Prof. Dr. Ute Krämer
Chair of Molecular Genetics and Physiology of Plants, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
All plants on land are confronted with the challenge of nutrient balancing in their local soil habitats, and the overall outcomes of plant nutrient balancing influence primary production and the entry of nutrient and toxic elements into the food web. Yet, the composition of soils is patchy, dynamic and mostly non-optimal by comparison to the nutritional requirements of plants. Our research aims to understand both the molecular mechanisms of acclimation and the genetic basis of evolutionary adaptations in plant nutrient balancing, focusing on transition metal micronutrients and their toxic non-essential analogues. Our primary model organisms are the widely studied Arabidopsis thaliana and the closely related Arabidopsis halleri, a so-called metal hyperaccumulator species and natural colonizer of soils containing toxic levels of the heavy metals. In addition to extreme physiological differences from A. thaliana, the species A. halleri is known for a vast edaphic range and a vast phenotypic range of its leaf elemental composition. I will present our research combining several approaches to unravel the genetic and physiological basis of phenotypic divergence both within A. halleri and by comparison to closely related species in an ecological context. Our work provides insights into how plants cope with environmental change, and it can inform crop improvement and the development of plant-based technologies such as phytomining and phytoremediation.
Ute Krämer was born in West-Berlin, Germany, and studied Biochemistry at the University of Hanover, Germany. She completed a D.Phil. at the University of Oxford, UK, identifying the role of histidine as a chelator in nickel-hyperaccumulating Odontarrhena species. After a post-doc at Rutgers University, NJ, USA, she worked as a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam and the University of Heidelberg in Germany, followed by the appointment as a Full Professor at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, where she holds the Chair of Molecular Genetics and Physiology of Plants. She is the recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant in 2018, and she was elected a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2021) and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (2022).
