Office hours: Tuesday, 10 – 11 a.m.

I am currently not accepting new requests for letters of recommendation.

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in how plants on a cell-to-cell level process external information that affects their development. More specifically, I want to understand how this information in the form of abiotic stresses such as heat or drought is interpreted on a genomic level at various stages of development. My research primarily focuses on understanding how this information is stored and encoded in the context of chromatin and 3-dimensional contacts of DNA and its associated proteins inside the nucleus so that plants “learn” how to adapt to recurring stress situations. In my lab, we use next-generation sequencing, plant physiological, genetic, molecular and cell biology approaches to tackle these questions. Especially in light of climate change, it will be important to understand how plants react to changing environmental conditions.

Publications

Chen H, Xiong F, Wangler AM, Bischoff T, Wang K, Miao Y, Slane D, Schwab R, Laux T, and Bayer M. Phosphorylation-Dependent Activation of the bHLH Transcription Factor ICE1/SCRM Promotes Polarization of the Arabidopsis Zygote. New Phytologist. 2025 Feb;245(3):1029-1039. doi: 10.1111/nph.20265. Epub 2024 Nov 14. PMID: 39543803.

Berendzen KW, Grefen Christopher, Sakamoto Takuya, and Slane D. Analysis of Chromatin Accessibility, Histone Modifications, and Transcriptional States in Specific Cell Types Using Flow Cytometry. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2023, 2698:57-73.

Sakamoto T, Sakamoto Y, Grob S, Slane D, Yamashita T, Ito N, Oko Y, Sugiyama T, Higaki T, Hasezawa S, Tanaka M, Matsui A, Seki M, Suzuki T, Grossniklaus U, and Matsunaga S. Two-step regulation of centromere distribution by condensin II and the nuclear envelope proteins. Nature Plants. 2022 Aug;8(8):940-953.

Slane D, Lee CH, Kolb M, Dent C, Miao Y, Franz-Wachtel M, Lau S, Maček B, Balasubramanian S, Bayer M, and Jürgens G. The integral spliceosomal component CWC15 is required for development in Arabidopsis. Scientific Reports. 2020 Aug 7;10(1):13336.

Smit ME, Llavata-Peris CI, Roosjen M, van Beijnum H, Novikova D, Levitsky V, Sevilem I, Roszak P, Slane D, Jürgens G, Mironova V, Brady SM, and Weijers D. Specification and regulation of vascular tissue identity in the Arabidopsis embryo. Development. 2020 Apr 20;147(8):dev186130.

Slane D, Berendzen KW, Witthöft J, and Jürgens G. Transcriptomic Profiling of the Arabidopsis Embryonic Epidermis Using FANS in Combination with RNAseq. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2020;2122:151-164.

Neu A, Eilbert E, Asseck LY, Slane D, Henschen A, Wang K, Bürgel P, Hildebrandt M, Musielak TJ, Kolb M, Lukowitz W, Grefen C, and Bayer M. Constitutive signaling activity of a receptor-associated protein links fertilization with embryonic patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2019 Mar 19;116(12):5795-5804.

Wallmeroth N, Jeschke D, Slane D, Nägele J, Veerabagu M, Mira-Rodado V, and Berendzen KW. ARR22 overexpression can suppress plant Two-Component Regulatory Systems. PLoS ONE. 2019 Feb 11;14(2):e0212056.

Slane D, Reichardt I, El Kasmi F, Bayer M, and Jürgens G. Evolutionarily diverse SYP1 Qa-SNAREs jointly sustain pollen tube growth in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal. 2017 Nov;92(3):375-385.

Slane D, Bürgel P, and Bayer M. Staining and Clearing of Arabidopsis Reproductive Tissue for Imaging of Fluorescent Proteins. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2017;1669:87-94.

Slane D and Bayer M. Cell Type-Specific Gene Expression Profiling Using Fluorescence-Activated Nuclear Sorting. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2017;1629:27-35.

Bayer M, Slane D, and Jürgens G. Early plant embryogenesis-dark ages or dark matter? Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 2017 Feb;35:30-36.

Musielak TJ, Slane D, Liebig C, and Bayer M. A Versatile Optical Clearing Protocol for Deep Tissue Imaging of Fluorescent Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLoS ONE. 2016 Aug 12;11(8):e0161107.

Murphy E, Vu LD, Van den Broeck L, Lin Z, Ramakrishna P, van de Cotte B, Gaudinier A, Goh T, Slane D, Beeckman T, Inzé D, Brady SM, Fukaki H, De Smet I. RALFL34 regulates formative cell divisions in Arabidopsis pericycle during lateral root initiation. Journal of Experimental Botany. 2016 Aug;67(16):4863-4875.

Slane D, Kong J, Schmid M, Jürgens G, Bayer M. Profiling of embryonic nuclear vs. cellular RNA in Arabidopsis thaliana. Genomics Data. 2015 Apr 8;4:96-98.

Slane D, Kong J, Berendzen KW, Kilian J, Henschen A, Kolb M, Schmid M, Harter K, Mayer U, De Smet I, Bayer M, Jürgens G. Cell type-specific transcriptome analysis in the early Arabidopsis thaliana embryo. Development. 2014 Dec;141(24):4831-4840.

Lau S, Slane D, Herud O, Kong J, Jürgens G. Early Embryogenesis in Flowering Plants: Setting Up the Basic Body Pattern. Annual Review of Plant Biology. 2012;63:483-506.

Reichardt I, Slane D, El Kasmi F, Knöll C, Fuchs R, Mayer U, Lipka V, Jürgens G. Mechanisms of Functional Specificity Among Plasma-Membrane Syntaxins in Arabidopsis.��Traffic.��2011 Sep;12(9):1269-1280.

I have an enduring fascination with physiological and morphological adaptations and/or responses among tree species to long-term or seasonal stress factors. Working closely with students , I focus on understanding the physiological responses of trees to biotic/abiotic stress with a particular interest in plant water relations and carbon allocation. Research topics that interest me include: xylem structure and function in response to drought; pathogen impacts on growth and productivity of woody plants; and the analysis of carbon allocation patterns in woody plants in an effort to improve our understanding of forest responses to climate change. Such studies in plant physiology are enhanced by my in-depth research in plant anatomy and morphology. Understanding how plant structure and function are influenced by pressures in the growing environment, or by interactions with other organisms, will greatly improve our understanding of tree health and ecosystem dynamics.

Selected Publications

(* denotes student co-authors)

Brodersen, C.R., T. Brodribb, U. Hochberg, N.M. Holbrook, S. McAdam, J. Zailaa, B.A. Huggett, P.��Marmottant. 2025. In situ bubble manometry reveals a lack of light-activated cell turgor modulation in bryophytes, Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences��122(13).

Bouda, M., B. A. Huggett, K. A. Prats, J. W. Wason, J. P. Wilson and C. R. Brodersen. 2022. Hydraulic failure as a primary driver of xylem network evolution in early vascular plants. Science, 378 (6620): 642-646.

Furze, M.E., D.K. Wainwright, B.A. Huggett, T. Knipfer, A.J. McElrone, and C.R. Brodersen. 2021. Ecologically driven selection of nonstructural carbohydrate storage in oak trees, New Phytologist.

McIntire, C.D., B.A. Huggett, Emma Dunn*, I.A. Munck, M.A. Vadeboncoeur, H. Asbjornsen. 2021. Pathogen-induced defoliation impacts on transpiration, leaf gas exchange, and non-structural carbohydrate allocation in Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), Trees: Structure and Function, 35(2), 357-373.

Furze, M.E., B.A. Huggett, M. Wieringa, E. Aubrecht, M.S. Carbone, X. Xiaomei, C. Czimczik, and A.D. Richardson. 2020. Seasonal fluctuation in nonstructural carbohydrates within tree organs reveals the metabolic availability of older stemwood reserves. Tree Physiology, tpaa080, 

Wason, J.W., C.R. Brodersen, and B.A. Huggett. 2019. The functional implications of the presence or absence of intervessel connections across growth rings of four northern hardwood trees. Annals of Botany.��.

Furze, M.E., B.A. Huggett, E. Aubrecht, C. Stolz, M.S. Carbone, A.D. Richardson. 2018. Whole-tree nonstructural carbohydrate budgets and seasonal dynamics in five temperate species. New Phytologist, doi: 10.1111/nph.15462.

Wason, J.W., K. Anstreicher, N. Stephansky*, B.A. Huggett, C.R. Brodersen. 2018. Hydraulic safety margins and segmentation in roots, trunks, branches, and petioles of four northern hardwood trees. New Phytologist, 219.1 (2018): 77-88.

Tomlinson, P.B., A. Ricciardi*, and B.A. Huggett. 2018. Cracking the Omega code: hydraulic architecture of the cycad leaf axis. Annals of Botany, 121, 483-488.