{"entity": "researcher", "timestamp": "2026-07-20T13:21:49.886Z", "family": "Funk", "given": "Christiane", "initials": "C", "orcid": "0000-0002-7897-4038", "affiliations": ["Department of Chemistry, Ume\u00e5 University, Ume\u00e5, Sweden."], "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/5db6c5fa2a754060b1583caf37bba1b8.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/5db6c5fa2a754060b1583caf37bba1b8"}}, "publications": [{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "6f47d65ab69d4679a11ed59bb80b8255", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/6f47d65ab69d4679a11ed59bb80b8255.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/6f47d65ab69d4679a11ed59bb80b8255"}}, "title": "Apoptotic bodies in phytoplankton suggest evolutionary conservation of cell death mechanisms.", "authors": [{"family": "Corredor", "given": "Luisa", "initials": "L", "orcid": "0000-0003-0274-4962", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/1b51b1c56fdc49fbb0596c6ca8448315.json"}}, {"family": "Vergou", "given": "Georgia Antonia", "initials": "GA", "orcid": "0009-0004-0913-7203", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/fe3d2255d757451a8565911e9924486c.json"}}, {"family": "Skalick\u00fd", "given": "Vladim\u00edr", "initials": "V", "orcid": "0000-0001-5369-8906", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/aa0883baaa234b1eb8f80b6b5dc2ac07.json"}}, {"family": "Antoniadi", "given": "Ioanna", "initials": "I", "orcid": "0000-0001-9053-2788", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/60bcbb474ded4df08079520c92de49bf.json"}}, {"family": "Wheaton", "given": "Benjamin J", "initials": "BJ", "orcid": "0000-0003-0619-4777", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/399d29926ef74784aeda6c6ada5cedb4.json"}}, {"family": "Ljung", "given": "Karin", "initials": "K", "orcid": "0000-0003-2901-189X", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/f91b1e1f90c24559b915ebcd265804a4.json"}}, {"family": "Gorzs\u00e1s", "given": "Andr\u00e1s", "initials": "A", "orcid": "0000-0002-2298-8844", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/8070792ccead4c809c89943d84cf0e03.json"}}, {"family": "Funk", "given": "Christiane", "initials": "C", "orcid": "0000-0002-7897-4038", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/5db6c5fa2a754060b1583caf37bba1b8.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2025-09-25", "journal": {"title": "Nat Commun", "issn": "2041-1723", "volume": "16", "issue": "1", "pages": "8427", "issn-l": "2041-1723"}, "abstract": "Programmed Cell Death (PCD) in eukaryotes is a regulated process occurring during development, cell differentiation and aging. Apoptosis is a particularly well studied morphotype of PCD, only observed in animal cells (metazoan). Its most definitive hallmark is the formation and release of membrane-enclosed extracellular vesicles called Apoptotic Bodies (ABs). Although apoptotic-like features have been described in plants, yeast, protozoa and phytoplankton, the production of ABs has been thought to be limited to multicellular animals. Here we report the production and release of extracellular ABs in a non-metazoan unicellular eukaryote, the cryptophyte alga Guillardia theta. Morphologies of G. theta cells during aging and pharmacologically-induced cell death confirm the presence of ABs and apoptosis in phytoplankton. G. theta ABs have similar composition to metazoan ABs, carrying DNA, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, fragments of organelles and cytosol portions. Our results demonstrate that G. theta, a microalga that arose from secondary endosymbiosis, experiences apoptotic cell death in physiological conditions, similar to animal cells. Since secondary endosymbiosis occurred prior to the origin of multicellularity, our discovery questions the evolutionary origin of PCD.", "doi": "10.1038/s41467-025-63956-4", "pmid": "40998840", "labels": {"Cryo-EM": "Service", "Integrated Microscopy Technologies Ume\u00e5": "Service"}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC12462507"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "10.1038/s41467-025-63956-4"}], "notes": [], "created": "2025-09-30T12:06:57.996Z", "modified": "2025-10-30T12:08:13.065Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "6cf58ad1a0284e5d962d0794516d7d1d", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/6cf58ad1a0284e5d962d0794516d7d1d.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/6cf58ad1a0284e5d962d0794516d7d1d"}}, "title": "Overexpression of the plastidial pseudo-protease AtFtsHi3 enhances drought tolerance while sustaining plant growth.", "authors": [{"family": "Mishra", "given": "Laxmi S", "initials": "LS"}, {"family": "Cook", "given": "Sam D", "initials": "SD"}, {"family": "Kushwah", "given": "Sunita", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Isaksson", "given": "Hanna", "initials": "H"}, {"family": "Straub", "given": "Isabella R", "initials": "IR"}, {"family": "Abele", "given": "Miriam", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Mishra", "given": "Sanatkumar", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Ludwig", "given": "Christina", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Libby", "given": "Eric", "initials": "E"}, {"family": "Funk", "given": "Christiane", "initials": "C", "orcid": "0000-0002-7897-4038", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/5db6c5fa2a754060b1583caf37bba1b8.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2024-05-31", "journal": {"title": "Physiol Plantarum", "issn": "1399-3054", "volume": "176", "issue": "3", "pages": "e14370", "issn-l": "0031-9317"}, "abstract": "With climate change, droughts are expected to be more frequent and severe, severely impacting plant biomass and quality. Here, we show that overexpressing the Arabidopsis gene AtFtsHi3 (FtsHi3OE) enhances drought-tolerant phenotypes without compromising plant growth. AtFtsHi3 encodes a chloroplast envelope pseudo-protease; knock-down mutants (ftshi3-1) are found to be drought tolerant but exhibit stunted growth. Altered AtFtsHi3 expression therefore leads to drought tolerance, while only diminished expression of this gene leads to growth retardation. To understand the underlying mechanisms of the enhanced drought tolerance, we compared the proteomes of ftshi3-1 and pFtsHi3-FtsHi3OE (pFtsHi3-OE) to wild-type plants under well-watered and drought conditions. Drought-related processes like osmotic stress, water transport, and abscisic acid response were enriched in pFtsHi3-OE and ftshi3-1 mutants following their enhanced drought response compared to wild-type. The knock-down mutant ftshi3-1 showed an increased abundance of HSP90, HSP93, and TIC110 proteins, hinting at a potential downstream role of AtFtsHi3 in chloroplast pre-protein import. Mathematical modeling was performed to understand how variation in the transcript abundance of AtFtsHi3 can, on the one hand, lead to drought tolerance in both overexpression and knock-down lines, yet, on the other hand, affect plant growth so differently. The results led us to hypothesize that AtFtsHi3 may form complexes with at least two other protease subunits, either as homo- or heteromeric structures. Enriched amounts of AtFtsH7/9, AtFtsH11, AtFtsH12, and AtFtsHi4 in ftshi3-1 suggest a possible compensation mechanism for these proteases in the hexamer.", "doi": "10.1111/ppl.14370", "pmid": "38818570", "labels": {"Swedish Metabolomics Centre": "Service"}, "xrefs": [], "notes": [], "created": "2024-11-26T10:43:37.939Z", "modified": "2025-10-17T13:03:13.192Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "7ebce2d706ed4fe2ae711dd646da1e72", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/7ebce2d706ed4fe2ae711dd646da1e72.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/7ebce2d706ed4fe2ae711dd646da1e72"}}, "title": "Detailed Characterization of the Cell Wall Structure and Composition of Nordic Green Microalgae.", "authors": [{"family": "Spain", "given": "Olivia", "initials": "O"}, {"family": "Funk", "given": "Christiane", "initials": "C", "orcid": "0000-0002-7897-4038", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/5db6c5fa2a754060b1583caf37bba1b8.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2022-08-10", "journal": {"title": "J. Agric. Food Chem.", "issn": "1520-5118", "volume": "70", "issue": "31", "pages": "9711-9721", "issn-l": "0021-8561"}, "abstract": "Green microalgae are attractive to food, pharmaceutical, and biofuel industries due to the promising and diverse properties of their intracellular components. In current biotechnological applications, however, clear bottlenecks are the cell disruption and cell harvesting steps. Challenges in both of these processes are directly linked to the properties of the microalgal cell wall. The aim of this study was to explore the cell wall compositions and morphologies of four Nordic microalgal strains (Chlorella vulgaris (13-1), Scenedesmus sp. (B2-2), Haematococcus pluvialis, and Coelastrella sp. (3-4)) and their changes in relation to logarithmic and stationary growth phases. Transmission electron microscopy imaging enabled us to visualize the cell walls and to observe structural elements such as spines, microfibrillar hairs, or layers. Using cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we quantified lipid, protein, and polysaccharide content of the outer surface of the microalgal cell wall in cultures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy highlighted changes between growth phases within the polysaccharide and protein fractions of the cell wall. Very prominent differences were observed in sugar and protein composition of the Scenedesmus sp. (B2-2) cell wall compared to the cell walls of the other three Nordic strains using trimethylsilyl derivatization.", "doi": "10.1021/acs.jafc.2c02783", "pmid": "35894177", "labels": {"Integrated Microscopy Technologies Ume\u00e5": "Service", "Cryo-EM": "Service", "Swedish Metabolomics Centre": "Service"}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC9372998"}], "notes": [], "created": "2022-12-05T08:13:57.637Z", "modified": "2025-10-17T13:03:14.774Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "72435e06eae5420599adccd125018768", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/72435e06eae5420599adccd125018768.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/72435e06eae5420599adccd125018768"}}, "title": "Loss of Arabidopsis matrix metalloproteinase-5 affects root development and root bacterial communities during drought stress.", "authors": [{"family": "Mishra", "given": "Laxmi S", "initials": "LS", "orcid": "0000-0002-7212-3785", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/f55ca038e10d4239b8bb18e90ed103d5.json"}}, {"family": "Kim", "given": "Sung-Yong", "initials": "SY"}, {"family": "Caddell", "given": "Daniel F", "initials": "DF"}, {"family": "Coleman-Derr", "given": "Devin", "initials": "D"}, {"family": "Funk", "given": "Christiane", "initials": "C", "orcid": "0000-0002-7897-4038", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/researcher/5db6c5fa2a754060b1583caf37bba1b8.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2021-06-00", "journal": {"title": "Physiol Plantarum", "issn": "1399-3054", "volume": "172", "issue": "2", "pages": "1045-1058", "issn-l": "0031-9317"}, "abstract": "Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endo-peptidases that in mammals are known to be involved in remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM) in developmental and pathological processes. In this study, we report At5-MMP of Arabidopsis thaliana to be important for root development and root bacterial communities. At5-MMP is mainly localized in the root vasculature and lateral root, an At5-MMP T-DNA insertion mutant (mmp5 KO) showed reduced root growth and a lower number of root apexes, causing reduced water uptake from the soil. Subsequently, mmp5 KO is sensitive to drought stress. Inhibited auxin transport was accompanied with resistance to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D), and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The content of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) was lower in roots of mmp5 KO than in wild type. Genes responsive to ABA as well as genes encoding enzymes of the proline biosynthesis were expressed to a lower extent in mmp5 KO than in wild type. Moreover, drought stress modulated root-associated bacterial communities of mmp5 KO: the number of Actinobacteria increased. Therefore, At5-MMP modulates auxin/ABA signaling rendering the plant sensitive to drought stress and recruiting differential root bacterial communities.", "doi": "10.1111/ppl.13299", "pmid": "33616955", "labels": {"Swedish Metabolomics Centre": "Service"}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC8247326"}], "notes": [], "created": "2021-01-12T12:46:50.454Z", "modified": "2025-10-17T13:03:16.083Z"}]}