Plant Development

Prof. Dr. Andreas Klingl

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+49 89 2180 74416

a.klingl@lmu.de

EU1.024

Research

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For the functionality of selected proteins and structures within living organisms, the localization and 3-dimensional distribution and their organization plays a crucial role.

Beside multiple collaborations regarding electron microscopy, the Klingl group has the major research topics:

1. The structural and physiological adaptation of plants like Arabidopsis thaliana and changing environmental conditions like elevated temperatures.

2. The structural characterization of so-called plant-microbe interfaces (PMI), which represent the area of interaction between microbes like rhizobia or arbuscular mycorrhiza with plants like Lotus. Additionally, the localization of key proteins and molecular players represents a major aspect in this plant-microbe interactions

As our groups is responsible for the electron microscopy core facility with several high-end microscopes and the respective preparation equipment, we do not only characterize and localize proteins in the before mentioned plants or in the hornwart Physcomitrium patens, but also in eukaryotic systems and several microorganisms. Herein, applications like correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) play a crucial role.

Methods and Approaches

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To investigate the 3-dimensional organization of cells, we are currently using TEM- (transmission electron microscopy), STEM- (scanning transmission electron microscopy) and FIB/SEM- (focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy) tomography of resin-embedded samples. In a collaboration with Prof. Dr. Martin Heß, we also have access to SBF-SEM (serial block face scanning electron microscopy). This enables a multitude of projects which all rely on different electron microscopic preparation and imaging techniques.

The Plant Development group also represents the Core Facility for Electron Microscopy at the biocentre of the LMU Munich. In this regard, we have direct access to a total of 4 electron microscopes:

• JEOL F200 (cryo-(S)TEM)
• Zeiss EM912 (TEM)
• Zeiss Auriga Crossbeam (SEM & FIB/SEM)
• FEI Tenos (SBF-SEM, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Martin Heß)

Key publications

Seydel C, Hess M, Schröder L, Klingl A, Nägele T (2025) Subcellular plant carbohydrate metabolism under elevated temperature. Plant Physiol 198: kiaf117. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf117

Kalvelage J, Wöhlbrand L, Senkler J, Schumacher J, Ditz N, Bischof K, Winklhofer M, Klingl A, Braun H-P, Rabus R (2024). Conspicuous chloroplast with light harvesting-photosystem I/II megacomplex in marine Prorocentrum cordatum. Plant Physiol 115: 306-325. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiae052

Kalvelage J, Wöhlbrand L, Schoon RA, Zink FM, Correll C, Senkler J, Eubel H, Hoppenrath M, Rhiel E, Braun HP, Winklhofer M, Klingl A, Rabus R (2023). The enigmatic nucleus of the marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum cordatum. mSphere 8(4): e0003823. https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00038-23

Rodrigues-Oliveira T, Wollweber F, Ponce-Toledo RI, Xu J, Rittmann SKMR, Klingl A, Pilhofer M and Schleper C (2023). Actin cytoskeleton and complex cell architecture in an Asgard archaeon. Nature 613(7943): 332-339.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05550-y

Flechsler J, Heimerl T, Pickl C, Rachel R, Stierhof Y-D, Klingl A (2020). 2D and 3D immunogold localization on (epoxy) ultrathin sections with and without osmium tetroxide. Microsc Res Tech 83: 691-705.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.23459