Colloquium with Romy Schmidt-Schippers (Uni Bielefeld, Germany)

On 7 April 2026, Romy Schmidt-Schippers (Uni Bielefeld, Germany) will present insights to her current research as part of the SNP2Prot Colloquium Series.

Speaker: Romy Schmidt-Schippers (Uni Bielefeld, Germany) 
Title: Dynamic mechanisms controlling transcription factors under hypoxia in plants

Date: Tuesday, 7 April 2026
Time: 17:00 pm
Location: Lecture hall E.02 (Heide Süd Campus) Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 9, Halle (Saale)

Abstract: Precise transcriptional reprogramming under hypoxia relies on group VII ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTORS (ERFVIIs), which act as central regulators of low-oxygen gene expression in plants. While oxygen-dependent ERFVII stability regulation is quite well characterized, molecular mechanisms that modulate their activity after nuclear stabilization are still to be resolved.

In our lab, we identified a repressor protein family in Arabidopsis attenuating the activity of multiple ERFVIIs. Based on protein–protein interaction assays, transactivation experiments, and subcellular localization studies, we show this repressive effect is both redox-sensitive and dependent on defined features within ERFVIIs and repressors, respectively. Expression profiling and mutant analyses further support a regulatory role for these repressor proteins in balancing transcriptional responses across changing oxygen conditions. Moreover, redox-related control of repressor abundance appears to contribute to the dynamic responsiveness of this regulatory system under hypoxia.

Our findings point to a multifaceted post-translational and feedback-driven control mechanism acting on the ERFVII family that complements proteolytic regulation of these transcription factors. Taken together, this work highlights a crucial, new regulatory module with relevance for oxygen sensing as well as transcriptional plasticity and plant stress resilience under oxygen constraints.

If you like to meet with the speaker, please contact the host, Lennart Wirthmüller.

See all upcoming SNP2Prot colloquia listed here: https://snp2prot.uni-halle.de/events/category/colloquium/

The SNP2Prot Colloquium Series is integrated to the

• Halle Plant Science Colloquium (HPSC) – https://www.landw.uni-halle.de/prof/pflanzenernaehrung/hpsc/
• IPB Seminar Series – https://www.ipb-halle.de/forschung/symposien-und-kolloquien/vortraege/ipb-seminare