Dr. Ellen Zuther

Abiotic stress tolerance (cold, high night temperatures, drought, heat, salt), transcriptomics, metabolomics, natural variability (Arabidopsis, Eutrema, rice, potato), polyamine metabolism, priming, microbiome influence on metabolism

Publications (02/2022)

80 Research Articles, 13 Contributions to Books and Proceedings, 2 Books (Editor), 1 Patent

Peer reviewed publications (since 2015)

Boinot M, Karakas E, Koehl K, Pagter M, Zuther E (2022) Cold stress and freezing tolerance negatively affect fitness of Arabidopsis thaliana under field and controlled conditions, Planta 255:39

Ginsawaeng O, Heise C, Sangwan R, Karcher D, Hernandez-Sanchez IE, Sampathkumar A, Zuther E (2021) Subcellular localization of seed-expressed LEA_4 proteins reveals liquid-liquid phase separation for LEA9 and for LEA48 homo- and LEA42-LEA48 heterodimers, Biomolecules 11:1770

Schaarschmidt S, Glaubitz U, Erban A, Kopka J, Zuther E (2021) Differentiation of the high night temperature response in leaf segments of rice cultivars with contrasting tolerance, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22:10451

Ginsawaeng O, Gorka M, Erban A, Heise C, Brueckner F, Hoefgen R, Kopka J, Skirycz A, Hincha DK, Zuther E (2021) Characterization of the heat-stable proteome during seed germination in Arabidopsis with special focus on LEA proteins, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22:8172

Schumacher C, Thümecke S, Schilling F, Köhl K, Kopka J, Sprenger H, Hincha DK, Walter D, Seddig S, Peters R, Zuther E, Haas M, Horn R (2021) Genome-wide approach to identify quantitative trait loci for drought tolerance in tetraploid potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22: 6123

Hincha DK, Zuther E, Popova A (2021) Stabilization of dry sucrose glasses by four LEA_4 proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana, Biomolecules 11:615

Schaarschmidt S, Lawas LWF, Kopka J, Jagadish SVK, Zuther E (2021) Physiological and molecular attributes contribute to high night temperature tolerance in cereals, Plant, Cell & Environment 44: 2034-2048

Schumacher C, Krannich CT, Maletzki L, Köhl K, Kopka J, Sprenger H, Hincha DK, Seddig S, Peters R, Hamera S, Zuther E, Haas M, Horn R (2021) Unravelling differences in candidate genes for drought tolerance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) by use of new functional microsatellite markers, Genes 12:494

Schulz E, Tohge T, Winkler JB, Albert A, Schäffner AR, Fernie AR, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2021) Natural variation in the regulation of flavonoid metabolism by combined UV radiation and cold, Plant and Cell Physiology 62:502-514

Takahashi D, Johnson K, Hao P, Tuong T, Erban A, Sampathkumar A, Bacic A, Livingston III. DP, Kopka J, Kuroha T, Yokoyama R, Nishitani K, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2021) Cell wall modification by XTH19 influences Arabidopsis freezing tolerance after cold and sub-zero acclimation, Plant, Cell and Environment 44: 915-930

Schaarschmidt S, Fischer A, Lawas LM, Alam R, Septinigsih EM, Bailey-Serres J, Jagadish SVK, Hüttel B, Hincha DK, Zuther E (2020) Utilizing PacBio Iso-Seq for novel transcript and gene discovery of abiotic stress responses in Oryza sativa, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21:8184

Haas, M, Sprenger H, Zuther E, Peters R, Seddig S, Walther D, Kopka J, Hincha DK, Köhl KI (2020) Can metabolite- and transcript-based selection for drought tolerance in Solanum tuberosum replace selection on yield in arid environments? Frontiers in Plant Science 11:1071

Schaarschmidt S, Lawas LMF, Glaubitz U, Li X, Erban A, Kopka J, Jagadish SVK, Hincha DK, Zuther E (2020) Season affects yield and metabolic profiles of rice (Oryza sativa) under high night temperature stress in the field, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21: 3187

Illgen S, Zintl S, Zuther E, Hincha DK, Schmülling T (2020) Characterisation of the ERF102 to ERF105 genes of Arabidopsis thaliana and their role in the response to cold stress, Plant Molecular Biology 103: 303-320

Schaarschmidt S, Fischer A, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2020) Evaluation of seven different RNA-Seq alignment tools based on experimental data from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21: 1720

Vyse K, Penzlin J, Sergeant K, Hincha DK, Arora R, Zuther E (2020) Repair of sub-lethal frost damages in Arabidopsis thaliana, BMC Plant Biology 20: 35

Vyse K, Faivre L, Romich M, Pagter M, Schubert D, Hincha DK, Zuther E (2020) Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation and transcriptional memory of chromatin regulators in response to low temperature. Frontiers in Plant Science 11: 39 

Zuther E, Schaarschmidt S, Fischer A, Erban A, Pagter M, Mubeen U, Giavalisco P, Kopka J, Sprenger H, Hincha DK (2019) Molecular signatures associated with increased freezing tolerance due to low temperature memory in Arabidopsis, Plant, Cell and Environment 42: 854-873

Lawas LMF, Li X, Erban A, Kopka J, Jagadish SVK, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2019) Metabolic responses of rice cultivars with different tolerance to combined heat and drought stress under field conditions, GigaScience 8 (5): 1-21.

Vyse K, Pagter M, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2019) Deacclimation after cold acclimation - a crucial, but widely neglected part of plant winter survival. Journal of Experimental Botany 70(18): 4595-4604.

Pérez-Díaz J, Pérez-Díaz JR, Medeiros DB, Ruiz-Lara S, Zuther E, Hong C-Y, Nunes-Nesi A, Hincha DK, Casaretto JA (2019) Transcriptome analysis in transgenic rice reveals potential roles of a barley ASR gene in stress tolerance, Journal of Plant Physiology 238: 29-39.

Lawas LMF, Erban A, Kopka J, Jagadish SVK, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2019) Metabolic responses of rice source and sink organs during recovery from combined drought and heat stress in the field, GigaScience 8 (8):1-15.Zuther E, Schaarschmidt S, Fischer A, Erban A, Pagter M, Mubeen U, Giavalisco P, Kopka J, Sprenger H, Hincha DK (2019) Molecular signatures of increased freezing tolerance due to low temperature memory in Arabidopsis, Plant, Cell and Environment 42: 854-873.

Takahashi D, Gorka M, Erban E, Graf A, Kopka J, Zuther  E, Hincha DK (2019) Both cold and sub-zero acclimation induce cell wall modification and changes in the extracellular proteome in Arabidopsis thaliana, Scientific Reports 9: 2289. 

Casartelli A, Melino VJ, Baumann U, Riboni M, Suchecki R, Jayasinghe NS, Mendis H, Watanabe M, Erban A, Zuther E, Hoefgen R, Roessner U, Okamoto M, Heuer S (2019) Opposite fates of the purine metabolite allantoin under water and nitrogen restrictions in bread wheat, Plant Molecular Biology 99: 477-497.

Schwachtje J, Whitcomb SJ, Firmino AAP, Zuther E, Hincha DK, Kopka J (2019) Induced, imprinted and primed metabolic responses of plants to changing environments: Do plants store and process information by metabolic imprinting and metabolic priming?, Frontiers in Plant Science 10: 106.

Lawas LMF, Shi W, Yoshimoto M, Hasegawa T, Hincha DK, Zuther E, Jagadish SVK (2018) Combined drought and heat stress impact during flowering and grain filling in contrasting rice cultivars grown under field conditions, Field Crops Research 229: 66-77.

Beine-Golovchuk O, Firmino A, Dabrowska A, Schmidt S, Erban E, Walther D, Zuther E, Hincha DK, Kopka J (2018) Plant temperature acclimation and growth rely on cytosolic ribosome biogenesis factor homologs, Plant Physiology 176: 2251-2276.

Etemadi M, Zuther E, Müller H, Hincha DK, Berg G (2018) Ecotype-depending response of bacterial communities associated with Arabidopsis to cold acclimation, Phytobiomes 2: 3-13.

Sprenger H, Erban A, Seddig S, Rudack R, Thalhammer A, Le MQ, Walther D, Zuther E, Köhl K, Kopka J and Hincha DK (2018) Metabolite and transcript markers for the prediction of potato drought tolerance, Plant Biotechnology Journal 16: 939-950.

Pagter M, Alpers J, Erban A, Kopka J, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2017) Rapid transcriptional and metabolic regulation of the deacclimation process in cold acclimated Arabidopsis thaliana, BMC Genomics 18: 731

Andersen UB, Kjaer KH, Erban A, Alpers J, Hincha DK, Kopka J, Zuther E, Pagter M (2017) Impact of seasonal warming on overwintering and spring phenology of blackcurrant, Environmental and Experimental Botany 140: 96-109.

Ntatsi G, Savvas D, Papasotiropoulos V, Katsileros A, Zrenner R, Hincha DK, Zuther  E, Schwarz D (2017) Rootstock sub-optimal temperature tolerance determines transcriptomic responses after long-term root cooling in rootstocks and scions of grafted tomato plants, Frontiers in Plant Science 8:911.

Bolt S, Zuther E, Zintl S, Hincha DK, Schmülling T (2017) ERF105 is a Transcription factor gene of Arabidopsis thaliana required for freezing tolerance and cold acclimation, Plant, Cell and Environment 40: 108-120.

Glaubitz U, Li X, Schaedel S, Erban A, Sulpice R, Kopka J, Hincha DK, Zuther E (2017) Integrated analysis of rice transcriptomic and metabolomic responses to elevated night temperatures identifies sensitivity and tolerance-related profiles, Plant, Cell and Environment 40: 121-137.

Lee YP, Funk C, Erban A, Kopka J, Köhl K, Zuther E, Hincha D (2016) Salt stress responses in a geographically diverse collection of Thellungiella/Eutrema spec. accessions, Functional Plant Biology 43: 590-606.

Juszczak I, Cvetkovic J, Zuther E, Hincha DK, Baier M (2016) Regulation of chloroplast antioxidant system upon deacclimation after cold stress among Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, Frontiers in Plant Science 7: 305.

Hilker M, Schwachtje J, Baier M, Balazadeh S, Bäurle I, Ehlert B, Geiselhardt S, Hincha D, Kunze R , Mueller-Roeber B, Rillig M, Rolff J, Romeis T, Schmülling T, Steppuhn A, van Dongen J, Withcomb S, Wurst S, Zuther E and Kopka J  (2016) Priming and memory of stress responses in organisms lacking a nervous system, Biological Reviews 91: 1118-1133.

Sprenger H, Kurowsky C, Horn R, Erban A, Seddig S, Rudack K, Fischer A, Walther D, Zuther E, Köhl K, Hincha DK, Kopka J (2016) Metabolic and transcriptomic responses of leaves from European potato reference cultivars with differential tolerance to long-term drought, Plant, Cell and Environment 39: 2370-2389.

Schulz E, Tohge T, Zuther E, Fernie AR, Hincha DK (2016) Flavonoids are determinants of freezing tolerance and cold acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana, Scientific Reports 6: 34027.

Schulz E, Tohge T, Zuther E, Fernie A, Hincha DK, (2015) Natural variation in  flavonol and anthocyanin metabolism during cold acclimation in a wide range of Arabidopsis accessions, Plant, Cell and Environment 38: 1658–1672.

Sprenger H, Rudack, K, Schudoma C, Neumann A, Seddig S, Peters R, Zuther E, Kopka J, Hincha DK, Walther D, Köhl K (2015) Assessment of drought tolerance and its potential yield penalty in potato, Functional Plant Biology 42: 655–667.

Zuther E, Juszczak I, Lee YP, Baier M, Hincha DK (2015) Time-dependent deacclimation after cold acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, Scientific Reports 5: 12199.

Glaubitz U, Erban A, Kopka J, Hincha DK, Zuther E (2015) High night temperature strongly impacts TCA cycle, amino acid and polyamine biosynthetic pathways in rice in a sensitivity dependent manner, Journal of Experiment Botany 66: 6385-6397.

Li X, Lawas L, Malo R, Glaubitz U, Erban A, Mauleon R, Heuer S, Zuther E, Kopka J, Hincha DK, Jagadish K (2015) Metabolic and transcriptomic signatures of rice floral organs reveal sugar starvation as a factor of reproductive failure under heat and drought, Plant, Cell and Environment 38: 2171–2192.

Contributions to Books (since 2018)

Hincha D and Zuther E (2020) Introduction - Plant cold acclimation and winter survival. In: Plant Cold Acclimation, 2^nd edition, (Hincha DK and Zuther E, eds.), Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 2156, p. 1-9, Springer New York, New York, NY

Thalhammer A, Pagter M, Hincha DK, Zuther E (2020) Measuring freezing tolerance of leaves and rosettes: Electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll fluorescence assays. In: Plant Cold Acclimation, 2^nd edition, (Hincha DK and Zuther E, eds.), Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 2156, p. 9-23, Springer New York, New York, NY

Takahashi D, Zuther E, Hincha DK (2020) Analysis of changes in plant cell wall composition and structure during cold acclimation. In: Plant Cold Acclimation, 2^nd edition, (Hincha DK and Zuther E, eds.), Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 2156, p. 255-269, Springer New York, New York, NY

Zuther E, Lee YP, Erban A, Kopka J, Hincha DK (2018) Natural variation in freezing tolerance and cold acclimation response in Arabidopsis thaliana and related species. In: Survival strategies in extreme cold and desiccation, Iwaya-Inoue M, Sakurai M, Uemura M. (eds.), Springer, Singapore, Singapore, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1081: 81-98

Editor (since 2020)