The Laboratory of Plant Cell Biology (PCB) is part of the Department of Plant Sciences of Wageningen University. PCB is the major plant cell biology group in the Graduate School of Experimental Plant Sciences in the Netherlands to which all of the best experimental plant scientists at the Universities of Wageningen, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Leiden belong.

Recently, the Laboratory of Plant Cell biology of WU has acquired a Liquid Crystal Polarization Microscope (LC-Polscope) for quantitative studies of polymers, and two confocal laser scanning microscopes, one equipped with micro-injection and -manipulation, the other one with optical tweezers and perfect for FRAP (Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching) analysis. In vivo imaging, micromanipulation and microinjection experiments are routinely performed techniques, and sophisticated approaches, such as the in vitro measurement of physical properties of cellular structures are feasible. Work in this discipline will eventually produce falsifyable mathematical models that explain functions of cell entities, systems biology approaches that should lead to the understanding of cell functioning in detail.

Conveying the knowledge about techniques per se is not sufficient for this course.
It is not only the proficiency regarding cell biological techniques that plant scientists require; also the large expertise on cell structures and their functions -gathered over the years in a few specialized laboratories- should be brought to a larger group of molecular cell biologists. Invited lecturers from a number of plant cell biology laboratories will interact with the course participants, by presenting lectures, participate in the practicals, and actively discuss with the participants during the poster sessions, student seminars and round table discussion. ( Dr. Anja Geitmann, University of Montreal, Canada; Dr. Beatrice Satiat-Jeunemaitre, CNRS Gif, France; Dr. Danny Geelen, Gent, Belgium; Dr. Patrick Hussey, University of Durham, UK). Furthermore, the importance of the systems biology approach will be emphasized by Dr. Bela Mulder AMOLF, Amsterdam, physicist working on modeling of plant cell wall architecture and tip cell elongation.