Research focus

Our research programs are structured into individual teams unified by their focus on the molecular characterization of developmental and adaptive mechanisms regulated by plant hormones. Using genetic and biochemical tools, including advanced next-generation sequencing methods, we aim to uncover new regulatory mechanisms affecting signaling cascades and processes related to the synthesis and transport of plant metabolites—both precursors and active forms of plant hormones.

One of our research topics involves studying the regulation of cytokinin perception in Arabidopsis through receptors from the AHK family. This involves a wide range of regulatory mechanisms that act at the transcriptional level as well as on intracellular transport and receptor localization within cellular compartments. Another research program seeks to understand the metabolic pathways maintaining phytohormone homeostasis in distantly related plant species, with a particular focus on novel regulatory mechanisms in the auxin and jasmonic acid pathways.

Our teams integrate classical approaches in molecular biology with cellular biology methods, emphasizing live-cell microscopy. We routinely use GFP fusion protein expression techniques and other fluorescence labeling methods to study molecular mechanisms in situ. Model organisms such as Arabidopsis, the bryophyte Physcomitrium patens, and the gymnosperm Picea abies are utilized in our studies to understand the mechanisms of evolutionary conservation in metabolic pathways. Additionally, we work with several pathogenic fungal strains to study interactions between fungal pathogens and host plants.

The group is equipped with both basic and advanced instrumentation, including a high-resolution confocal microscope and growth chambers for working with GMO Arabidopsis plants.

Team leader

Ondřej Plíhal

Team members

  • David Zalabák – cytokinin signaling and transport
  • Federica Brunoni –homeostasis of plant hormones, metabolic pathways of auxin and jasmonic acid
  • Jakub Hajný – auxin transport, regulatory mechanisms governed by non-coding RNA, carbohydrate signaling, cytokinin perception
  • Anita Ament, Martin Hudeček, Veronika Kábrtová, Karolína Vagaská
  • Anna Kuchařová, Kateřina Perničková, Tereza Trávníčková