Plants depend on temperature, precipitation, nutrients and Co2 to grow and survive. Climate changes and the unpredictability of the weather are therefore major challenges for agriculture and food production.

But what if we could ‘design’ plants that can adapt themselves to different weather conditions, and thus becoming more resistant to small and large changes?

That is exactly the goal of a new center of excellence, Plant-PATH. Behind it are two former AIAS Fellows: Professor Bjørn Panyella Pedersen (2014-2017 AIAS Fellow) and Associate Professor Magnus Kjærgaard (2016-2019 AIAS Fellow), both from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University.

A novel understanding of plant growth

The center is headed by Bjørn Panyella Pedersen, and it seeks to revolutionize our understanding of how plants grow and adapt to changes in the environment to make it possible to develop crops that can withstand climate change and help ensure future food production.

Plant-PATH will bring together world-leading researchers within plant physiology, qualitative modeling and biophysics. The aim is to uncover and understand how the transport of plant hormones in plants is affected by environmental changes. Plant hormones act as signals that tell the plant how to grow and respond to its environment. A central thesis for the center is that the control over where the hormones are located in the plant will determine the plant's ability to adapt to a changing environment.

Complex transport mechanisms of plant hormones and state-of-the art methods

The center will apply ground-breaking new methods that make it possible to understand the complex transport mechanisms of plant hormones in a manner not seen before. This will allow the researchers to develop more resistant crops that can cope better with climate change and other environmental challenges. In the long run this is essential to ensure future food production in interaction with increased biodiversity and for the protection of our nature.

The Plant-PATH Center revolves around four research groups led by 

• Professor Bjørn Panyella Pedersen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
• Associate Professor Magnus Kjærgaard, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetic & DANDRITE, Aarhus University
• Chercheur Qualifié FNRS Chloe Martens, Department of Chemistry, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
• Professor Ulrich Hammes, Department of Plant Systems Biology, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany

About the Danish National Research Foundation/ Danmarks Grundforskningsfond

The Center of Excellence (CoE) program is the Danish National Research Foundation’s flagship that support highly ambitious, original and potentially groundbreaking research. A center grant is large and flexible, and a center may have a lifetime of up to 10 years divided into two periods of six and four years respectively. Only top researchers with the most ambitious ideas will be awarded a CoE.

https://dg.dk/en/what-is-a-center-of-excellence/

Contact

Bjørn Panyella Pedersen, Professor
E-mail: bpp@mbg.au.dk
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics,
Aarhus University
Denmark