Benkova Group
Plant Developmental Biology
True to their name’s Greek roots, plant hormones “set in motion” a myriad of physiological processes. Influencing and modulating each other, an intricate network of interactions arises. The Benková group seeks to untangle this network and understand its molecular basis.
Plants as sessile organisms constantly integrate varying environmental signals to flexibly adapt their growth and development. Local heterogeneities in water and nutrients availability, sudden changes in temperature, light or other stresses trigger dramatic changes in plant growth and development. Multiple hormonal signaling cascades interconnected into complex networks act as essential endogenous translators of these exogenous signals in plant adaptive responses. How the hormonal networks are established, maintained and modulated to control specific developmental outputs is the focus of the Benková group. Recently, the group has located several convergence points that integrate different hormonal inputs. Importantly, some of these identified components exceed their function in the hormonal crosstalk and provide functional links with pathways mediating perception of environmental stimuli.
Group Leader
Administrative Support
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Team
Current Projects
Convergence of hormonal pathways on transport-dependent auxin distribution | Identification of hormonal cross-talk components by genetic approaches | Hormonal crosstalk driven nutrient-dependent root development
Publications
Cavallari N, Artner C, Benková E. 2021. Auxin-regulated lateral root organogenesis. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology., a039941. View
Ötvös K, Marconi M, Vega A, O’Brien J, Johnson AJ, Abualia R, Antonielli L, Montesinos López JC, Zhang Y, Tan S, Cuesta C, Artner C, Bouguyon E, Gojon A, Friml J, Gutiérrez RA, Wabnik KT, Benková E. 2021. Modulation of plant root growth by nitrogen source-defined regulation of polar auxin transport. EMBO Journal. 40(3), e106862. View
Li H, von Wangenheim D, Zhang X, Tan S, Darwish-Miranda N, Naramoto S, Wabnik KT, de Rycke R, Kaufmann W, Gütl DJ, Tejos R, Grones P, Ke M, Chen X, Dettmer J, Friml J. 2021. Cellular requirements for PIN polar cargo clustering in Arabidopsis thaliana. New Phytologist. 229(1), 351–369. View
Nibau C, Dadarou D, Kargios N, Mallioura A, Fernandez-Fuentes N, Cavallari N, Doonan JH. 2020. A functional kinase is necessary for cyclin-dependent kinase G1 (CDKG1) to maintain fertility at high ambient temperature in Arabidopsis. Frontiers in Plant Science. 11, 586870. View
Montesinos López JC, Abuzeineh A, Kopf A, Juanes Garcia A, Ötvös K, Petrášek J, Sixt MK, Benková E. 2020. Phytohormone cytokinin guides microtubule dynamics during cell progression from proliferative to differentiated stage. The Embo Journal. 39(17), e104238. View
Career
since 2016 Professor, IST Austria
2013 – 2016 Assistant Professor, IST Austria
2011 – 2013 Group Leader, Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, Czech Republic
2007 – 2013 Group Leader, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Ghent, Belgium
2003 – 2007 Habilitation position, University of Tübingen, Germany
2001 – 2003 Postdoc, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, Tübingen, Germany
1998 – 2001 Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding, Cologne, Germany
Selected Distinctions
2017 Member, EMBO
2014 Highly Cited Scientist
2014 FWF-ANR Bilateral Grant
2011 FWO Grants
2008 ERC Starting Grant
2003 – 2007 Margarete von Wrangell Habilitation Program
