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Research Interests
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.
2001 Best-Dissertation-Award, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
2002 Wilhelm-Pfeffer-Price from the German Botanical Society
Representative Publications
Knoblauch M, Peters WS (2004) Biomimetic actuators: where technology and cell biology merge. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 61, 2497-2509.
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.
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.
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, van Bel AJE (1998) Sieves tubes in action. Plant Cell 10, 35-50.