Contact
Email: johannes.roetzer(at)gmi.oeaw.ac.at
Telephone: +43 1 79044
FORMER AND CURRENT POSITIONS
since 2021 - PhD candidate in the Dolan Group
2021 - MSc in Botany at University of Vienna
2019 - BSc in Biology/Botany at University of Vienna
2016- Bachelor of Education (BEd) for teaching in secondary schools, University of Vienna
Academic Honors and Awards
2024 - Best Talk Award at the YRSPP (Young Researchers Symposium on Plant Photobiology) meeting in Utrecht
2023 - BioArt Award 2022 from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
2022 - Georg-Prosoroff-Prize for Master’s thesis
Research Projects
Photoreceptor-mediated spore polarization
Measurements of mRNA expression levels revealed that light receptors are highly expressed during spore polarization. Through the generation of mutants and fluorescent protein fusions for various light receptors, I could establish that light receptors are indeed required for cell polarization.
In my PhD project, I am investigating the role of specific photoreceptors in translating light cues into polarity in developing spores. I am employing a combination of genetic and imaging approaches. Through the identification of interaction partners of these receptors in the early development of Marchantia, I aim to define the molecular network active during spore polarization.
Research interests
My research focuses on the process of de novo cell polarization, where a cell passes from a non-polar state to a polarized state. Establishing cellular polarity is fundamental for the development of multicellular organisms. Our lab identified an environmental factor as the polarizing cue in Marchantia polymorpha spores. With my PhD project, I aim to unravel the mechanisms of light-mediated de novo polarization.