Find more information about Staffan Persson's current lab at the University of Melbourne here.
Research group: Cellulose syntesis
Our group aims at understanding how plants allocate their fixed carbon to produce their cell walls, with a particular focus on the cell wall polymer cellulose.
Cellulose is the chief contributor to plant biomass with vast application potential to fuel, feed and materials. Cellulose consists of glucan chains that coalesce to form strong microfibrils, which provide the strength to the cell wall. Consequently, cellulose is a major determinant for directed plant growth and provides stature to plants.
Cellulose is produced at the plasma membrane by large multimeric cellulose synthase (CESA) complexes. Major goals are to understand how the CESA complex is regulated, what other components involved in making cellulose are and the means that the cell wall uses to communicate with the interior of the cell.
- Villum Investigator grant: Strategies to completely change wall structures through bioengineering.
- NNF Laureate grant: Understanding carbon allocation to modify grain carbohydrates in rice and Arabidopsis.
Are you interested in doing a project? Read more about your options in the project database:
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences have various bachelor and master programmes:
Group members
| Name | Title | Phone | |
| Staffan Persson | Professor | +61 3 90353637 | |
| Felix Ruhnow | Postdoctoral fellow |
Contact research group leader
Staffan Persson
Professor
M: staffan.persson@unimelb.edu.au
Ph: +61 3 90353637