco), Nicotiana benthamiana Domin;
Gymnosperms: Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. (Norway spruce);
Ferns: Ceratopteris richardii Brongn.;
Lycophytes: Huperzia selago Bernh., Isoetes lacustris L., Selaginella moellendorffii Hieron.;
Bryophytes: Physcomitrella patens (Hedw.) Bruch & Schimp., Rhythidium rugosum (Hedw.) Kindb.;
Green algae: Haematococcus pluvialis Flot.

Main publications

Thomas H.J.D., Bjorkman A.D., Myers-Smith I.H., ... Sheremetiev S., ...et al.
Global plant trait relationships extend to the climatic extremes of the tundra biome.
Nature Communications. 2020. 11: 1351.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15014-4

Kattge J., Bönisch G., Díaz S., ... Sheremetiev S., ...et al.
TRY plant trait database — enhanced coverage and open access.
Glob Change Biology. 2020. 26: 119–188.
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14904

Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
Phytochromes and other (photo)receptors of Information in Plants.
Russian Journal of Plant Physiology. 2019. 66(3): 351–364.
https://doi.org/10.1134/S1021443719030154

Slemnev N. N., Yarmishko V. T.
Dynamics of larch forests of the East Khentii (Mongolia).
Botanicheskii Zhurnal. 2019. 104(3): 391–413. (In Russian with English summary)
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006813619030086

Stepanova A. V., Oskolski A. A.
Wood anatomy of Brabejum and Macadamia (Macadamiinae, Proteaceae).
Botanica Pacifica. A journal of plant science and conservation. 2019. 8(2): 35–41.
https://doi.org/10.17581/bp.2019.08204

Bjorkman A. D., Myers-Smith I. H., ..., Sheremetev S., Weiher E.
Plant functional trait change with warming across the tundra biome.
Nature. 2018. 562: 57–62.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7

Makavitskaya M., Svistunenko D., Navaselsky I., Hryvusevich P., Mackievic V., Rabadanova C., Tyutereva E., Samokhina V., Straltsova D., Sokolik A., Voitsekhovskaja O., Demidchik V.
Novel roles of ascorbate in plants: induction of cytosolic Ca2+ signals and efflux from cells via anion channels.
Journal of Experimental Botany. 2018. 69(14): 3477–3489.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ery056

Tyutereva E. V., Dobryakova K. S., Schiermeyer A., Shishova M. F., Pawlowski K., Demidchik V., Reumann S., Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
The levels of peroxisomal catalase protein and activity modulate the onset of cell death in tobacco BY-2 cells via reactive oxygen species levels and autophagy.
Functional Plant Biology. 2018. 45(2): 247–258.
https://doi.org/10.1071/FP16418

Demidchik V., Tyutereva E. V., Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
The role of ion disequilibrium in induction of root cell death and autophagy by environmental stresses.
Functional Plant Biology. 2018. 45(2): 28–46.
https://doi.org/10.1071/FP16380

Sheremetiev S. N., Chebotareva K. E.
Modern and Cretaceous–Cenozoic Diversification of Angiosperms.
Biology Bulletin Reviews. 2018. 8(5): 351–374.
https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079086418050079

Demidchik V., Maathuis F. Voitsekhovskaja O.
Unravelling the plant signalling machinery: an update on the cellular and genetic basis of plant signal transduction.
Functional Plant Biology. 2018. 45(2): 1–8.
https://doi.org/10.1071/FP17085

Tyutereva E. V., Evkaikina A. I., Ivanova A. N., Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
The absence of chlorophyll b affects lateral mobility of photosynthetic complexes and lipids in grana membranes of Arabidopsis and barley chlorina mutants.
Photosynthesis Research. 2017. 133: 357–370.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-017-0376-9

Evkaikina A. I., Berke L., Romanova M. A., Proux-Wéra E., Ivanova A. N., Rydin C., Pawlowski K., Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
The Huperzia selago Shoot Tip Transcriptome Sheds New Light on the Evolution of Leaves.
Genome Biology and Evolution. 2017. 9: 2444–2460.
https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evx169

Dmitrieva V. A., Ivanova A. N., Tyutereva E. V., Evkaikina A .I., Klimova E. A., Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
Chlorophyllide-a-Oxygenase (CAO) deficiency affects the levels of singlet oxygen and formation of plasmodesmata in leaves and shoot apical meristems of barley.
Plant Signaling and Behavior. 2017. 12(4): e1300732.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2017.1300732

Slemnev N. N., Katyutin P. N., Sheremetiev S. N., Yarmishko V. T.
Dynamics of larch forests in the Central Khangai (Mongolia).
Botanicheskii Zhurnal. 2017. 102(10): 1379–1401.(In Russian with English summary)
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006813617100027

Stepanova A. V., Oskolski A. A., Van Wyk B.-E.
Wood anatomy of Australian mirbelioids and allies (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae).
Australian Journal of Botany. 2017. 65(7): 556–572.
https://doi.org/10.1071/BT17093

Kislyuk I. M., Kamentseva I. E., Bykov O. D.
Effects of light on the thermotolerance of photosynthesis and mitochondrial dehidrogenases in Scilla sibirica (Hyacinthaceae) and Smilacina stellata (Convollariaceae) leaves.
Botanicheskii Zhurnal. 2016. 101(3): 249–260. (In Russian with English summary)
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006813616030017

Diaz S., Kattge J., Cornelissen J. H. C., ..., Sheremetev S. N., ..., Gorné L. D.
The global spectrum of plant form and function.
Nature. 2016. 529: 167–171.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16489

Klionsky D. J., Abdelmohsen K., Abe A., ..., Voitsekhovskaja O. V., ... et al.
Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition).
Autophagy. 2016. 12(1): 1–122.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

Klimova E. A., Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
Molecular and cellular aspects of the shoot apical meristems organization of vascular plants.
Vestnik SPbGU. Serija 3. Biologija. 2015. 4: 18–38. (In Russian with English summary)
https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2015.402

Voitsekhovskaja O. V., Tyutereva E. V.
Chlorophyll b in angiosperms: functions in photosynthesis, signaling and ontogenetic regulation.
Journal of Plant Physiology. 2015. 189(15): 51–64.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2015.09.013

Voitsekhovskaja O. V., Schiermeyer A., Reumann S.
Plant peroxisomes are degraded by starvation-induced and constitutive autophagy in tobacco BY-2 suspension-cultured cells.
Frontiers in Plant Science. 2014. 5: 629.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00629

Gamalei Yu. V.
Adaptogenesis of plant life forms on climate changes.
Uspekhi Sovremennoi Biologii. 2015. 135(4): 323–336. (In Russian with English summary)

Kotina E. L., Stepanova A. V., Oskolski A. A., Tilney P. M., Van Wyk B. E.
Crystal types and their distribution in the bark of African genistoid legumes (Fabaceae tribes Sophoreae, Podalirieae, Crotalarieae and Genisteae).
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 2015. 178: 620–632.
https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12292

Maslova T. G., Mamushina N. S., Zubkova E. K., Bubolo L. S., Tjutereva E. V.
The structure and function of photosynthetic apparatus in the leaves of evergreen plants during their all-year vegetation.
Botanicheskii Zhurnal. 2015. 100(11): 1142–1153. (In Russian with English summary)
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006813615110022

Demchenko K. N., Voitsekhovskaja O. V., Pawlowski K.
Plasmodesmata without callose and calreticulin in higher plants – open channels for fast symplastic transport?
Frontiers in Plant Science. 2014. 5: 74.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00074

Gamalei Yu. V.
Structures of the plant trophic tract: plastid stromules and cell-wall plasmodesmata.
Cell and Tissue Biology. 2014. 8 (1): 23–34.
https://doi.org/10.1134/S1990519X14010052

Evkaikina A. I., Romanova M. A., Voitsekhovskaja O. V.
Evolutionary aspects of non-cell-autonomous regulation in vascular plants: structural background and models to study.
Frontiers in Plant Science. 2014. 5: 31.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00031

Khodorova N. V., Shavarda A. L., Lequart-Pillon M., Laberche J.-C., Voitsekhovskaja O. V., Boitel-Conti M.
Biosynthesis of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in Corydalis bracteata: Compartmentation and seasonal dynamics.
Phytochemistry. 2013. 92: 60–70.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2013.04.008

Schubert M., Koteyeva N. K., Zdyb A., Santos P., Voitsekhovskaja O. V., Demchenko K. N., Pawlowski K.
Lignification of cell walls of infected cells in Casuarina glauca nodules that depend on symplastic sugar supply is accompanied by reduction of plasmodesmata number and narrowing of plasmodesmata.
Physiologia Plantarum. 2013. 147(4): 524–540.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.2012.01685.x

Stepanova A. V., Oskolski A. A., Tilney P. M., Van Wyk B.-E.
Wood anatomy of the tribe Podalyrieae (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae): Diversity and evolutionary trends.
South African Journal of Botany. 2013. 89: 244–256.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2013.07.023

Semikhatova O. A., Chebotareva K. E., Yudina O. S.
The dark respiration rate of seasonal climate herbs.
Botanicheskii Zhurnal. 2013. 98(12): 1549–1557. (In Russian with English summary)

Gamalei Yu. V., Scheremet’ev S. N.
The steps of vascular plant and land ecosystem evolution.
Paleontological Journal. 2013. 47(9): 1105–1114.
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030113090074

Batashev D. R., Pakhomova M. V., Razumovskaya A. V., Voitsekhovskaja O. V., Gamalei Yu. V.
Cytology of the minor-vein phloem in 320 species from the subclass Asteridae suggests a high diversity of phloem-loading modes.
Frontiers in Plant Science. 2013. 4: 1–14.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2013.00312

Laboratory of Molecular and Ecological Physiology

Head

Staff

Research interests

Main publications

Additional information about the unit