Mechthild Tegeder

Biography

Links to Profiles and Websites

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Education

PhD, University of Göttingen, Germany

Research Interests

Professor Tegeder’s research deals with the molecular identification and functional characterization of membrane transport processes controlling the partitioning of nitrogen and carbon photoassimilates (e.g. amino acids, ureides and sucrose) in plants. A major focus is to understand the mechanisms regulating organic nitrogen transfer from the location of production in roots or leaves to developing sink organs including seeds. The discovery of essential transporters provides tools important for biotechnological applications in plants. The ultimate goal is to develop strategies aimed at improving nutrient use efficiency, productivity and nutritional quality of important crop plants. Major breakthroughs on transporter functions have been achieved by using transporter repression or overexpression approaches in the model system Arabidopsis and in legumes (i.e. pea and soybean), and complex molecular, genetic, biochemical, physiological, and cell-biological analyses.

Research areas include

• Nitrogen acquisition and utilization
• Mechanisms of photoassimilate partitioning
• Plant membrane transport proteins
• Amino acid, ureide and sucrose transporter function
• Role of transporters in root, tuber and seed development
• Source-sink interaction and regulation of metabolite transport in the phloem
• Plant-bacteria symbiosis and fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in legumes
• Nitrogen transport across subcellular membranes
• Relationship between nitrogen and carbon metabolism
• Importance of nitrogen partitioning under environmental stress conditions
• Plant nutrient use efficiency, biomass production, and nutritional quality

Representative Publications:

• Thu S.W. and Tegeder M. (2025) Enhanced ureide partitioning improves soybean performance under drought stress. Journal of Experimental Botany 76, 2786-2808. doi: 10.1093/jxb/eraf099
• The S.V., Santiago J.P., Pappenberger C., Hammes U.Z. and Tegeder M. (2024) UmamiT44 is a key player in glutamate export from Arabidopsis chloroplasts. The Plant Cell, 36, 1119-1139. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koad310.
• Meng X., Zhang Z., Wang H., Nai F., Wei Y., Li Y., Wang X., Ma X., and Tegeder M. (2023) Multi-scale analysis provides insights into the roles of ureide permeases in wheat nitrogen use efficiency. Journal of Experimental Botany 74, 5564-5590. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erad286
• Lu M.Z., Carter A.M. and Tegeder M. (2022) Altering ureide transport in nodulated soybean results in whole-plant adjustments of metabolism, assimilate partitioning, and sink strength. Journal of Plant Physiology 269, 153613. doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2021.153613
• Garneau M. G., Lu M.Z., Grant J. and Tegeder M. (2021) Role of source-to-sink transport of methionine in establishing seed protein quantity and quality in legumes. Plant Physiology 187, 2134-2155. doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiab238
• Meng X., Wang X., Zhang Z., Xiong S., Wei Y., Guo J., Zhang J., Wang L., Ma X., and Tegeder M. (2021) Transcriptomic, proteomic, and physiological studies reveal key players in wheat nitrogen use efficiency under both high and low nitrogen supply. Journal of Experimental Botany 72, 4435-4456. doi:10.1093/jxb/erab153
• Fernie A.R., Bachem C.W.B., Helariutta Y., Neuhaus H.-E., Pratt S., Ruan Y.-L., Stitt M., Sweetlove L.J., Tegeder M., Wahl V., Sonnewald S., Sonnewald U. (2020) Synchronization of developmental, molecular and metabolic aspects of source–sink interactions. Nature Plants. 6, 55–66. doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0590-x.
• Lu M.Z., Snyder R., Grant J. and Tegeder M. (2020) Manipulation of sucrose phloem and embryo loading affects pea leaf metabolism, carbon and nitrogen partitioning to sinks as well as seed storage pools. The Plant Journal 101, 217-236. doi.org/10.1111/tpj.14533
• Perchlik M. and Tegeder M. (2018) AAP2 amino acid transporter function in photosynthetic and plant nitrogen use efficiency in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 178, 174-188. doi: 10.1104/pp.18.00597. Recommended by F1000
• Tegeder M. and Masclaux-Daubresse C. (2018) Source and sink mechanisms of nitrogen transport and use. Tansley Review. New Phytologist 217, 5-53. doi: 10.1111/nph.14876
• Garneau M.G., Tan Q. and Tegeder M. (2018). Amino acid permease AAP6 is essential for nitrogen export from pea nodules, but does not control nitrogen fixation. Journal of Experimental Botany 69, 5205-5219. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ery289
• Tegeder M. and Hammes U. (2018) The way out and in: phloem loading and unloading of amino acids. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 43, 16–21. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2017.12.002
• Perchlik M. and Tegeder M. (2017) Improving plant nitrogen use efficiency through alteration of amino acid transport processes. Plant Physiology 175, 235-247. doi: 10.1104/pp.17.00608. Recommended by F1000
• Santiago J.P. and Tegeder M. (2017) Implications of nitrogen phloem loading for carbon metabolism and transport during Arabidopsis development. Journal of Integrated Plant Biology 59, 409–421; doi: 10.1111/jipb.12533.
• Carter A. and Tegeder M. (2016) Increasing nitrogen fixation and seed yield in soybean requires complex adjustments of nodule nitrogen metabolism and partitioning processes; Current Biology 26, 1–8. Highly recommended by F1000
• Santiago J.P. and Tegeder M. (2016) Connecting source with sink: the role of Arabidopsis AAP8 in phloem loading of amino acids. Plant Physiology 171, 508-521. Highly Recommended by F1000
• Zhang L., Garneau M.G. Majumdar R., Grant J. and Tegeder M. (2015) Improvement of pea biomass and seed productivity by simultaneous increase of phloem and embryo loading with amino acids. The Plant Journal 81, 134–146. Recommended by F1000
• Tegeder M. (2014) Transporters involved in source to sink partitioning of amino acids and ureides: opportunities for crop improvement. Journal of Experimental Botany 65, 1865-1878.