Cell biology, Biochemistry, Light and Electron microscopy, Optical spectroscopy
Dr. Alex Johnson
Research Fellow, Center of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna
Research
The overall aim of my research is to investigate the cell biology underlying plant-environment interactions. Using a combination of biochemistry, light and electron microscopy, and optical spectroscopy, I focus on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of the fundamental eukaryotic process clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) in Arabidopsis thaliana. CME is the major route of entry into the cell, and by internalizing receptors and transporters from the cell surface it directly mediates the plants’ sensitivity and ability to respond to environmental stimuli. Thus, by investigating how abiotic and biotic factors effect this process, we can gain critical insights into how plant-environmental interactions mediate growth and development. Furthermore, I have a keen interest in comparing the mechanistic and evolutionary differences in these fundamental cellular processes between plants and other eukaryotic model systems.
Awards
2023: Royal Microscopical Society Early Career Award
2019: EMBO/JCS Presentation prize, ‘The Physics and Chemistry of Endocytosis at Multiple Scales’ meeting
2018: FFG Career Development Grant, Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology
Career
2023 – date: Research Fellow in the lab of Dr. Kareem Elsayad, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
2017 – 2022: Postdoctoral Researcher in the lab of Prof. Jiri Friml, Institute of Science and Technology Austria
2012 – 2016: Postdoctoral Researcher in the labs of Dr, Gregory Vert and Dr. Christien Merrifield, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CNRS, France
2012: Awarded PhD from the lab of Prof. Mike Cousin, University of Edinburgh, UK
Publications
19 – “Role of Dynamin-Related Proteins 2 and SH3P2 in Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis in Plants”
Gnyliukh, N., Johnson, A., Nagel, M., Monzer, A., Babić, D., Hlavata, A., Alotaibi, S.S., Isono, E., Loose, M, and Friml, J.
Journal of Cell Science, (2024). DOI: 10.1242/jcs.261720
18 – “Three-dimensional visualization of planta clathrin-coated vesicles at ultrastructural resolution”
Johnson, A*., Kaufmann, WA., Sommer, C., Costanzo, T., Dahhan, DA., Bednarek, SY. and Friml, J.
*Corresponding author
Molecular Plant,(2022), 15 (10), 1533-1542. DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2022.09.003
17 – “ABP1-TMK auxin perception mediates ultrafast global phosphorylation and auxin canalization”
Friml, J., Gallei, M*., Gelová, Z*., Johnson, A*., Mazur, E*., Monzer, E*., Rodriquez, L*., Roosjen, M*., Verstraeten, I*., Živanović, BD*., Zou, M*., Fiedler, L., Giannini, C., Grones, P., Hrtyan, M., Kaufmann, WA., Kuhn, A., Narasimhan, M., Randuch, M., Rýdza, N., Takahashi, K., Tan, S., Teplova, A., Kinoshita, T., Weijers, D. and Rakusova, H.
* Shared authorship
Nature, (2022) 609, 575–581. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05187-x
16 – “Proteomic characterization of isolated Arabidopsis clathrin-coated vesicles reveals evolutionarily conserved and plant specific components”
Dahhan, DA., Reynolds, GD., Cárdenasa, JJ., Eeckhout, D., Johnson, A., Yperman, K., Kaufmann, WA., Vang, N., Yan, X., Hwang, I., Heese, A., de Jaeger, G., Friml, J., van Damme, D., Pan, J., and Bednarek, SY.
The Plant Cell, (2022), koac071. DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac071
15 – “The TPLATE complex mediates membrane bending during plant clathrin-mediated endocytosis”
Johnson, A., Dahhan, D. A., Gnyliukh, N., Kaufmann, W.A., Zheden, V., Costanzo, T., Mahou, P., Hrtyan, M., Wang, J., Aguilera-Servin, J., Van Damme, D., Beaurepaire, E., Loose, M., Bednarek, S.Y. and Friml, J.
PNAS, (2021), 18 (51) e2113046118. Doi: 10.1073/pnas.2113046118
14 – “Systematic analysis of auxin-mediated endocytic and trafficking regulation”
Narasimhan, M., Gallei, M., Tan, S., Johnson, A., Verstraeten, I., Li, L., Rodriguez, L., Han, H., Himschoot, E., Wang, R., Vanneste, S., Sánchez-Simarro, J., Aniento, F., Adamowski, M. and Friml, J.
Plant Physiology, (2021), kiab134. DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiab134
13 – “AGC kinases and MAB4/MEL proteins maintain PIN polarity by limiting lateral diffusion in plant cells”
Glanc, M., Van Gelderen, K., Hoermayer, L., Tan, S., Naramoto, S., Zhang, X., Domjan, D., Včelařová, L., Hauschild, R., Johnson, A., de Koning, E., van Dop, M., Rademacher, E., Janson, S., Wei, X., Molnár, G., Fendrych, M., Bert De Rybel, B., Offringa, R. and Friml, J.
Current Biology, (2021), 31, 1. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.028
12 – “Coordination of root growth by nutrient feedback on polar auxin transport”
Ötvös, K., Marconi, M., Vega., A, O’ Brien, J., Johnson, A., Abualia, R., Antonielli, L., Montesinos-López, JC., Zhang, Y., Tan, S., Artner, C., Friml, F., Gutiérrez, R.A., Wabnik, K. and Benková, E.
The EMBO Journal, (2021), e106862.DOI: 10.15252/embj.2020106862
11 – “Endocytosis of BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1 is partly driven by a canonical tyrosine-based motif”
Liu, D., Kumar, R., Vanhoutte, I., Johnson, A., Neubus-Claus, L. A., Siao, W., Wang, P., Bender, K.A., Yperman, K., Martins, S., Zhao, X., Vert, G., Van Damme, D., Friml, J., and Russinova E.
The Plant Cell, (2020), 32, 3598. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.20.00384
10 – “Cell-surface receptors enable perception of extracellular cytokinins”
Antoniadia, I., Novákb, O., Gelová, Z., Johnson, A., Plíhal, O., Vainb, T., Radim Simerský, R., Mik, V., Karady, M., Pernisová, M., Plačkovác, L., Opassathiana, K., Hejátko, J., Robert, S., Friml, J., Doležal, K., Ljung, K. and Turnbull, C.
Nature Communications, (2020), 11, 4284. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17700-9
9 – “Experimental toolbox for quantitative imaging of clathrin-mediated endocytosis in Arabidopsis”
Johnson, A., Gnyliukh, N., Kaufmann, WA., Narasimhan, N., Vert, G., Bednarek, SY. and Friml, J.
Journal of Cell Science, (2020), 133, 15. DOI: 10.1242/jcs.248062
** Selected as a Highlighted Article in the Journal – ‘Everything you need to study CME in plants’.
8 – “High temporal resolution reveals simultaneous plasma membrane recruitment of the TPLATE complex subunits”
Wang, J., Mylle, E., Johnson, A., Friml, J., Pleskot, R., Van Damme, D.
Plant Physiology, (2020), 183, 986–997. DOI: 10.1104/pp.20.00178
7 – “Evolutionarily unique mechanistic framework of clathrin-mediated endocytosis in plants”
Narasimhan, N.*, Johnson, A.*, Prizak, R., Kaufmann, WA., Tan, S., Casillas-Pérez, B. and Friml, J.
*Shared authorship
eLife (2020), 9, e52067. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.52067
6 – “Advanced cataloging of K63 polyubiquitin networks by genomic, interactome and sensor-based proteomic analyses”
Romero-Barrios, N., Monachello, D., Dolde, U., Wong, A., San Clemente, H., Cayrel, A., Johnson, A., Lurin, C., and Vert, G.
The Plant Cell, (2019), 32, 123. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.19.00568
5 – “Isolation of Synaptic Vesicles from Genetically Engineered Cultured Neurons”
McKenzie, C., Spanova, M., Johnson, A., Kainrath, S., Zheden, V., Sitte, H.H., Janovjak, H.
Journal of Neuroscience Methods, (2018), 312, 114–121. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.11.018
4 – “Relative Contribution of PIN-Containing Secretory Vesicles and Plasma Membrane PINs to the Directed Auxin Transport: Theoretical Estimation”
Hille, S., Akhmanova, M., Glanc, M., Johnson, A., Friml, J.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, (2018), 19, 3566. DOI: 10.3390/ijms19113566
3 – “Single event resolution of plasma membrane protein endocytosis by TIRF microscopy”
Johnson, A. and Vert, G.
Frontiers in Plant Science, (2017), 8, 612. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00612
2 – “Unravelling K63 polyubiquitination networks by sensor-based proteomics”
Johnson, A. and Vert, G.
Plant Physiology, (2016), 171, 1808-1820. DOI: 10.1104/pp.16.00619
1 – “Internalization and vacuolar targeting of the brassinosteroid hormone receptor BRI1 are regulated by ubiquitination”
Martins, S., Dohmann, E., Cayrel, A., Johnson, A., Fischer, W., Pojer, F., Satiat-Jeunemaitre, B., Jaillais, Y., Chory, J., Geldner, N. and Vert, G.
Nature Communications, (2015), 6, 6151. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7151
Preprints under review
1 – “Super-resolution expansion microscopy in plant roots”
Gallei, M., Truckenbrodt, S., Kreuzinger, C., Inumella, S., Vistunou, V., Sommer, C., Tavakoli, MR., Agudelo-Duenas, M., Vorlaufer, J., Jahr, W., Randuch, M., Johnson, A., Benkova, E., Friml, J and Danzl, JG.
BioRxiv, (2024). DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.21.581330
Alexander Johnson 