People
Kranner, Ilse
| Job Title | Biochemist |
|---|---|
| Department | Seed Conservation |
| Section | Research |
| Science Teams |
Leguminosae Millennium Seed Bank Project |
| Joined Kew | 2002 |
| Foreign Language(s) | German (mother tongue). |
Qualifications & Appointments
MSc, (Botany/Biochemistry), Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria, 1991.
PhD, (Botany/Biochemistry), Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria, 1995.
Univ. Doz. (Reader) in Plant Physiology, affiliated to Karl-Franzens University of Graz, 2002.
Fellow of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (APART fellowship in 1997).
PhD advisory board and external examiner (Univ. Kwa-Zulu Natal 2001; Univ. Cape Town 2002, 2005, Univ. Queensland 2005 >).
Member of ISSS, FESPP.
Role
Biochemical mechanisms of, and diagnostic markers for, seed quality: viability and ageing, desiccation tolerance and sensitivity, germination and dormancy
Develop diagnostic markers of seed quality using methods of biochemistry and, to a lesser extent, molecular biology, e.g. High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Gas Chromatography – Mass spectrometry, Spectrophotometry, PCR and gene expression studies. A prerequisite for this work is a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms of seed ageing, desiccation tolerance and dormancy.
Main research interests: Biochemical markers of seed quality; Plant stress physiology: oxidative stress, free radicals and antioxidants; Programmed Cell Death in plants; Biochemical mechanisms of desiccation tolerance; Redox signalling and plant viability.
Current training and teaching activities: supervisor of PhD students (4), Postdocs (1), College-based Sandwich Course students (1) and work experience students (2). Examiner and external examiner of 6 PhD/MSc theses (Austria, South Africa). Recent successful grant applications include Defra and Leverhulme (totalling £168K and > €700k pre-2002).
Research and publishing has included editing a book, publishing >30 original papers and book chapters, including in high impact factor journals. Also, oral and poster presentations at international conferences (>50) and invited seminar talks at universities (>15, in Austria, Germany, India, South Africa, Switzerland, UK) and invited lectures at international conferences (>10). Regular reviewer for scientific journals (~70 reviews for about 25 journals) and of grant applications. Chair, Science and Technology Group.
Projects
Do ‘Intermediate’ Seeds Exist? Towards a Mechanistic Understanding of Cold Stress
Establishing the Use of Metabolomics / Genomics to Identify Diagnostic Markers of Seed Quality
Legume Seed Collection for the Millennium Seed Bank
Non-Invasive Techniques in Seed Metabolomics
Oilseeds – Biogeographical Effects on Composition in Relation to Sustainable Use
Oxidative Stress and Death Phenomena
Programmed Cell Death in Seeds
Reactive Oxygen Species as Markers of Seed Quality
Seed Viability and Ageing Defined by Glutathione Redox Potential
Theme: Diagnosis of Viability and Germination
Theme: Genetics and Chemical Traits
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Kranner, I., Birtic, S., Anderson, K.M. & Pritchard, H.W. (2006). Glutathione half-cell reduction potential: A universal stress marker and modulator of programmed cell death? Free Radicals Biology and Medicine 40: 2155-2165.
Birtic, S. & Kranner, I. (2006). Isolation of high-quality RNA from polyphenol-polysaccharide- and lipid-rich seeds. Phytochemical Analysis 17: 144-148.
Kranner, I., Cram, W.J., Zorn, M., Wornik, S., Yoshimura, I., Stabentheiner, E. & Pfeifhofer, H.W. (2005). Antioxidants and photoprotection in a lichen as compared with its isolated symbiotic partners. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102: 3141-3146.
Kranner, I. & Birtic, S. (2005). A modulating role for antioxidants in desiccation tolerance. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45: 734-740.
Kranner, I., Zorn, M., Turk, B., Wornik, S. & Batic, F. (2003). Biochemical traits of lichens differing in relative desiccation tolerance. New Phytologist 160: 167-176.
Kranner, I., Beckett, R.P., Wornik, S., Zorn, M. & Pfeifhofer, H.W. (2002). Revival of a resurrection plant correlates with its antioxidant status. The Plant Journal 31: 13-24.
Kranner, I., Beckett, R.P. & Varma, A. (eds) (2002). Protocols in Lichenology. Culturing, Biochemistry, Ecophysiology and Use in Biomonitoring. ‘Springer Lab Manuals’ series. Berlin: Springer Verlag. 580 pp.
Kranner, I. (2002). Glutathione status correlates with different degrees of desiccation tolerance in three lichens. New Phytologist 154: 451-460
Selected Publications pre-2001
Zorn, M., Pfeifhofer, H.W., Grill, D., and Kranner, I. (2001) Responses of plastid pigments to desiccation and rehydration in the desert lichen Ramalina maciformis. Symbiosis 31, 201-211.
Wonisch, W, Hayn, M, Schaur, R.J., Tatzber, F., Kranner, I., Grill, D., Winkler, R., Bilinski, T., Kohlwein, S.D. and Esterbauer, H. (1997) Increased stress parameter synthesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cervisiae after treatment with 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. - FEBS Letters 405: 11-15.
Kranner, I. and Grill, D. (1996) Determination of glutathione and glutathione disulfide in lichens: a comparison of frequently used methods. - Phytochemical Analysis 7, 24-28.
Kranner, I. and Grill, D. (1996) Significance of thiol-disulfide exchange in resting stages of plant development. - Botanica Acta (now Plant Biology) 109, 8-14, invited review.
Kranner, I. and Grill, D. (1993) Content of low-molecular-weight thiols during the imbibition of pea seeds. - Physiologia Plantarum 88: 557-562.