Myriam Charpentier is a

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

, who specialises in cell and developmental biology at the

John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

, Norwich. Charpentier studies the environmental and biological stimulus of nuclear calcium signalling in plants. She obtained her PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from Ludwig Maximillians University of Munich. Following this, Charpentier joined the John Innes Centre in 2009, and became a David Philips fellow and group leader in 2017. Charpentier investigates what produces calcium oscillations and how

calcium channel A calcium channel is an ion channel which shows selective permeability to calcium ions. It is sometimes synonymous with voltage-gated calcium channel, which are a type of calcium channel regulated by changes in membrane potential. Some calcium chan ...

s affect plant development and has published extensively on this topic. Nuclear calcium machinery is common to all land plants, her laboratory is exploring how this has evolved and functions across different species. Dr. Charpentier has also published on topics including the dynamic organisation of the nucleus, and on legume symbiosis and nitrogen fixation. Charpentier's work with Giles Oldroyd led to the discovery of

cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channel Cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channels or CNG channels are ion channels that function in response to the binding of cyclic nucleotides. CNG channels are nonselective cation channels that are found in the membranes of various tissue and cell types, ...

15s ( CNGS15s). These proteins are key in the process to move calcium into the nucleus, an important part of the signal to the plant that

nitrogen-fixing bacteria Diazotrophs are organisms capable of nitrogen fixation, i.e. converting the relatively inert diatomic nitrogen (N2) in Earth's atmosphere into bioavailable compound forms such as ammonia. Diazotrophs are typically microorganisms such as bacteria ...

are in the soil nearby. More recently, in 2019, Charpentier's group discovered that nuclear calcium signalling plays another important role in plant roots, besides symbiosis. Her team showed that calcium can be released by the nucleus of root apical

meristem In cell biology, the meristem is a structure composed of specialized tissue found in plants, consisting of stem cells, known as meristematic cells, which are undifferentiated cells capable of continuous cellular division. These meristematic c ...

– the region of the growing root. Using genetic approaches, the team could modulate nuclear calcium signatures to obtain longer or shorter roots in the

model organism A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Mo ...

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...

''.

References

External links

Profile on John Innes Centre site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charpentier, Myriam Living people 21st-century British biologists Year of birth missing (living people) British molecular biologists Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Women molecular biologists Place of birth missing (living people)