“The driving force in my research is to understand how wood cells and lignins form and work”
Edouard Pesquet is professor in molecular plant physiology at the Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. He is one of the new professors who will be installed at a ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall on September 27.
“My research is to understand the mechanisms controlling biomass accumulation in plants to ensure their resilience to climate changes. More specifically, my research focuses on the formation of plant wood cells and their accumulation of lignins – plant specific compounds representing the second most abundant biological carbon storing compounds on planet Earth. Wood cells are present in every land plant, even in grasses, and their role is to form the skeleton of the plant and enable the conduction and distribution of water throughout the plant. To do so, plants need lignins in their wood cells – lignins thus enable herbs, grasses, shrubs and trees to grow high, ensure the selective distribution of water and beneficial minerals but not toxicants as well as protect the plants from UV radiation, chemical and biological degradation. However, to date, we still don’t fully understand how wood cells and their lignins are built, and how both work to enable plant cells to acquire these different properties essential for terrestrial life.”
How did you get into this?
“Plants are central regulators needed for all the other living organisms on Earth – they regulate the water and carbon cycles on our planet, provide food and materials for all the other heterotrophic species. This central role of plants was even more apparent 450 million years ago, during the Devonian period, when marine algae developed wood cells and lignins to become terrestrial plants. Although essential, wood cells and lignins are still not fully understood. The driving force in my research is therefore trying to understand how wood cells and lignins form and work.”
How does your research contribute to society?
“Our future sustainable development requires society to stop and even revert climate changes by transiting to a circular bioeconomy where instead of using fossilized plant reserves, we use and manage biomass from growing living plants. Understanding wood cell formation and the importance of its lignin for plant productivity and resilience to climate change is essential to ensure our future shift to a circular bioeconomy. Far from only affecting agriculture, my research also develops new technologies such as plant stem cell cultures that can be triggered to form wood cells directly in a vat without cutting any trees or other plants.”
What has been most exciting so far?
“One of the greatest breakthroughs of my research is the discovery that lignins have a chemical code that is specifically encoded differently between cell types, during their development and/or in response to changes in climate conditions. Changing the encoding of lignins directly adjusts their mechanical, resistance or water-proofing properties, and consequently changes the growth, resilience and productivity of plant biomass.”
Inauguration and Conferment ceremony in the City Hall
Edouard Pesquet is one of the new professors who were employed during 1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024. All new professors who took office during this period are invited to the Inauguration and conferment ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall 27 September 2024. The professorial installation is the occasion when the new professors are welcomed to the university and their different subject areas are brought to attention.
Read more about Edouard Pesquet's research.
Last updated: September 5, 2024
Source: Communications Office