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By Emese Eysholdt-Derzsó, Nils Stührwohldt, Romy Schmidt-Schippers, Angelika Mustroph

Research on deepwater rice and phytosulfokines

Margret Sauter was born in 1959 in Mengen/ Baden-Württemberg, where she also spent her childhood. She began her studies in biology in 1978 at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. Already during her undergraduate studies, she spent some time in the USA at the San Jose State University in California. In 1984, she graduated and began her doctoral studies in Tübingen. During her thesis and doctoral studies, she worked in the laboratory of Professor Achim Hager on possible interactions between calcium and auxin. In 1987, she received her doctorate on this topic and remained at the University of Tübingen as a postdoc until 1989.

In 1989 she moved to the laboratory of Professor Hans Kende at Michigan State University in the USA, who was very successful in working on various aspects related to plant hormones. In the 1980s, he established research on deepwater rice, and Margret Sauter began working on this model system in his laboratory. She remained interested in this research topic even after she returned to Germany. She began working as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hamburg in 1994, where she completed her habilitation in 1997. In 2003, Margret Sauter was appointed Professor of Developmental Biology and Physiology of Plants at the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, where she actively conducted research until last year.

In the course of her many years of research, she devoted herself to the study of the phenomenon of deepwater rice at the cellular, hormonal and molecular biological levels. Of particular note is her work on adventitious root growth and development, observing an influence of mechanical forces as well as programmed cell death in the epidermis, published in The Plant Cell as well as New Phytologist in 2009. Until recently, she has been involved in many facets of research on plant responses to low-oxygen stress and has collaborated with national and international scientists, e.g., Ole Pedersen (University of Copenhagen), Mikio Nakazono and Motoyouki Ashikari (Nagoya University), Julia Bailey-Serres (University of Riverside), and Markus Schwarzländer (University of Münster). As a long-standing member of the International Society for Plant Anaerobiosis (ISPA, now ISPLORE), she was highly regarded among colleagues.

Margret Sauter was also among the pioneers in the field of peptide growth factors. Next to the research group of Professor Yoshikatsu Matsubayashi from Japan, she established herself in the research field of phytosulfokines. Her work on these peptide hormones focused on the analysis of the signal transduction pathway at the genetic and physiological level from peptide-receptor interactions to the identification of transcription factors involved. The effect of the di-sulfated pentapeptide has been investigated by several generations of graduate students and led to various, worldwide recognized publications in Plant Cell, Plant Physiology as well as Journal of Experimental Botany. For the phytosulfokine world, Margret Sauter's work has played a major role in the current understanding of the signal transduction pathway.

Due to her many achievements in research, she served on the DFG review board from 2020 and onwards, and was a long-time member of the editorial board at Journal of Plant Growth Regulation and Journal of Experimental Botany. For these tasks her broad scientific knowledge was highly appreciated.

Early love of nature and encouragement of students from all countries

Margret Sauter’s enthusiasm for flora and fauna was born during her childhood, which she preferred to spend outdoors together with her many siblings. Thus, she learnt to assert herself when necessary and, quite uncharacteristically for those times, had the heart to drive a tractor. The high school she attended in Mengen, where she majored in natural sciences and graduated in 1978, was the starting point for her subsequent impressive career as an internationally recognized biologist.

As a group leader, Professor Sauter was very dedicated to promoting female scientists and was keen to ensure that women, especially those with children, could remain active in research. For this, she received great recognition from her group members. In addition, she was committed to treat students from different backgrounds equally and often accepted doctoral students from abroad, e.g., from China and India, to offer them the chance to do a doctorate in Germany. Among other things, she helped to establish the "Kiel Plant Center" network. In general, she was passionate about supervising students in the context of their theses. Her interest in, and appreciation of the members of her group, went beyond the professional; for example, she was delighted with every new addition to the family. However, for herself she clearly separated her work life from her private life.

Passion for research to the end

Margret Sauter always took a critical view of research and the plans and ideas that went with it, which is why in some cases it took some convincing through her staff members to pursue a particular project strategy. However, if this was successful, one could be sure of her full support. Despite many successful collaborations in the course of her career, she preferred to work as an independent researcher.

The chronically persistent medical condition that accompanied Margret Sauter for many decades never kept her from devoting herself to her research with the greatest enthusiasm. Thus, despite her deteriorating health in the last months, she was passionately involved in her own projects as well as in the correspondence with her cooperation partners, with whom she maintained a friendly relationship for the most part, until the end. Her last published experiments were presented at the recent meeting on Molecular Biology of Plants in February in Hennef/ Germany, where a session was dedicated to her. We, the members of her working group, the colleagues with focus on hypoxia in Germany and the international members of ISPLORE, as well as all long-time companions, deeply regret the surprising, too early farewell of Professor Margret Sauter and keep her in vivid and warm memory.

This text was first published on the website of the German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG):

https://www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/en/about-us-0/obituaries#c31168

With great sadness, we have to announce that our colleague and Past-President of ISPLORE (formerly ISPA), Rens Voesenek, passed away on March 28th, 2023.

Rens was a great scientist, a friend,  and a very special person. He will be remembered very fondly forever by all of us who had the opportunity and privilege to know him personally. 

The scientific community at large will still have the opportunity to know Rens: his published articles represent the legacy of a scientist who contributed deeply to our knowledge of plant responses to hypoxia.

Obituary by Utrecht University:

A highly motivated, sharp and influential researcher

"Rens Voesenek's passing is felt at all levels of our university," says Isabel Arends, dean of Utrecht University’s Faculty of Science. "With a distinct passion for biology, and science in general, he mentored countless students and researchers. From his many administrative positions, he took a leading role in developing our biology research and education. He was future-oriented and always managed to turn his views into important new initiatives. We will remember Rens as a highly motivated, sharp and influential researcher who always supported his colleagues."

Graduation and PhD

Voesenek graduated cum laude as a biologist from Radboud University in Nijmegen in 1984. In 1990, he received his doctorate from the same university, also cum laude. After working in Experimental Plant Ecology at Radboud University, he became a group leader at Utrecht University in 1999.

Research

The scientific work of Voesenek and his group created new insights into how plants cope with stressful conditions, particularly floods. Not only did he and his team visualize how plants respond to flooding, they also demonstrated how those changes occur within the plants. These insights contribute to the development of crop species that can cope with environmental stresses associated with climate change. Voesenek also made important methodological contributions, such as his innovative use of photoacoustic methods to measure plant hormone concentrations.

Education and governance

From 2011 to 2014, Voesenek served as vice dean of education at the Faculty of Science. In that position, he was responsible for the education of all science students at the university. He also mentored a large number of young scientists, including 35 doctoral students. Two of his team members, Ronald Pierik and Rashmi Sasidharan, were themselves appointed professors at Utrecht University. In addition, Voesenek served for two periods as head of the Department of Biology, as well as chairman of the Dutch Biology Council.

Food security

As chairman of Future Food Utrecht, from 2014 to 2019, Voesenek put the topic of food security high on the university's agenda. He managed to bring scientists from different backgrounds together to tackle the complex issue from different perspectives. He also succeeded in getting social and industrial parties involved.

Voesenek was appointed Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. (© Menno Bausch)

Royal decoration

Earlier this year, Voesenek received a royal decoration, by being appointed Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. In addition to his scientific work, Voesenek was praised for his leading qualities. He was characterized as a dedicated leader sticking up for his team, and a passionate researcher who dares to take charge. During the decoration ceremony, emphasis was placed on his involvement in society, his ability to commit people to a higher goal, as well as his creativity and expertise.