2011 EDITION

Triin
Vahisalu
ESTONIA
Plant molecular biology
HOST INSTITUTION:
Division of Plant Biology, University of Helsinki, Finland
In the face of ever dwindling water
resources, a key challenge for the future
of agriculture is the study of droughtresistant
plants. It is vital to research
the mechanisms plants use to adapt to
drought and to identify the specific genes
involved.
With a doctorate in Plant Biology at
the University of Tartu, Estonia and the
University of Helsinki, Triin Vahisalu, 32,
is studying how plants react to changing
environmental conditions.
Leaves are covered with microscopic
pores called stomata. By opening and
closing these pores, plants regulate the
intake of carbon dioxide as a nutrient
and the release of oxygen. To avoid
drying out when not given enough water,
plants close the stomata and slow down
photosynthesis. They are constantly
striving to strike a balance between
maximizing carbon dioxide intake and
minimizing water loss.
Triin Vahisalu has already identified the protein
responsible for the regulation of stomatal closure
in response to drought and ozone pollution, two
factors to which plants are highly sensitive. During
her fellowship, Triin plans to use Arabidopsis plants
from the cabbage family, which grow in sandy soils,
to analyse the mechanisms that activate this protein
when ozone is detected by the plant and that
deactivate the protein when the plant needs to open
its stomata to take in carbon dioxide.
On returning to Estonia, Triin Vahisalu plans to
continue her research in this area and hopes her
findings will eventually lead to the development
of more agricultural crops that are more drought
resistant with lower ozone sensitivity
“With a population of 1.4
million inhabitants, Estonia
has only a few researchers
specialising in plants.
The fellowship provides
invaluable support
that will enable me to
conduct research in a
foreign laboratory.”