@article{21483,
  abstract     = {Embryogenesis in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana provides a framework for understanding how cell polarity and patterning coordinate with hormonal signalling to establish the plant body plan. Following fertilisation, the zygote divides asymmetrically to generate apical and basal lineages, establishing the apical–basal axis that defines future shoot and root poles. Genetic and molecular analyses of classical mutants including gnom, monopteros (mp), bodenlos (bdl) and topless revealed that localised auxin biosynthesis, directional transport and downstream transcriptional responses are central to apical–basal axis establishment and organ initiation. The main components of this regulation are polarly localised PIN auxin transporters and downstream modules involving MONOPTEROS and WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX transcription factors. Advances in microscopy have transformed the study of Arabidopsis embryogenesis: fluorescence-compatible clearing reagents and three-dimensional reconstructions now permit quantitative analyses of cell geometry, division orientation, and cytoskeletal dynamics. Live ovule imaging setups with confocal laser scanning and multiphoton microscopes enable real-time observation of embryo development, while laser-assisted cell ablation can be used to probe cell-to-cell communication and fate plasticity. Together, these methodological breakthroughs position Arabidopsis embryos as a prime model for dissecting the chemical and biophysical cues that shape plant development.},
  author       = {Babic, David and Zupunski, Milan and Friml, Jiří},
  issn         = {1469-8137},
  journal      = {New Phytologist},
  number       = {3},
  pages        = {1483--1491},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{Imaging and genetic toolbox to study Arabidopsis embryogenesis}},
  doi          = {10.1111/nph.71072},
  volume       = {250},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{20187,
  abstract     = {Very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs), being constituents of different types of lipids, are critical factors in plant development, presumably due to their impact on the endomembrane system. The VLCFAs are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum by a heterotetrameric enzymatic complex including β-ketoacyl CoA reductase 1 (KCR1), whose mutant is lethal. Here, we describe the ectopic shoot meristems (esm) mutant, a viable kcr1 allele presumably affecting surface properties of the KCR1 protein. This kcr1-2 mutant shows reduced fatty acyl elongation that impacts VLCFAs. The kcr1-2 plants show severe defects during different stages of development, which all correlate with defects in polar localization and subcellular trafficking of PIN auxin transporters and resulting asymmetric auxin distribution. Detailed analysis of KCR1 expression and patterning defects in kcr1-2 suggests that KCR1 plays a role in delineating boundaries around meristematic and specialized differentiating tissues, including root and shoot meristems, initiating lateral roots, lateral root primordia, and trichomes. In these contexts, KCR1-produced VLCFAs may act in a non-cell-autonomous manner. Viable kcr1-2 represents a useful tool to study VLCFA roles in plant development and highlights VLCFAs as critical developmental factors at the interface of cell polarity and tissue development.},
  author       = {Babic, David and Abualia, Rashed and Fiedler, Lukas and Qi, Linlin and Tellier, Frédérique and Smoljan, Adrijana and Rakusova, Hana and Valošek, Petr and Han, Huibin and Benková, Eva and Faure, Jean Denis and Friml, Jiří},
  issn         = {1365-313X},
  journal      = {Plant Journal},
  number       = {3},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{Biosynthesis of very long-chain fatty acids is required for Arabidopsis auxin-mediated embryonic and post-embryonic development}},
  doi          = {10.1111/tpj.70396},
  volume       = {123},
  year         = {2025},
}

@phdthesis{20362,
  author       = {Babic, David},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {116},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Mechanisms of auxin-mediated early embryogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana}},
  doi          = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-20362},
  year         = {2025},
}

@article{15330,
  abstract     = {Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is vital for the regulation of plant growth and development by controlling plasma membrane protein composition and cargo uptake. CME relies on the precise recruitment of regulators for vesicle maturation and release. Homologues of components of mammalian vesicle scission are strong candidates to be part of the scission machinery in plants, but the precise roles of these proteins in this process are not fully understood. Here, we characterised the roles of Plant Dynamin-Related Proteins 2 (DRP2s) and SH3-domain containing protein 2 (SH3P2), the plant homologue to Dynamins’ recruiters, like Endophilin and Amphiphysin, in the CME by combining high-resolution imaging of endocytic events in vivo and characterisation of the purified proteins in vitro. Although DRP2s and SH3P2 arrive similarly late during CME and physically interact, genetic analysis of the sh3p123 triple-mutant and complementation assays with non-SH3P2-interacting DRP2 variants suggests that SH3P2 does not directly recruit DRP2s to the site of endocytosis. These observations imply that despite the presence of many well-conserved endocytic components, plants have acquired a distinct mechanism for CME.},
  author       = {Gnyliukh, Nataliia and Johnson, Alexander J and Nagel, MK and Monzer, Aline and Babic, David and Hlavata, Annamaria and Alotaibi, SS and Isono, E and Loose, Martin and Friml, Jiří},
  issn         = {1477-9137},
  journal      = {Journal of Cell Science},
  number       = {8},
  publisher    = {The Company of Biologists},
  title        = {{Role of dynamin-related proteins 2 and SH3P2 in clathrin-mediated endocytosis in Arabidopsis thaliana}},
  doi          = {10.1242/jcs.261720},
  volume       = {137},
  year         = {2024},
}