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This website is the interactive CV of
Amélie Bauer
Researcher studying plant morphogenesis
ORCID 0000-0002-5630-5837- PhD
- University of Melbourne & ENS de Lyon
- Postdoc
- Plant Biology Research Institute, Montréal, 2024–2026
- Visa
- Bridging visa, permanent residency (subclass 186) in progress
What controls plant morphogenesis?
Organ morphogenesis depends on mechanical interactions between cells and tissues. These interactions generate forces that are sensed by cells and affect key cellular processes. How mechanical forces, together with genetic and biochemical signals, shape complex organs remains largely unclear.
I address this question in Arabidopsis, using the seed and the fruit as model systems. Cell growth results from a balance between turgor pressure, which drives expansion, and the properties of the cell wall, which restrict it. At the organ scale, inner tissues grow under compression and place the epidermis under tension, so that the response of each cell layer to these forces shapes the organ.
In the seed, I showed that an initial phase of rapid anisotropic growth depends on the response of cortical microtubules to shape-driven stresses in the outermost layer of the seed coat, whereas later isotropic growth depends on an inner layer that stiffens its walls under tension. Together, this work supports a model in which spatiotemporally distinct mechanical responses control seed shape. My postdoctoral research, not yet published, focused on the control of fruit valve margin development.
Model organism
Arabidopsis thaliana
Reference model for plant molecular genetics
All my projects have focused on Arabidopsis thaliana, a member of the Brassicaceae, a family that includes crops of agronomic importance such as mustard and cabbage. My work centred on reproductive organs.
Cellular resolution
From cell to organ
I combine live confocal time-lapse imaging with cell-level quantification to relate the growth of individual cells to organ morphogenesis.
cell wallsnuclei
Molecular biology
Molecular tools
Design and cloning of constructs to generate fluorescent reporter lines, and molecular characterisation of the resulting lines.
Plant genetics
Genetic resources
Generation and maintenance of transgenic lines: crosses, floral-dip transformation, selection of transformants and genotyping.
I also established the in vitro culture of individual immature seeds for live imaging of seed development, a method I was the first to develop (Bauer et al., EMBO J 2024).
Plant mechanics
Mechanical perturbations
To assess the contribution of mechanical forces to organ shape, I apply controlled compression between two plates and image the resulting responses of cells and cortical microtubules.
Compression set-up based on Creff et al., 2015, used in Bauer et al., EMBO J 2024
Microscopy
Live imaging
I develop time-lapse protocols that sustain organ growth in vitro on the microscope stage, so that the same cells can be followed over several days.
- StereomicroscopeDissection, whole organs, line screening
- Brightfield & DICZeiss Axio Imager 2
- ConfocalZeiss LSM 800, Leica TCS SP8, Nikon C2
- Spinning diskZeiss Axio Observer
- AiryscanZeiss LSM 980, microtubule imaging
Image analysis · code
Image analysis in Fiji
I write Fiji macros for the batch processing of complete experiments, and perform downstream statistical analysis and data visualisation in Python and R.
Example macro: batch projection and cell segmentation. A full automated pipeline is shown further down.
MorphoGraphX · 3D
3D cell growth analysis
Using MorphoGraphX, I perform 3D segmentation of individual cells and track their growth over time, layer by layer. Shown here: the two cell layers of the epidermis.
cell volume increaseSchematic representation
PhD · EMBO Journal 2024
Seed morphogenesis
Seed growth proceeds through an initial stage of rapid, anisotropic growth, followed by isotropic growth later in development.
Anisotropic growth depends on the response of cortical microtubules in the outermost cell layer of the seed coat to shape-derived mechanical forces.
growth rategrowth anisotropymicrotubules
Schematic representation, based on Bauer et al., EMBO J 2024
From anisotropic to isotropic
Transition to isotropic growth
The later, isotropic phase of growth depends on an inner layer of the seed coat, whose walls stiffen under tension, and on the reorganisation of its cortical microtubules.
The switch to isotropic growth is accompanied by reduced mechanosensitivity of cortical microtubules. Spatiotemporally distinct responses to mechanical forces thus shape the developing seed.
Schematic representation, based on Bauer et al., EMBO J 2024
Publications, talks and teaching
Beyond the bench
Six publications, including a first-author article in The EMBO Journal; talks in Paris and Melbourne; and training of students in confocal and Airyscan imaging.