Research profile Prof. Dr. Sabine Zachgo

Our research team analyses key regulatory transcription factors that control plant development. To this end, we conduct comparative studies with the classical angiosperm model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and evolutionarily informative plant species. We currently use the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and the amphibious liverwort Riccia fluitans to analyze the role of redox regulation in developmental processes and adaptation to terrestrial life.

Research topics

• Molecular developmental genetics of land plants
• Redox processes in cell division and differentiation
• Evolutionary adaptations of regulatory network activities

Model systems

• Arabidopsis thaliana, angiosperms with interesting novelties such as flower symmetry
• Marchantia polymorpha and Riccia fluitans

Methods

• Developmental genetics (genome editing, mutant analyses)
• Expression analyses (mRNA, protein)
• Transcriptomics (next generation sequencing)
• Morphological studies
• Fluorescence microscopy, redox sensors
• DNA/protein interactions (EMSAs

Selected publications

• Kock C, Helmig J, Gutsche N, Dierschke T, Müller-Schüssele SJ, Zachgo S (2025):  Redox buffering and H2O2 orchestrate the vegetative development of Marchantia polymorpha. The Plant Journal 123, e70317.

• Becker A, Chen X, Dresselhaus T, Gutsche N, Muller‑Schussele SJ, Sprunck S, Theissen G, de Vries S, Zachgo S (2025):  Sexual reproduction in land plants: an evolutionary perspective. Plant Reproduction 38:12. 

• Beaulieu C, Libourel C, Mbadinga Zamar DL et al., Zachgo S et al., Delaux PM (2025):  The Marchantia polymorpha pangenome reveals ancient mechanisms of plant adaptation to the environment. Nat. Genetics 57:729-740.

• Gutsche N, Koczula J, Trupp M, Holtmannspoetter M, Appelfeller M, Rupp O, Busch A, Zachgo S (2023):  MpTGA, together with MpNPR, regulates sexual reproduction and independently affects oil body formation in Marchantia polymorpha. New Phytologist.
• Bowman J, Arteaga-Vazquez M, Berger F et al., Zachgo S (2022):  The renaissance and enlightenment of Marchantia as a model system. Plant Cell.
• Althoff F, Wegner L, Ehlers K, Buschmann H, Zachgo S (2022):  Developmental plasticity of the amphibious liverwort Riccia fluitans. Front. Plant Sci.
• Maß L, Holtmannspötter M, Zachgo S (2020):  Dual-color 3D-dSTORM colocalization and quantification of ROXY1 and RNAPII variants throughout the transcription cycle in root meristem nuclei. The Plant Journal.
• Busch A, Deckena M, Almeida-Trapp M, Kopischke S, Kock C, Schuessler E, Tsiantis M, Mithofer A, Zachgo S (2019):  MpTCP1 controls cell proliferation and redox processes in Marchantia polymorpha. New Phytologist.