Gregor Mendel Institute

Florian Mattenberger, postdoc in the lab of Nick Irwin, was awarded a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. His project will study how plant cells rework and repurpose genes acquired from bacteria by horizontal gene transfer. Read more: https://bit.ly/3CLyjHT Horizontal gene transfer is the process by which new genes are acquired from a different species rather than from an organism’s parents. "So far, we know little about how genes are transferred to eukaryotes such as animals and plants, and how they have become so important for their evolution,” Mattenberger explained. Bacteria are the source of most genes acquired through horizontal gene transfer. For a bacterial gene to function in a eukaryotic cell, these genes must be integrated into the genome and adapted to a more complex regulatory environment. However, the molecular processes underlying this reworking remain poorly understood. In his project, Mattenberger will replicate horizontal gene transfer in a laboratory setting. “I will investigate how an algal cell reworks a bacterial gene in a eukaryotic context.” Mattenberger explained. “For the first time, we will be able to observe horizontal gene transfer as it happens, rather than studying its traces in the past.”

The GMI announces a new EMBO workshop titled "Plant evolution: from origins to diversification on land" - right here in Vienna. The hybrid event will be held on November 25-27 at the Vienna BioCenter. This event is co-organized by GMI Group Leader Liam Dolan (Ó Dubhláin) and features presentations by Group Leaders Yasin Dagdas and Silvia Ramundo, among others. Register by August 25 at https://lnkd.in/dhSFDPgB.

All about plant science? So are we! Join us on a virtual tour of our institute and see what makes working at the GMI so special. https://bit.ly/gmiwelcome

All about plant science? So are we! Join us on a virtual tour of our institute and see what makes working at the GMI so special. https://bit.ly/gmiwelcome

New paper alert! The labs of Liam Dolan (Ó Dubhláin) and Frédéric Berger, together with former GMI group leader Kelly Swarts -now at the Umeå Plant Science Centre- and Masaki Shimamura at Hiroshima University, combined global climate data with a new population genomics database to identify genetic variants related to climate adapation in 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑝ℎ𝑎. Read more: https://bit.ly/4i4reBd Understanding how plants naturally adapt to different local conditions is key to predicting their response to climate change, and can help produce more resilient crops. “Comparing populations in Europe and Japan, we found genetic variants associated with summer temperatures and precipitation,” explains Liam Dolan. “These adaptations could be crucial for optimizing reproduction in different conditions.” The new population genomics database – the first of its kind for 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑝ℎ𝑎 – offers scientists worldwide a powerful platform to study genetic variability. “Our platform opens up exciting possibilities for addressing a wide range of biological questions related to plant growth and development.”

New paper alert! The Dagdas group discovered that the molecule ATG8 protects the vacuole when the cell wall is damaged. This mechanism ensures that the highly pressured vacuole, essential to the plant cell, remains intact. Their results were published today in Nature Plants. Read more: https://bit.ly/4aLCZK9 The vacuole is a pressured, water-filled compartment essential to the function of all plant cells. Check out our latest science explainer for details on how the vacuole helps plants grow upright, what happens if the vacuole breaks, and how plant cells protect their vacuoles.

As a part of our 25-year anniversary celebrations, over the next weeks, we’ll highlight some of the most impactful papers published by GMI scientists in the last 25 years. Today, we are revisiting the time a gene was – kind of – named after the GMI! The lab of Dieter Schweizer, founding director of the GMI, characterized a new member of the SMC-hinge domain-containing protein family. As gamma radiation and mitomycin induce expression of this protein, the encoding gene was aptly named GMI1. The protein encoded by GMI1 plays a crucial role in repairing DNA double-strand breaks caused by γ-radiation in Arabidopsis and regulates homologous recombination. The study was published in 2011 in The Plant Journal. Find out more about our 25th-anniversary celebrations and secure your spot here: https://bit.ly/4139yjT

On February 10, a symposium will focus on new genomic technologies that can be versatile tools for improving crops and livestock. BOKU, in collaboration with the GMI, the ÖAW, and the Gregor Mendel Society Vienna, is organizing this public event. More info: https://lnkd.in/dXh5DUzQ

This year, we are celebrating the GMI’s 25-year anniversary! But did you know that our institute was initially founded under a different name? In the year 2000, the Austrian Academy of Sciences - Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW) founded the “Institute of Cellular and Developmental Biology”, known as IZEB, upon the initiative of Dieter Schweizer from the Botanical Institute of the University of Vienna, who became the institute’s first scientific director. One year later, in 2001, the institute’s name was changed to “Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology” to emphasize its research focus and give credit to the “Father of Genetics” and his research with plants. Stay tuned for information about the GMI 25th-anniversary celebrations!

We are #hiring! Join GMI as the new Operation Engineer and supervise the technical, economic support and maintenance of the buildings. #europe #jobs #science https://lnkd.in/dpnMmpgN