Our laboratory studies different aspects of plant diversity. One of the research lines involves studies on mechanisms controlling plant development. An intriguing question is how different plant species regulate cell proliferation in order to end up with different plant architectures. In higher plants, a modular construction of the plant body is shaped by self-perpetuating regions, the meristems. During plant life, an accurate balance of cell division and cell differentiation is controlled at the meristems, in order to generate organs of the correct form.

We study protein complexes that govern cell division in plants and how they determine plant morphogenesis (project: cell cycle control). The dynamics of cell division and differentiation must be coupled with endogenous and external developmental signals.

Among the external signals is the association with bacteria that promote plant development. We investigate how bacteria and plant cells talk to each other to promote plant development (project: association of gramineae with plant growth promoting bacteria).