Dr. Thomas Spallek*

Junior Group Leader – Plant Biotic Interactions Group

Education:

• 2008 - 2011: PhD at Max Plack Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
• 2002–2008: Diploma, Studies of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany

Professional Experience

• since 06/2022 Junior Group Leader – Plant Biotic Interactions Group, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany
• 2019–2022: Project Leader – Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Department, University of Hohenheim, Germany
• 2018–2019: Postdoc – Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Department,
  University of Hohenheim, Germany
• 2012–2018: Postdoc – RIKEN, Plant Immunity Research Group, Yokohama, Japan
• 2011–2012: Postdoc – The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, United Kingdom
• 2008–2009: Ph.D student – Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne

Major Research Interests

• Functional genetics of parasitic plants
• Interspecific signaling between parasitic plants and hosts
• Cell biology of haustorium formation

Homepage Department/Research Group
in preparation


Selected Recent Publications

1. Greifenhagen, A., I. Braunstein, J. Pfannstiel, S. Yoshida, K. Shirasu, A. Schaller, and T. Spallek*: The Phtheirospermum japonicum isopentenyltransferase PjIPT1a regulates host cytokinin responses in Arabidopsis. New Phytol. 232, 1582-1590 (2021). doi: 10.111/nph.17615 [* Corresponding Author]

2. Ogawa, S., T. Wakatake, T. Spallek, J.K. Ishida, R. Sano, T. Kurata, T. Demura, S. Yoshida, Y. Ichihashi, A. Schaller, and K. Shirasu: Subtilase activity in intrusive cells mediates haustorium maturation in parasitic plants. Plant Physiol. 185, 1381-1394 (2021). doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiaa001

3. Yoshida, S., S. Kim, E.K. Wafula, J. Tanskanen, Y. Kim, L. Honaas, Z. Yang, T. Spallek, C.E. Conn, Y. Ichihashi, K. Cheong, S. Cui, J.P. Der, H. Gundlach, Y. Jiao, C. Hori, J.K. Ishida, H. Kasahara, T. Kiba, M.-S. Kim, N. Koo, A. Laohavist, Y.-H. Lee, S. Lumba, P. McCourt, J.C. Mortimer, J.M. Mutuku, T. Nomura, Y. Sasaki-Sekimoto, Y. Seto, Y. Wang, T. Wakatake, H. Sakakibara, T. Demura, S. Yamaguchi, K. Yoneyama, R. Manabe, D.C. Nelson, A.H. Schulman, M.P. Timko, C.W. dePamphilis, D. Choi, and K. Shirasu: Genome sequence of Striga asiatica provides insight into the evolution of plant parasitism. Curr. Biol. 29, 3041-3052 (2019). doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.07.086

4. Spallek, T.*, P. Gan, Y. Kadota, and K. Shirasu*: Same tune, different song - cytokinins as virulence factors in plant–pathogen interactions? Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 44, 82-87 (2018). doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2018.03.002 [* Co-corresponding Authors]

5. Spallek, T.*, C.W. Melnyk, T. Wakatake, J. Zhang, Y. Sakamoto, T. Kiba, S. Yoshida, S. Matsunaga, H. Sakakibara, and K. Shirasu*: Inter-species hormonal control of host root morphology by parasitic plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 114, 5283-5288 (2017). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1619078114 [* Co-corresponding Authors]