Tingting Liu successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on April 22, 2025, at the University of Göttingen under the supervision of Professor Klaus Dittert and Associate Professor Tino Kreszies. Her PhD research investigated how varying levels of nitrogen and potassium availability in soil influence the development of apoplastic barriers in maize roots, with particular emphasis on suberin deposition in the endodermis and exodermis.
Through comprehensive anatomical and chemical analyses of root, her work revealed several key findings:
- Under low-nitrogen conditions, aerenchyma formation in maize roots occurs prior to suberin deposition, likely as a strategy to reduce metabolic costs.
- Potassium deficiency enhances suberization in the endodermis but not in the exodermis, which may serve to minimize nutrient leakage.
- The endodermis in the root functions as a dynamic barrier that actively modulates suberin deposition in response to nutrient availability, whereas the exodermis serves as a more static protective layer, maintaining baseline nitrogen and potassium transport under deficiency conditions.
These findings provide new insights into how maize roots modulate their structural and chemical barriers to adapt to nutrient limitations and highlight the distinct roles of root tissues in nutrient uptake regulation.
During her doctoral studies, she actively contributed to the scientific community by presenting her research at several international conferences in the fields of plant nutrition and root biology. Her work was recognized for its methodological rigor and its relevance to improving nutrient-use efficiency in cropping systems.
She began her PhD in December 2020 and continues to pursue research on plant-root-environment interactions, with a particular interest in the anatomical and physiological responses of crops to abiotic stress.
In the photo, from right to left:
front row: Prof. Klaus Dittert, Doktorandin Tingting Liu, Dr. Setareh Jamali Jaghdani, Doktorandin Johanna Marie Lass.
second row from right to left: TA Frau Kirsten Fladung, TA Frau Ulrike Kierbaum, Doktorandin Azin Pakbaznia