Research Subjects

Molecular Plant Cell Biology

In this subject area, we study how plants adapt to their environment by uncovering the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms regulating gene expression in time and space. Our research combines advanced cell biology, biochemical, genetic, and genomic approaches.

Research groups

Markus Schmid, Subject Representative: Regulation of Plant Growth & Development by the Environment

Stefanie Rosa

Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

Research groups

Daniel Hofius, Subject Representative: Autophagy and Cell Death in Plant-Microbe Interactions

Anders Hafrén

Plant Genetics

Research groups

Levi Yant, Subject Representative: Plant Genome Dynamics and Evolution

Germán Martinez Arias

Adrien Sicard

Plant Genomics and Breeding

Advances in genomics have revolutionised our ability to study plant diversity, adaptation, and trait architecture at the molecular level and thereby provide powerful tools to accelerate modern plant breeding programs. By integrating genomic information with traditional and modern breeding approaches, our research is aimed at identifying genes underlying key agronomic traits, improving crop resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses, and enhancing yield, quality, and sustainability. This area bridges the gap between fundamental and applied plant biology and breeding, aiming to develop improved plant varieties that address challenges such as food security and climate change.

Research groups

Pär Ingvarsson, Subject Representative

Salim Bourras

Derek Lundberg: Genes, context, and climate in plant-bacteria interactions

Anna Westerbergh

Plant  Physiology

How plants grow and develop is critical for sustainable food production, coping with changing climate, and understanding the natural environment. By integrating modern techniques in plant physiology such as advanced imaging and transcriptomic analyses, our research aims to understand the physiological processes controlling plant growth and understanding plant interactions with their surrounding environments. This research area provides fundamental knowledge of developmental biology, metabolism, symbioses, plant evolution and adaptations to biotic and abiotic stresses, with the goal of improving agriculture and forestry.

Research groups

Charles Melnyk, Subject Representative: Plant grafting and parasitic plants

Per-Olof Lundquist

Alyona Minina

Folke Sitborn

Jens Sundström

Mattias Thelander: Evolution of developmental control in plants

Plant Virology

Research groups

Anders Kvarnheden, Subject Representative: Molecular epidemiology of plant viruses

Eugene Savenkov

Professor emeriti

Christina Dixelius

Johan Meijer

Eva Sundberg

Sara von Arnold

Gösta Eriksson