Zoek medewerkers/organisaties prof.dr. MGM Aarts
Naam
Naamprof.dr. MGM Aarts
RoepnaamMark
Emailmark.aarts@wur.nl

Werk
OmschrijvingPersoonlijk Hoogleraar
OrganisatieDepartement Plantenwetenschappen
OrganisatieeenheidLaboratorium voor Erfelijkheidsleer
Telefoon+31 317 485 413
Mobiel
Telefoon secretariaat+31 317 482 150
Telefoon 2
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BezoekadresDroevendaalsesteeg 1
6708PB, WAGENINGEN
Gebouw/Kamer107/W2.Ed.103
PostadresPostbus 16
6700AA, WAGENINGEN
Bodenummer44
Nevenwerkzaamheden
  • President Executive Board - Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre
    apr 2018 - Nu

    The executive board manages the National Roadmap for Large Scale Research Infrastructure facility NPEC. NPEC is a national research facility dedicated to serving the plant sciences community with plant phenotyping opportunities. It is co-funded by NWO, Utrecht University and Wageningen University & Research, with facilities at Utrecht and Wageningen.

  • Review Editor - BMC Plant Biology
    jan 2008 - Nu

    Manuscripten beoordelen op geschiktheid voor tijdschrijft, reviewers uitzoeken, reviewverslagen beoordelen, advies over accepteren manuscript afgeven.


Biografie

The research interests of my group concern the evolution of plant adaptation to the abiotic environment. For much of this work we use Arabidopsis thaliana, the long-term plant model species.

We investigate the natural variation for abiotic stress tolerance and response of Arabidopsis with molecular and quantitative genetic tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 or RNAi, through stable and transient transformations, or through QTL and genome-wide association analysis, making use of genetically segregating populations created in the lab or obtained from international collaborators or stock centres. I am especially interested in two topics, understanding the (variation for) regulation of zinc homeostasis in plants and identification of the natural variation underlying efficiency of photosynthesis under the influence of environment.

An extreme case of aberrant regulation of zinc homeostasis is found in Noccaea caerulescens (see picture), a Zn/Cd/Ni hyperaccumulating relative of Arabidopsis, for which we determined the whole genome sequence. Evolution of  metal hyperaccumulation in N. caerulescens is studied using population genomics and quantitative genetics, supplemented with mutant screens and gene function analysis molecular genetics. Current focus is on the role of copy number variation in the rapid adaptation to high Zn and/or Cd exposure.

For our photosynthesis research we perform genome wide association studies in Arabidopsis, but also examine the nuclear-cytoplasmic interaction in so-called cytoplasmic swap panels, in which novel nuclear-cytoplasmic combinations are represented. Allelic variation is as much as possible unraveled up to the mutations causal for the observed phenotypic variation.

Another species we examine is Hirschfeldia incana, Mediterranean mustard, which displays exceptionally high levels of photosynthesis at high light, especially for a C3 photosynthesis plant.


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