Every growing plant cell depends on a dynamic internal transport network. Proteins and other molecular cargo move through membrane-bound vesicles, coordinating growth, development, and responses to the environment.
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Plants possess an unusually complex set of trafficking genes compared to yeast and animals, suggesting that their endomembrane system operates with a higher level of regulation and specialization. Yet how these compartments maintain their identity while constantly exchanging materials remains a fundamental unanswered question.
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Our research seeks to define the distinct vesicle and compartment populations that shape the plant endomembrane system. We develop tools and markers that allow us to visualize and dissect this machinery as an integrated network rather than isolated components.
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By understanding how intracellular transport controls plant cell function, we lay the groundwork for engineering plants with enhanced traits for improved growth under a changing environmental landscape.
what we do
Current Research Topics
Lab Culture
The laboratory is a place to test ideas in creative ways. To do this, we need to feel comfortable trying new things and making mistakes.
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We aim to make the lab a space where you can feel confident in yourself and supported by the team.
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The differences in live experiences and interests are what make good teams. We want to have a lab culture that supports people as individuals with their own ideas and abilities.
We do this by following Positive Organisational Scholarship
1. Attend to the needs of team members with support and practical actions
2. Understanding that we're humans working together with respectful boundaries
3. Providing constructive problem solving and suggestions for change or improvement
4. Offering tangible help when and where needed Â
Our lab is a part of the Plant Biology Research Institute (IRBV), which is located in the Montreal Botanical Gardens. The Institute includes research groups from the University of Montreal as well as researchers who work with the city and gardens. It is a diverse and dynamic research community.
Our research group contributes to shared laboratory spaces across several research groups within the IRBV. This maximises are access to resources, equipment and collaboration opportunities. The IRBV also has equipment platforms that support microscopy, growth chambers, and biochemistry equipment.
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Resources
Coming soon!
Lab protocols
Tools
Emily R Larson
Emily received her PhD from the Cell and Molecular Biomedical Sciences Program at the University of Vermont and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Glasgow and the University of Bristol in the UK. She joined the Department of Biological Sciences at University of Montreal and the IRBV in September 2024.Â