Vegetative propagation is very important for the survival of species with long juvenile and adult vegetative phases, as it is the case for bulbous plants. Bulbous plants are ornamental geophytes with a bulb as an underground storage organ. Among flower bulbs, tulip and lily are the two commercially leading plants in The Netherlands. Tulip propagate...
Encrypted in the DNA lays most information needed for the development of an organism. The transcription of this information into precise patterns of gene activity results in the development of different cell types, organs, and developmental structures. Moreover, transcriptional regulation enables an organism to respond to changing environmental con...
In this thesis I focus on SCHIZORIZA, a gene involved in tissue specification and cell fate segregation in the Arabidopsis root. Chapter 1 describes asymmetric cell division, Arabidopdis embryo development and root meristem development. In more detail we describe the maintenance of quiescent centre and columella stem cells, the development of groun...
Auxin is a plant hormone that triggers a broad variety of responses during plant development. These responses range from correct cell division patterns during embryogenesis to formation and growth of different organs. Due to its importance for plant growth and development, many aspects of the biology of auxin have been studied. In Chapter 2, we use...
Abstract During the life cycle, a plant undergoes a series of developmental phase changes. The first phase change is the transition from the initial juvenile vegetative stage into the adult vegetative phase. During the juvenile phase plants produce leaves and axillary buds, whereas during the adult phase the initiation of reproductive structures oc...
Summary Lipopeptides (LPs) are surface-active, antimicrobial compounds composed of a lipid moiety linked to a short linear or cyclic oligopeptide. In bacteria, LPs are synthesized by large nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) via a thiotemplate process. Compared to the understanding of LP biosynthesis, little is known about the genetic regulati...
Summary Current treatments of inflammatory disorders are often based on therapeutic proteins. These proteins, so-called biopharmaceuticals, are isolated from a natural resource or, more often, made using cell based fermentation systems. The most common production platforms are based on the bacterium Escherichia coli, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevis...
Lactobacillus plantarumis one of the most versatile lactic acid bacteria that can successfully inhabit a variety of environmental niches. It is a common inhabitant of the human and animal gastrointestinal (GI) tract and it is used as starter culture in various fermentation processes for different food raw-materials, including milk, fruits, vegetabl...
Endosymbiotic interactions form a fundament of life as we know it and are characterized by the formation of new specialized membrane compartments, in which the microbes are hosted inside living plant cells. A striking example is the symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium bacteria (rhizobia), which represents the most important sour...
cum laude graduation (with distinction)
