Aurélia Emonet: Plant Physiology First Author

Aurélia Emonet, first author of “Development and Diversity of Lignin Patterns”

Current Position:

Postdoctoral researcher, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany

Education:

Ph.D. in Life Sciences (Plant Molecular Biology) and MSc of Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Lausanne; BSc in Biology at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland)

Non-scientific Interests: hiking, swimming, bouldering, scuba diving and reading

Brief bio:

What fascinates me the most in biology is how species evolved and developed complex anatomical structures and interactions with other species. During my master’s thesis, I joined the group of Prof. Philippe Reymond at Lausanne’s University and studied how caterpillar eggs can highjack defence mechanisms against bacteria, in order to downregulate responses against herbivores. I then continued to study biotic interactions in the group of Prof. Niko Geldner, this time focusing on localized immune responses as a means to accommodate the root microbiome. My research led me to highlight similarities between immune-induced lignification and endodermal stress lignin. I therefore pursued my interest in the evolution of lignin patterns by joining the group of Dr. Angela Hay at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne. Here, I investigate what mechanisms control polar lignin deposition in the context of explosive seed dispersal in Cardamine.