Research focus

Across the plant kingdom, the jasmonate hormone steers the delicate balance between growth and the activation of defence programs, such as the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. By using cutting-edge functional genomics tools, in combination with reverse genetics screenings, we aim to identify the essential components acting in the jasmonate signalling network, in medicinal plants and in the model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula.

Plant cells are capable of producing an overwhelming variety of (secondary) metabolites, both in terms of complexity and quantity. These small organic molecules allow plants to cope with various types of stresses but often also have biological activities of high interest to human. Yet, this impressive metabolic machinery is still hardly exploited, mainly because of the limited molecular insight into plant secondary metabolism. By genetically characterizing the molecular mechanisms driving plant natural product biosynthesis, we aim to increase our fundamental understanding of the dynamics in plant metabolism and simultaneously create a toolbox for metabolic engineering of plants and microorganisms.

A functional genomics based technology platform has been created that enables comprehensive investigations and large-scale gene discovery programs in plant metabolism. The platform is built on the integration of transcriptome, proteome, interactome and metabolome profiling, which drives the design of subsequent reverse genetics screenings in plants or microorganisms. In particular, we exploit the fact that jasmonates can be employed universally across the plant kingdom to modulate both the biosynthesis of the metabolites itself, as well as the formation of the specialized producer cells or storage organs. By profiling jasmonate elicited tissues of amongst others the model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula, and medicinal plants such as Catharanthus roseus, Nicotiana tabacum, Bupleurum falcatum, Panax ginseng, or Taxus baccata, we have built an extensive collection of thousands of genes potentially involved in all aspects of plant metabolism. Presently we are building platforms for medium-throughput functional analysis of genes encoding transcription factors, E3 ubiquitin ligases and triterpene enzymes.

Such collections will increase our fundamental understanding of the central mechanisms that steer jasmonate signalling in the context of plant growth and metabolism. As such, they will simultaneously serve as a novel resource for (metabolic) engineering tools that will facilitate 1) sustainable production of existing or novel plant-derived molecules with superior bioactivities for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical or agrochemical industries and 2) increased crop productivity by improvement of jasmonate-modulated traits for plant growth and defence.