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Dr.
Michael Knoblauch
.jpg) 509-335-3052
knoblauch@wsu.edu
Assistant Professor, School of Biological Sciences, and Director,
Franceschi Microscopy and Imaging Center. Ph.D. 2000, Justus-Liebig-University,
Giessen, Germany.
Research
Dr. Knoblauch’s work deals with the cell biology and the
physiology of plant tissues, especially the phloem. The phloem
represents one of the most specialized plant tissues and is, due
to its high content of nutrients, a primary target for pests. Initially
he developed methodologies for the observation of the phloem in
the living, translocating state to elucidate fundamental questions
of the mechanism of phloem transport and protection mechanisms.
This finally led to the discovery of the contractility of phloem-specific
protein bodies which have been called forisomes. Forisomes represent
a defense mechanism by reversibly plugging the sieve tubes in response
to injury.
This discovery represents a link to his second major interest,
the identification and characterization of biomimetic materials
to provide a basis for emerging technologies and applications.
Forisomes contract anisotropically in response to divalent cations
like Ca2+, or to pH, without requirement for a source of chemical
energy such as ATP. The response is fully reversible. Diffusional
electrotitration allows electric control of forisome contraction
and bending. Forisomes can be isolated in large numbers and remain
functional after prolonged periods of storage. This unique combination
of useful properties renders forisomes a paradigmatic model for
protein-based biomimetic nano- and micro-actuators.
Besides the forisomes, different cellular structures have been
found in the phloem, some of which are restricted to this tissue.
However, the function of many of them is still obscure.
He believes that pure research into basic mechanisms of cell function
is likely to produce novel and innovative tools to solve problems
in fields such as nanotechnology and smart material research.
Selected
Publications
Noll
GA, Fontanellaz ME, Rueping B, Ashoub A, Van Bel AJE, Fischer
R, Knoblauch M, Prufer D. 2007. Spatial and temporal regulation
of the forisome gene for1 in the phloem during plant development.
Plant Molecular Biology 65(3):285-294.
Peters
WS, Knoblauch M, Warmann SA, Schnetter R, Shen AQ, Pickard WF.
2007. Tailed Forisomes of Canavalia gladiata: a New
Model to Study Ca2+-Driven Protein Contractility.
Annals of Botany 100:101-109.
Peters
WS, Schnetter R, Knoblauch M. 2007. Reversible birefringence
suggests a role for molecular self-assembly in forisome contractility.
Functional Plant Biology 34(4):302-306.
Peters
WS, Van Bel AJE, Knoblauch M. 2006. The geometry of the forisomes-sieve-element-
sieve plate complex in the phloem of Vicia faba L. leaflets.
Journal of Experimental Botany 57(12):3091-3098.
Shen
AQ, Hemlington B, Knoblauch M, Peters WS, Pickard WF. 2006. Forisome-based
biomimetic smart materials. Journal of Smart Structures and Systems 2(3):225–235.
Pickard
WF, Knoblauch M, Peters WS, Shen AQ. 2006. Prospective energy
density in the forisome, a new smart material. Materials Science & Engineering
C 26(1):104–112.
Knoblauch
M, Peters WS. 2004. Biomimetic actuators: Where technology and
cell biology merge. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 61:2497-2509.
Knoblauch
M, Peters WS. 2004. Forisomes, a novel type of Ca2+-dependent
contractile protein motor. Cell Motility and the Cytoskeleton 58(3):137-142.
Noll
GA, Knoblauch M, Prüfer D, Ehlers K, van Bel AJE, Peters
WS. 2004. Unexpected properties of a novel class of mechano-proteins
from vascular plants. In: G Bischoff, HJ Hein (eds), Micro- and
Nanostructures of Biological Systems II, Shaker, Aachen, p. 20-31.
Knoblauch
M, Noll GA, van Bel AJE, Prüfer D, Peters WS. 2003. Forisomes
consist of a novel class of contractile proteins. European Journal
of Cell Biology 82:70-71.
Knoblauch
M, Noll GA, Müller T, Prüfer D, Schneider-Hüther
I, Scharner D, van Bel AJE, Peters WS. 2003. ATP-independent
contractile proteins from plants. Nature Materials 2:600-603.
Van
Bel AJE, Ehlers K, Knoblauch M. 2002. Sieve elements caught in
the act. Trends in Plant Science 7:126-132.
Scholz
SR, Korn C, Gimadutdinow O, Knoblauch M, Pingoud A, Meiss G.
2002. The effect of ICAD-S on the formation and intracellular
distribution of a nucleolytically active caspase-activated DNase.
Nucleic Acids Research 30(14):3045-3051.
Vierheilig
H, Knoblauch M, Jürgensen K, van Bel AJE, Grundler F, Piche
Y. 2001. Imaging of arbuscular mycorrhizal structures in living
roots of Nicotiana tabacum by light,, epifluorescence and confocal
laser scanning microscopy. Canadian Journal of Botany 79:231-237.
Van
Bel AJE, Hibberd J, Prüfer D, Knoblauch M. 2001. Novel approach
in plastid transformation. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 12:144-149.
Knoblauch
M, Peters WS, Ehlers K, van Bel AJE. 2001. Reversible calcium-regulated
stopcocks in legume sieve tubes. Plant Cell 13:1221-1230.
Van
Bel AJE, Knoblauch M. 2000. Sieve element and companion cell:
the story of the comatose patient and the hyperactive nurse.
Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 27:477-487.
Ehlers
K, Knoblauch M, van Bel AJE. 2000. Ultrastructural features of
well-preserved and injured sieve elements. Minute clamps keep
the phloem transport conduits free for mass flow. Protoplasma 214:80-92.
Schiemann,
J, Weber, A, Commandeur, U, Knoblauch, M, van Bel, AJE, Fischer,
R, Prüfer, D, Hausmann, L, Töpfer, R, Hehl, R, Luehrs,
R, Reichmann, M, Tacke, E. 2000. Minimizing transgenic DNA while
maximizing function. In Fairbairn, C, Scoles, G, McHughen, A
Proceedings of the 6th international symposium on
the biosafety of genetically modified organisms. University Extension
Press, Saskatoon, Canada. 131-145.
Knoblauch
M. 2000. Microinjection. In Hawes C, and Satiat-Jeunemaitre B,
eds. Plant Cell Biology: A Practical Approach. Oxford University
Press, Oxford. 143-158.
Knoblauch
M, Hibberd JM, Gray JC, van Bel AJE. 1999. A galinstan expansion
femtosyringe for injection of eukaryotic organelles and prokaryotes.
Nature Biotechnology 17:906-909.
Knoblauch
M, Hibberd JM, Gray JC, van Bel AJE. 1999. Microinjection and
expression of reporter genes in plastids. Journal of Experimental
Botany 505:48.
Vierheilig
A, Boeckenhoff A, Knoblauch M, Jugè C, van Bel AJE, Grundler
F, Piché Y, Wyss U. 1999. In vivo observations
of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae in
roots by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Mycological Research 103:311-314.
Kempers
R, Prior DAM, Oparka KJ, Knoblauch M, van Bel AJE. 1999. Integration
of controlled pressure injection, iontophoresis and membrane
potential measurements. Plant Biology 1:61-67.
Knoblauch
M, van Bel AJE. 1998. Sieves tubes in action. Plant Cell 10:35-50.
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