The plant catabolism laboratories

Dr. Samujjal Bhattacharjee

Nicolò Brugnone

Dr. Igor Sabljić

Dr. Sanjana Holla

Dr. Anna Åsman

Dr. Marcel Bentancor

Dr. Eduardo Berenguer

Dr. Catarina Cardoso

Dr. Kerstin Dalman

Dr. Pernilla Elander

Ana Jesús Vega de Armas

Dr. Lada Filonova

Dr. Kazutake Fukada

Dr. Anna Golovko

Dr. Emilio Gutierrez-Beltran, Emilio’s group webpage

Therese Jonsson

Dr. Anna Maria Eisele

Sofiana Fajriah Rahmah

Mahmudur Rahman

Dr. Prashanth Ramachandran

Dr. Salim Hossain Reza

Dr. Eugene Savenkov, Eugene’s group webpage 

Dr. Maria Fernanda Suarez, Nandi’s group webpage 

Dr. Budhi Sagar Tiwari, Budhi’s group webpage 

Amareswar Vangala

Dr. Victoria Sanchez Vera

Anna Andersen Vikhagen

Ali Burak Yildiz

Dr. Andrey Zamyatnin

Dr. Viktoria Zamyatnina

Kuang D, Romand S, Zvereva AS, Orlando Marchesano BM, Grenzi M, Buratti S, Yang Q, Zheng K, Valadorou D, Mylle E, Benedikty Z, Trtílek M, Tenje M, Spetea C, Van Damme D, Wurzinger B, Schwarzländer M, Teige M, Costa A, Stael S. The burning glass effect of water droplets triggers a high light-induced calcium response in the chloroplast stroma. Curr Biol. 2025 May 15:S0960-9822(25)00562-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.065

Moschou PN, Bozhkov PV. FUSTer than stress granules: a prion-like domain warns plants of heat. Cell Research 2025 May 29. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-025-01133-4

Di Fino LM, Anjam MS, Besten M, Mentzelopoulou A, Papadakis V, Zahid N, Baez LA, Trozzi N, Majda M, Ma X, Hamann T, Sprakel J, Moschou PN, Smith RS, Marhavý P. Cellular damage triggers mechano-chemical control of cell wall dynamics and patterned cell divisions in plant healing. Dev Cell. 2025 May 19;60(10):1411-1422.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.12.032.

Julian J, Gao P, Del Chiaro A, Carlos De La Concepcion J, Armengot L, Somssich M, Duverge H, Clavel M, Grujic N, Kobylinska R, Polivka I, Besten M, Andersen TG, Dank C, Korbei B, Bachmair A, Coll NS, Minina EA, Sprakel J, Dagdas Y. ATG8ylation of vacuolar membrane protects plants against cell wall damage. Nat Plants. 2025 Feb;11(2):321-339. doi: 10.1038/s41477-025-01907-z. 

Stael S, Lois LM, Bachmair A. SUMO style defense: How post-translational modification via SUMO conjugation promotes plant defense. Dev Cell. 2025 Mar 10;60(5):666-668. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2025.02.010.

Qi S, Mazumdar S, Zou Y, Yang Q, Stael S, James M. Four guidelines to identify bona fide protease-substrate pairs. J Exp Bot. 2025 May 9:eraf194. doi: 10.1093/jxb/eraf194. 

Zou Y, Ohlsson JA, Holla S, Sabljić I, Leong JX, Ballhaus F, Krebs M, Schumacher K, Moschou PN, Stael S, Üstün S, Dagdas Y, Bozhkov PV, Minina EA. ATG8 delipidation is not universally critical for autophagy in plants. Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 5;16(1):403. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-55754-1.

Linder T. Demystifying anaerobic respiration: a problem-solving exercise. J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2024 Dec 12;25(3):e0004424. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00044-24.

Scheuring D, Minina EA, Krueger F, Lupanga U, Krebs M, Schumacher K. Light at the end of the tunnel: FRAP assays combined with super resolution microscopy confirm the presence of a tubular vacuole network in meristematic plant cells. Plant Cell. 2024 Nov 2;36(11):4683-4691. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koae243.

Dobránszki J, Agius DR, Berger MMJ, Moschou PN, Gallusci P, Martinelli F. Plant memory and communication of encounters. Trends Plant Sci. 2024 Nov 14:S1360-1385(24)00260-7. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2024.09.012.

Cosenza-Contreras M, Seredynska A, Vogele D, Pinter N, Brombacher E, Cueto RF, Dinh TJ, Bernhard P, Rogg M, Liu J, Willems P, Stael S, Huesgen PF, Kuehn EW, Kreutz C, Schell C, Schilling O. TermineR: Extracting information on endogenous proteolytic processing from shotgun proteomics data. Proteomics. 2024 Oct;24(19):e2300491. doi: 10.1002/pmic.202300491.

Liu C, Hatzianestis IH, Pfirrmann T, Reza SH, Minina EA, Moazzami A, Stael S, Gutierrez-Beltran E, Pitsili E, Dörmann P, D'Andrea S, Gevaert K, Romero-Campero F, Ding P, Nowack MK, Van Breusegem F, Jones JDG, Bozhkov PV, Moschou PN. Seed longevity is controlled by metacaspases. Nat Commun. 2024 Aug 8;15(1):6748. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50848-2.

Mentzelopoulou A, Liu C, Moschou PN. Protein Detection and Localization in Plant Cells Using Spot-Tagging. Physiol Plant. 2024 May-Jun;176(3):e14351. doi: 10.1111/ppl.14351. 

Kuang D, Romand S. Optimal photosynthesis requires a balanced diet of ions. New Phytol. 2024 Jul;243(2):506-508. doi: 10.1111/nph.19871.

Guichard M, Holla S, Wernerová D, Grossmann G, Minina EA. RoPod, a customizable toolkit for non-invasive root imaging, reveals cell type-specific dynamics of plant autophagy. Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 3;14(1):12664. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-63226-1. 

Liu C, Mentzelopoulou A, Hatzianestis IH, Tzagkarakis E, Skaltsogiannis V, Ma X, Michalopoulou VA, Romero-Campero FJ, Romero-Losada AB, Sarris PF, Marhavy P, Bölter B, Kanterakis A, Gutierrez-Beltran E, Moschou PN. A proxitome-RNA-capture approach reveals that processing bodies repress coregulated hub genes. Plant Cell. 2024 Feb 26;36(3):559-584. 

Zou Y, Sabljić I, Horbach N, Dauphinee AN, Åsman A, Sancho Temino L, Minina EA, Drag M, Stael S, Poreba M, Ståhlberg J, Bozhkov PV. Thermoprotection by a cell membrane-localized metacaspase in a green alga. Plant Cell. 2024 Feb 26;36(3):665-687. 

Ohlsson JA, Leong JX, Elander PH, Ballhaus F, Holla S, Dauphinee AN, Johansson J, Lommel M, Hofmann G, Betnér S, Sandgren M, Schumacher K, Bozhkov PV, Minina EA. SPIRO - the automated Petri plate imaging platform designed by biologists, for biologists. Plant J. 2023 Dec 23. doi: 10.1111/tpj.16587. 

Eisele-Bürger AM, Eisele F, Malmgren Hill S, Hao X, Schneider KL, Imamoglu R, Balchin D, Liu B, Hartl FU, Bozhkov PV, Nyström T. Calmodulin regulates protease versus co-chaperone activity of a metacaspase. Cell Rep. 2023 Nov 28;42(11):113372. 

Stael S, Sabljić I, Audenaert D, Andersson T, Tsiatsiani L, Kumpf RP, Vidal-Albalat A, Lindgren C, Vercammen D, Jacques S, Nguyen L, Njo M, Fernández-Fernández ÁD, Beunens T, Timmerman E, Gevaert K, Van Montagu M, Ståhlberg J, Bozhkov PV, Linusson A, Beeckman T, Van Breusegem F. 2023. Structure-function study of a Ca²⁺-independent metacaspase involved in lateral root emergence. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 120(22):e2303480120. 

Fernández-Fernández ÁD, Stael S, Van Breusegem F. 2023. Mechanisms controlling plant proteases and their substrates. Cell Death Differ. 30(4):1047-1058. 

Xie Z, Zhao S, Li Y, Deng Y, Shi Y, Chen X, Li Y, Li H, Chen C, Wang X, Liu E, Tu Y, Shi P, Tong J, Gutierrez-Beltran E, Li J, Bozhkov PV, Qian W, Zhou M, Wang W. 2023. Phenolic acid-induced phase separation and translation inhibition mediate plant interspecific competition. Nat Plants. doi: 10.1038/s41477-023-01499-6. 

Gutierrez-Beltran E, Strader L, Bozhkov P. 2023. Focus on biomolecular condensates. Plant Cell. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koad182.

Solis-Miranda J, Chodasiewicz M, Skirycz A, Fernie AR, Moschou PN, Bozhkov PV, Gutierrez-Beltran E. 2023. Stress-related biomolecular condensates in plants. Plant Cell. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koad127.

Mountourakis F, Hatzianestis IH, Stavridou S, Bozhkov PV, Moschou PN. 2023. Concentrating and sequestering biomolecules in condensates: impact on plant biology. J Exp Bot. 74(5):1303-1308. 

Humpenöder, F., Bodirsky, B. L., Weindl, I., Lotze-Campen, H., Linder, T., & Popp, A. (2022). Projected environmental benefits of replacing beef with microbial protein. Nature, 605(7908), 90–96.

Leong, J. X., Raffeiner, M., Spinti, D., Langin, G., Franz-Wachtel, M., Guzman, A. R., Kim, J. G., Pandey, P., Minina, A. E., Macek, B., Hafrén, A., Bozkurt, T. O., Mudgett, M. B., Börnke, F., Hofius, D., & Üstün, S. (2022). A bacterial effector counteracts host autophagy by promoting degradation of an autophagy component. The EMBO J, 41(13), e110352.

Gutierrez-Beltran E, Elander PH, Dalman K, Dayhoff GW 2nd, Moschou PN, Uversky VN, Crespo JL, Bozhkov PV (2021) Tudor staphylococcal nuclease is a docking platform for stress granule components and is essential for SnRK1 activation in Arabidopsis. EMBO J, 40(17), e105043

Minina, EA., Dauphinee, A.N, Ballhaus F., Gogvadze V., Smertenko A.P., Bozhkov PV (2021) Apoptosis is not conserved in plants as revealed by critical examination of a model for plant apoptosis-like cell death. BMC Biology 19, 100.

Zou Y and Bozhkov PV (2021) Chlamydomonas proteases: classification, phylogeny and molecular regulation. J Exp Bot DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab383

Minina EA, Staal J, Alvarez VE, Berges JA, Berman-Frank I, Beyaert R, Bidle KD, Bornancin F, Casanova M, Cazzulo J, Choi CJ, Coll NS, Dixit VM, Dolinar M, Fasel N, Funk C, Gallois P, Gevaert K, Gutierrez-Beltran E, Hailfinger S, Klemencic M, Koonin EV, Krappmann D, Linusson A, Machado M, Madeo F, Megeney LA, Moschou PN, Mottram, JC, Nyström T, Osiewacz HD, Overall CM, Pandey KC, Ruland J, Salvesen GS, Shi Y, Smertenko A, Stael S, Ståhlberg J, Suarez MF, Thome M, Tuominen H, Van Breusegem F, van der Hoorn RAL, Vardi A, Zhivotovsky B, Lam E and Bozhkov PV (2020) Classification and Nomencalture of Metacaspases and Paracaspases: No More Confusion with Caspases. Molecular Cell 77, 927-929.

AN Dauphinee, C Cardoso, K Dalman, JA Ohlsson, S Berglund  Fick, S Robert, GR Hicks, PV Bozhkov, EA Minina (2019) Chemical screening pipeline for identification of specific plant autophagy modulators. Plant Physiol. 2019 Nov;181(3):855-866.

Elander PH, Minina EA, and Bozhkov PV (2018) Autophagy in turnover of lipid stores: trans-kingdom comparison. J Exp Bot 69, 1301-1311. 

Minina EA, Moschou PN, Vetukuri RR, Sanchez-Vera V, Cardoso C, Liu Q, Elander PH, Dalman K, Beganovic M, Yilmaz JL, Marmon S, Shabala L, Suarez MF, Ljung K, Novák O, Shabala S, Stymne S, Hofius D and Bozhkov PV (2018) Transcriptional stimulation of rate-limiting components of the autophagic pathway improves plant fitness. J Exp Bot 69, 1415-1432.

Üstün S, Hafrén A, Liu Q, Marshall RS, Minina EA, Bozhkov PV, Vierstra RD, Hofius D (2018) Bacteria exploit autophagy for proteasome degradation and enhanced virulence in plants. Plant Cell 30, 668-685

Minina EA, Moschou PN, and Bozhkov PV (2017) Limited and digestive proteolysis: crosstalk between evolutionary conserved pathways​. New Phytologist 215, 958–964.

Minina EA, Coll NS, Tuominen H and Bozhkov PV (2017) Metacaspases versus caspases in development and cell fate regulation. Cell Death and Differentiation 24, 1314–1325.

Minina EA, Reza SH, Gutierrez-Beltran E, Elander P, Bozhkov PV and Moschou PN (2017) Arabidopsis homologue of Scc4/MAU2 is essential for plant embryogenesis. J Cell Sci 130: 1051-1063.

Gutierrez-BeltranE, Denisenko TV, Zhivotovsky B and Bozhkov PV (2016) Tudor Staphylococcal Nuclease: biochemistry and functions. Cell Death and Differentiation 23, 1739-1748.

Moschou PN, Gutierrez-Beltran E, Bozhkov PV, Smertenko AP (2016) Separase Promotes Microtubule Polymerization by Activating CENP-E-Related Kinesin Kin7. Developmental Cell 37: 350-361.

Moschou PN, Savenkov EI, Minina EA, Fukada K, Reza SH, Gutierrez-Beltran E, Sanchez-Vera V, Suarez MF, Hussey P, Smertenko AP and Bozhkov PV (2016) EXTRA SPINDLE POLES (Separase) controls anisotropic cell expansion in Norway spruce (Picea abies) embryos independently from its role in anaphase progression. New Phytologist doi: 10.1111/nph.14012

Gutierrez-Beltran E, Moschou PN, Smertenko AP and Bozhkov PV (2015) Tudor Staphylococcal Nuclease Links Formation of Stress Granules and Processing Bodies with mRNA Catabolism in Arabidopsis.  Plant Cell 27: 926-943.

We are always on the lookout for highly motivated colleagues to join our lab. If you are interested, please apply for the open positions below:

https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/jobs-vacancies/

If you want to join us with your own postdoctoral project grant within the research scope of the lab, please provide max one page-long summary of the proposed project, CV and names of two references. Funding bodies to consider: 

Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS)

EMBO Fellowship (EMBO)

Marie Curie Fellowship (MC)

Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)  

Wenner-Gren Foundations

Carl Trygger Foundation

At the moment we have the following master projects available:

• “Novel aspects of autophagy in plant stress response​: the path to developing better crops” with Dr. Alyona Minina and Sanjana Holla as supervisor and co-supervisor, respectively. Please contact Alyona if you are interested.

• “How plant cells upcycle their own organelles: physiological roles of selective autophagy” with Sanjana Holla and Dr. Alyona Minina as supervisor and co-supervisor, respectively. Please contact Sanjana if you are interested.

• “Exploring autophagy-mediated stress granule degradation in plants” with Dr. Adrian Dauphinee as supervisor. Please contact Adrian if you are interested.

• "A chemical genetics approach to unravel autophagy signaling" with Florentine Ballhaus and Dr. Adrian Dauphinee as joint supervisors. Please contact Florentine if you are interested.

• “Exciting search for Chlamydomonas metacaspase interactors by yeast-two hybrid library screening” with Dr. Yong Zou as supervisor. Please contact Yong if you are interested.