Associate Professor School of Biological Sciences Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-4236   Phone: 509-335-3052 Fax: 509-335-3184 E-mail: knoblauch@wsu.edu   Ph.D., 2000, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen RESEARCH INTERESTS: RESEARCH SUMMARY: We have recently identified a promoter for early phloem development. Such a promoter was not available until now. It will help to understand many aspects of the import processes and the development of the importing system of the seed. The PI is actually working on many important aspects of plant reproductive biology ranging from photosynthesis to nutrient transport to sink organs. My work could provide a further link in this network to strengthen the position of WSU in plant reproductive biology. Collaborations with the labs of Tegeder, Edwards, McCubbin etc. are most likely. The main techniques I use are related to several types of microscopy and micromanipulation. The collection of the content of individual cells (pollen tube, phloem sap, parenchyma cells, animal cells etc.) by micro capillaries is an established method in my lab. Methods of microinjection of fluorescent dyes or genetic material not only into individual cells but even into organelles have been developed in my group and will be of benefit for investigators working in reproductive biology. REFEREED PUBLICATIONS Peters WS, Van Bel AJE, Knoblauch M (2006) The geometry of the forisomes-sieve element- sieve plate complex in the phloem of Vicia faba L. leaflets. Journal of Experimental Botany 57 (12), 3091-3098 Shen AQ, Hemlington B, Knoblauch M, Peters WS, Pickard WF (2006) Forisome-based biomimetic smart materials. Journal of Smart Structures and Systems 2 (3), 225 – 235 Pickard WF, Knoblauch M, Peters WS, Shen AQ (2006) Prospective energy density in the forisome, a new smart material. Materials Science & Engineering C, 26 (1), 104 – 112 Knoblauch M, Peters WS (2004) Biomimetic actuators: where technology and cell biology merge. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 61, 2497-2509 Knoblauch M, Peters WS (2004) Forisomes, a novel type of Ca2+-dependent contractile protein motor. Cell Motility and the Cytoskeleton, 58 (3), 137-142 Noll GA, Knoblauch M, Prüfer D, Ehlers K, van Bel AJE, Peters WS (2004) Unexpected properties of a novel class of mechano-proteins from vascular plants. — In: G BISCHOFF, HJ HEIN (eds), Micro- and Nanostructures of Biological Systems II, Shaker, Aachen, p. 20-31 Knoblauch M, Noll GA, Müller T, Prüfer D, Schneider-Hüther I, Scharner D, van Bel AJE, Peters WS (2003) ATP-independent contractile proteins from plants. Nature Materials 2, 600-603. Van Bel AJE, Ehlers K, Knoblauch M (2002) Sieve elements caught in the act. Trends in Plant Science 7, 126-132. Scholz SR, Korn C, Gimadutdinow O, Knoblauch M, Pingoud A, Meiss G (2002) The effect of ICAD-S on the formation and intracellular distribution of a nucleolytically active caspase-activated DNase. Nucleic Acids Research 30 (14), 3045-3051. Vierheilig H, Knoblauch M, Jürgensen K, van Bel AJE, Grundler F, Piche Y (2001) Imaging of arbuscular mycorrhizal structures in living roots of Nicotiana tabacum by light, epifluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Canadian Journal of Botany 79, 231-237. Van Bel AJE, Hibberd J, Prüfer D, Knoblauch M (2001) Novel approach in plastid transformation. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 12, 144-149. Knoblauch M, Peters WS, Ehlers K, van Bel AJE (2001) Reversible calcium- regulated stopcocks in legume sieve tubes. Plant Cell 13, 1221-1230. Van Bel AJE, Knoblauch M (2000) Sieve element and companion cell: the story of the comatose patient and the hyperactive nurse. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 27, 477-487. Ehlers K, Knoblauch M, van Bel AJE (2000) Ultrastructural features of well- preserved and injured sieve elements. Minute clamps keep the phloem transport conduits free for mass flow. Protoplasma 214, 80-92. Schiemann, J., Weber, A., Commandeur, U., Knoblauch, M., van Bel, A.J.E., Fischer, R., Prüfer, D., Hausmann, L., Töpfer, R., Hehl, R., Luehrs, R., Reichmann, M., Tacke, E. (2000) Minimizing transgenic DNA while maximizing function. In Fairbairn, C, Scoles, G, McHughen, A Proceedings of the 6th international symposium on the biosafety of genetically modified organisms. University Extension Press, Saskatoon, Canada. 131-145. Knoblauch M (2000). Microinjection. In Hawes C, and Satiat-Jeunemaitre B, eds. Plant Cell Biology: A Practical Approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 143-158 Knoblauch M, Hibberd JM, Gray JC, van Bel AJE (1999) A galinstan expansion femtosyringe for injection of eukaryotic organelles and prokaryotes. Nature Biotechnology 17, 906-909. Knoblauch M, Hibberd JM, Gray JC, van Bel AJE (1999) Microinjection and expression of reporter genes in plastids, Journal of Experimental Botany 505, 48. Vierheilig A, Boeckenhoff A, Knoblauch M, Jugè C, van Bel AJE, Grundler F, Piché Y, Wyss U (1999) In vivo observations of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae in roots by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Mycological Research 103, 311-314. Kempers R, Prior DAM, Oparka KJ, Knoblauch M, van Bel AJE (1999) Integration of controlled pressure injection, iontophoresis and membrane potential measurements. Plant Biology 1, 61-67. Knoblauch M, van Bel AJE (1998) Sieves tubes in action. Plant Cell 10, 35-50