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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.




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

Peng Y, Ji K, Mao Y, Wang Y, Korbei B, Luschnig C, Shen J, Benková E, Friml J, Tan S. 2024. Polarly localized Bro1 domain proteins regulate PIN-FORMED abundance and root gravitropic growth in Arabidopsis. Communications Biology. 7, 1085. View

Hörmayer L, Montesinos López JC, Trozzi N, Spona L, Yoshida S, Marhavá P, Caballero Mancebo S, Benková E, Heisenberg C-PJ, Dagdas Y, Majda M, Friml J. 2024. Mechanical forces in plant tissue matrix orient cell divisions via microtubule stabilization. Developmental Cell. 59(10), 1333–1344.e4. View

Benková E. 2024. Eva Benkova, Elsevier,p. View

Higashi T, Stephenson RE, Schwayer C, Huljev K, Higashi AY, Heisenberg C-PJ, Chiba H, Miller AL. 2023. ZnUMBA – a live imaging method to detect local barrier breaches. Journal of Cell Science. 136(15), jcs260668. View

Abualia R, Riegler S, Benková E. 2023. Nitrate, auxin and cytokinin – a trio to tango. Cells. 12(12), 1613. View

View All Publications

ReX-Link: Eva Benková


Career

Since 2016 Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
2013 – 2016 Assistant Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
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


Additional information

Download CV
Nitrate project funded by Austrian Science Fund grant



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