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
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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
Hörmayer L, Montesinos López JC, Marhavá P, Benková E, Yoshida S, Friml J. 2020. Wounding-induced changes in cellular pressure and localized auxin signalling spatially coordinate restorative divisions in roots. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117(26), 202003346. View
Maghiaoui A, Bouguyon E, Cuesta C, Perrine-Walker F, Alcon C, Krouk G, Benková E, Nacry P, Gojon A, Bach L. The Arabidopsis NRT1.1 transceptor coordinately controls auxin biosynthesis and transport to regulate root branching in response to nitrate. Journal of Experimental Botany., eraa242. View
Hurny A, Cuesta C, Cavallari N, Ötvös K, Duclercq J, Dokládal L, Montesinos López JC, Gallemi M, Semeradova H, Rauter T, Stenzel I, Persiau G, Benade F, Bhalearo R, Sýkorová E, Gorzsás A, Sechet J, Mouille G, Heilmann I, De Jaeger G, Ludwig-Müller J, Benková E. 2020. Synergistic on Auxin and Cytokinin 1 positively regulates growth and attenuates soil pathogen resistance. Nature Communications. 11, 2170. View
Nibau C, Gallemi M, Dadarou D, Doonan JH, Cavallari N. 2020. Thermo-sensitive alternative splicing of FLOWERING LOCUS M is modulated by cyclin-dependent kinase G2. Frontiers in Plant Science. 10, 1680. View
Tan S, Abas MF, Verstraeten I, Glanc M, Molnar G, Hajny J, Lasák P, Petřík I, Russinova E, Petrášek J, Novák O, Pospíšil J, Friml J. Salicylic acid targets protein phosphatase 2A to attenuate growth in plants. Current Biology. 30(3), 381–395.e8. 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
