European Research Council ERC Synergy Grant goes to plant scientists from Europe and Australia
A collaboration of plant scientists from Europe and Australia has been awarded a prestigious €10 million Synergy Grant by the European Research Council ERC. Their research project RESYDE (Re-engineering symmetry breaking in development and evolution) is led by Prof Dr Kerstin Kaufmann from the Institute of Biology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) and is dedicated to one of the most complex questions in the life sciences: How do multicellular organisms generate their intricate forms? The RESYDE project aims to unravel the processes of symmetry breaking in plant development using flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system and combining different methods to create a dynamic, virtual model of the developing flower.
Symmetry breaking: a fundamental biological phenomenon in multicellular organisms
Symmetry breaking refers to the process by which a symmetrical structure develops into patterns leading to diverse forms and functions. This fundamental phenomenon is crucial in all multicellular organisms. For example, how a single fertilised egg develops into a human body or how a set of identical plant cells develop into distinct floral organs. In plants, symmetry breaking processes are driven by a variety of mechanisms, including gene regulation, hormones and cell-to-cell communication. All are essential for understanding how plants build their final structures.
Basic research critical for regenerative medicine and agriculture
“By addressing the intricate dynamics of symmetry breaking, this research has the potential to unlock new avenues in plant development and evolutionary biology”, says Prof Dr Kerstin Kaufmann. Despite substantial advancements in the field, the ability to predictively model and re-engineer developmental processes remains a grand challenge. This research is not only fundamental to our understanding of plant biology but also critical for advancing regenerative medicine and improving agriculture.
Prof Dr Kerstin Kaufmann from the Institute of Biology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) is leading the six-year partnership to uncover these pattern formation processes. She will be coordinating the project, in which scientists from HU are collaborating with colleagues from the University of Sydney (Australia), the Sainsbury Laboratory at the University of Cambridge (UK) and Umeå University (Sweden).
Expertise from four universities to take on an interdisciplinary approach
The collaboration will leverage the expertise from research teams within each institute to take on this challenge in a multidisciplinary approach: Kerstin Kaufmann, biologist from Humboldt-Universität and lead investigator, has already made progress on understanding gene-regulatory networks in the developing flower; Associate Professor Marcus Heisler (University of Sydney) has developed live-imaging and advanced experimental approaches; Professor Henrik Jönsson (University of Cambridge) has established an in silico platform that integrates cellular dynamics with the modelling of a central regulatory network governing floral patterning and Professor Stephan Wenkel (Umeå University) has identified innovative proteome-based tools for synthetic biology. Working together, their aim is to re-engineer by design a complex developmental system – the flower.
“Our research vision of better understanding the evolutionary floral architectural changes at the single cell level was only possible by combining our expertise. This includes genetic, molecular, live imaging, AI and computational and synthetic techniques,” says Kerstin Kaufmann.
About Prof Dr Kerstin Kaufmann
Kerstin Kaufmann is Professor of Plant Cell and Molecular Biology at the Institute of Biology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her research group is trying to understand how the developmental processes of plants are controlled by transcription factors in interaction with epigenetic regulators. To this end, they are investigating the molecular mechanisms and gene regulatory networks of regulatory proteins using the flower development of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system.
About ERC Synergy Grants
The ERC Synergy Grant is a funding initiative designed to support small teams of scientists tackling significant research issues for some of the world’s most pressing research challenges across various scientific disciplines. The ERC Synergy Grant encourages researchers to combine their diverse skills, knowledge, and resources, fostering collaboration that leads to innovative scientific inquiries and the development of new methods and techniques. This grant scheme is part of the European Union's research and innovation program, Horizon Europe.
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