Event Details

April 16 2026
7:00 AM EST
1:00 PM CET
20:00 PM JST

Seminar Title: Spatial biology in Plant-Microbe Interactions and Developmental Processes.

Seminar Abstract

We have established spatial biology using Stereo-seq across multiple systems, enabling high-resolution transcriptomic profiling in both plant–microbe interactions and developmental contexts. Here, I will discuss Spatial Biology in Plant–Microbe Interactions and Developmental Processes, highlighting our dual RNA mapping of soybean nodules to simultaneously resolve host and rhizobial transcriptional programs within intact tissue architecture. These data reveal spatially organized zones of symbiotic exchange and regulatory specialization. I will also present our application of Stereo-seq to dark-induced senescence in Arabidopsis leaves, where spatial transcriptomics uncovers cell-type-specific degradation programs and intercellular coordination during stress-induced developmental transitions. Together, these studies demonstrate how spatial genomics links tissue architecture to regulatory mechanisms in plant biology.

Presenter’s Bio

Dr. Shahid Mukhtar joined the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University as a tenured Full Professor in July 2024. Prior to Clemson, he spent 14 years on the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), progressing from Assistant Professor to Full Professor. He earned his Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, Germany, where he studied Arabidopsis transcriptional regulatory networks, and completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Jeff Dangl at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, focusing on Arabidopsis–pathogen protein–protein interactions. Dr. Mukhtar’s lab integrates single-cell and spatial genomics with systems biology to understand plant immune regulation and plant–microbe interactions, and his research is currently supported by the National Science Foundation. He also serves as Chair of the “Plant Immunity” subcommittee of the Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee (MASC). His contributions to teaching and outreach have been recognized with the UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the CAS Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2021), as well as the Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award (2023).