EXC 1028:  Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS) - From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules

• Subject Area: Plant Sciences
• Term: from 2012 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 194465578

• Final Report Year: 2019

Final Report Abstract

Plants and algae sustain life on Earth by converting light energy, water, and CO2 into chemical energy. Crop plants in particular provide the foundation for human civilizations. However, arable land is becoming scarce and resources, such as water and fertilizers, are becoming depleted. The consequences of anthropogenic climate change and of a continuously growing human population constitute major challenges for sustainable food security. These challenges demand innovative strategies for sustainable plant production that are based on a fundamental understanding of how plant species adapt to their environmental and cope with environmental constraints. The answers to these questions are encoded in natural and artificially-induced genetic variation that enables plant species and their associated microbes to colonize almost all terrestrial environments. The aim of the Excellence Cluster on Plant Science CEPLAS was to decode this information for four specific complex traits that are crucial to resource-efficient plant growth: (A) annual and perennial life histories, (B) C4 photosynthesis, and (C) molecular and (D) metabolic mechanisms of plant-microflora interactions. CEPLAS I combined the scientific capabilities available within the Cologne-Düsseldorf region to create a unique interdisciplinary team of experimental and theoretical biologists. Jointly, the team decoded the genetic architecture underpinning complex plant traits that have evolved independently or were lost repeatedly during flowering plant evolution, such as perennial and annual life histories or different modes of photosynthetic carbon assimilation. Using combinations of quantitative genetics and genomics, computational modelling and plant biochemistry, as well as most recent technologies, CEPLAS researchers have unraveled the genetic mechanisms underpinning life history transitions, the evolutionary trajectory from C3 to C4 photosynthesis, and the complex composition of the plant-associated microbiome. CEPLAS researchers have developed important community resources, such as a microbial culture collection that represents the majority of plant-associated bacteria. Human capacity building included the recruitment of 11 new faculty in the field of plant and microbial science as well as in computational, synthetic, and theoretical biology. Notably, two faculty have been recruited via prestigious Alexander von Humboldt-professorships. A particular success was the introduction of the tenure-track system for the recruitment of earlycareer faculty into independent positions with defined career perspectives. Further, CEPLAS established innovative programs for the promotion of early career researchers, including a 4-year Bachelor Program in Quantitative Biology, a Graduate School, and a structured Postdoctoral Training Program. Moreover, CEPLAS actively engaged in public and political outreach through novel formats of science communication and dialogue with society and relevant stakeholders.

Link to the final report

https://dx.doi.org/10.2314/KXP:1698247036

Publications

• (2013) C(4) photosynthesis: from evolutionary analyses to strategies for synthetic reconstruction of the trait. Curr Opin Plant Biol 16(3):315-321
  Denton AK, Simon R, Weber AP
  
• (2013) Evolution of C4 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase: enhanced feedback inhibitor tolerance is determined by a single residue. Mol Plant 6(6):1996-1999
  Paulus JK, Niehus C, Groth G
  
• (2013) Evolution of C4 photosynthesis in the genus flaveria: establishment of a photorespiratory CO2 pump. Plant Cell 25(7):2522-2535
  Schulze S, Mallmann J, Burscheidt J, Koczor M, Streubel M, Bauwe H, Gowik U, Westhoff P
  
• (2013) Gene transfer from bacteria and archaea facilitated evolution of an extremophilic eukaryote. Science 339(6124):1207-1210
  Schönknecht G, Chen WH, Ternes CM, Barbier GG, Shrestha RP, Stanke M, Bräutigam A, Baker BJ, Banfield JF, Garavito RM, Carr K, Wilkerson C, Rensing SA, Gagneul D, Dickenson NE, Oesterhelt C, Lercher MJ, Weber AP
  
• (2013) Genome of the red alga Porphyridium purpureum. Nat Commun 4:1941
  Bhattacharya D, Price DC, Chan CX, Qiu H, Rose N, Ball S, Weber AP, Arias MC, Henrissat B, Coutinho PM, Krishnan A, Zauner S, Morath S, Hilliou F, Egizi A, Perrineau MM, Yoon HS
  
• (2013) Greater efficiency of photosynthetic carbon fixation due to single amino-acid substitution. Nat Commun 4:1518
  Paulus JK, Schlieper D, Groth G
  
• (2013) Light and the E3 ubiquitin ligase COP1/SPA control the protein stability of the MYB transcription factors PAP1 and PAP2 involved in anthocyanin accumulation in Arabidopsis. Plant J 74(4):638-651
  Maier A, Schrader A, Kokkelink L, Falke C, Welter B, Iniesto E, Rubio V, Uhrig JF, Hülskamp M, Hoecker U
  
• (2013) PLGG1, a plastidic glycolate glycerate transporter, is required for photorespiration and defines a unique class of metabolite transporters. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110(8):3185-3190
  Pick TR, Bräutigam A, Schulz MA, Obata T, Fernie AR, Weber AP
  
• (2013) Predicting C4 photosynthesis evolution: modular, individually adaptive steps on a Mount Fuji fitness landscape. Cell 153(7):1579-1588
  Heckmann D, Schulze S, Denton A, Gowik U, Westhoff P, Weber AP, Lercher MJ
  
• (2013) The Tarenaya hassleriana genome provides insight into reproductive trait and genome evolution of crucifers. Plant Cell 25(8):2813-2830
  Cheng S, van den Bergh E, Zeng P, Zhong X, Xu J, Liu X, Hofberger J, de Bruijn S, Bhide AS, Kuelahoglu C, Bian C, Chen J, Fan G, Kaufmann K, Hall JC, Becker A, Bräutigam A, Weber AP, Shi C, Zheng Z, Li W, Lv M, Tao Y, Wang J, Zou H, Quan Z, Hibberd JM, Zhang G, Zhu XG, Xu X, Schranz ME
  
• (2014) Analysis of a plant complex resistance gene locus underlying immune-related hybrid incompatibility and its occurrence in nature. PLoS Genet 10(12):e1004848
  Alcazar R, von Reth M, Bautor J, Chae E, Weigel D, Koornneef M, Parker JE
  
• (2014) Auxin represses stomatal development in dark-grown seedlings via Aux/IAA proteins. Development 141(16):3165-3176
  Balcerowicz M, Ranjan A, Rupprecht L, Fiene G, Hoecker U
  
• (2014) Comparative transcriptome atlases reveal altered gene expression modules between two Cleomaceae C3 and C4 plant species. Plant Cell 26(8):3243-3260
  Külahoglu C, Denton AK, Sommer M, Mass J, Schliesky S, Wrobel TJ, Berckmans B, Gongora-Castillo E, Buell CR, Simon R, De Veylder L, Bräutigam A, Weber AP
  
• (2014) Evolution of the Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Protein Kinase Family in C3 and C4 Flaveria spp. Plant Physiol 165(3):1076-1091
  Aldous SH, Weise SE, Sharkey TD, Waldera-Lupa DM, Stühler K, Mallmann J, Groth G, Gowik U, Westhoff P, Arsova B
  
• (2014) Evolutionary conservation of cold-induced antisense RNAs of Flowering Locus C in Arabidopsis thaliana perennial relatives. Nat Commun 5:4457
  Castaings L, Bergonzi S, Albani MC, Kemi U, Savolainen O, Coupland G
  
• (2014) Induced and natural variation of promoter length modulates the photoperiodic response of Flowering Locus T. Nat Commun 5:4558
  Liu L, Adrian J, Pankin A, Hu J, Dong X, von Korff M, Turck F
  
• (2014) Leaf shape evolution through duplication, regulatory diversification, and loss of a homeobox gene. Science 343(6172):780-783
  Vlad D, Kierzkowski D, Rast MI, Vuolo F, Dello Ioio R, Galinha C, Gan X, Hajheidari M, Hay A, Smith RS, Huijser P, Bailey CD, Tsiantis M
  
• (2014) Microbial genome-enabled insights into plant-microorganism interactions. Nat Rev Genet 15(12):797-813
  Guttman DS, McHardy AC, Schulze-Lefert P
  
• (2014) Plastid signals and the bundle sheath: mesophyll development in reticulate mutants. Mol Plant 7(1):14-29
  Lundquist PK, Rosar C, Bräutigam A, Weber AP
  
• (2014) Quantitative divergence of the bacterial root microbiota in Arabidopsis thaliana relatives. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111(2):585-592
  Schlaeppi K, Dombrowski N, Oter RG, Ver Loren van Themaat E, Schulze-Lefert P
  
• (2014) Short Vegetative Phase reduces gibberellin biosynthesis at the Arabidopsis shoot apex to regulate the floral transition. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111(26):E2760-2769
  Andres F, Porri A, Torti S, Mateos J, Romera-Branchat M, Garcia-Martinez JL, Fornara F, Gregis V, Kater MM, Coupland G
  
• (2014) Short-term acclimation of the photosynthetic electron transfer chain to changing light: a mathematical model. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 369(1640):20130223
  Ebenhöh O, Fucile G, Finazzi G, Rochaix JD, Goldschmidt-Clermont M
  
• (2014) Sorting Nexin1 is required for modulating the trafficking and stability of the Arabidopsis Iron-Regulated Transporter1. Plant Cell 26(3):1294-1307
  Ivanov R, Brumbarova T, Blum A, Jantke AM, Fink-Straube C, Bauer P
  
• (2014) Spatial H2O2 signaling specificity: H2O2 from chloroplasts and peroxisomes modulates the plant transcriptome differentially. Mol Plant 7(7):1191-1210
  Sewelam N, Jaspert N, Van Der Kelen K, Tognetti VB, Schmitz J, Frerigmann H, Stahl E, Zeier J, Van Breusegem F, Maurino VG
  
• (2014) The role of photorespiration during the evolution of C4 photosynthesis in the genus Flaveria. Elife 3:e02478
  Mallmann J, Heckmann D, Bräutigam A, Lercher MJ, Weber AP, Westhoff P, Gowik U
  
• (2015) A cop1 spa mutant deficient in COP1 and SPA proteins reveals partial co-action of COP1 and SPA during Arabidopsis post-embryonic development and photomorphogenesis. Mol Plant 8(3):479-481
  Ordonez-Herrera N, Fackendahl P, Yu X, Schaefer S, Koncz C, Hoecker U
  
• (2015) A FYVE zinc finger domain protein specifically links mRNA transport to endosome trafficking. Elife 4
  Pohlmann T, Baumann S, Haag C, Albrecht M, Feldbrügge M
  
• (2015) A receptor pair with an integrated decoy converts pathogen disabling of transcription factors to immunity. Cell 161(5):1074-1088
  Le Roux C, Huet G, Jauneau A, Camborde L, Tremousaygue D, Kraut A, Zhou B, Levaillant M, Adachi H, Yoshioka H, Raffaele S, Berthome R, Coute Y, Parker JE, Deslandes L
  
• (2015) A reductionist approach to model photosynthetic self-regulation in eukaryotes in response to light. Biochem Soc Trans 43(6):1133-1139
  Matuszyńska A, Ebenhöh O
  
• (2015) A Secreted Effector Protein of Ustilago maydis Guides Maize Leaf Cells to Form Tumors. Plant Cell 27(4):1332-1351
  Redkar A, Hoser R, Schilling L, Zechmann B, Krzymowska M, Walbot V, Doehlemann G
  
• (2015) Convergent losses of decay mechanisms and rapid turnover of symbiosis genes in mycorrhizal mutualists. Nat Genet 47(4):410-415
  Kohler A, Kuo A, Nagy LG, Morin E, Barry KW, Buscot F, Canbäck B, Choi C, Cichocki N, Clum A, Colpaert J, Copeland A, Costa MD, Dore J, Floudas D, Gay G, Girlanda M, Henrissat B, Herrmann S, Hess J, Högberg N, Johansson T, Khouja HR, LaButti K, Lahrmann U, Levasseur A, Lindquist EA, Lipzen A, Marmeisse R, Martino E, Murat C, Ngan CY, Nehls U, Plett JM, Pringle A, Ohm RA, Perotto S, Peter M, Riley R, Rineau F, Ruytinx J, Salamov A, Shah F, Sun H, Tarkka M, Tritt A, Veneault-Fourrey C, Zuccaro A, Mycorrhizal Genomics Initiative C, Tunlid A, Grigoriev IV, Hibbett DS, Martin F
  
• (2015) CUL4 forms an E3 ligase with COP1 and SPA to promote light-induced degradation of PIF1. Nat Commun 6:7245
  Zhu L, Bu Q, Xu X, Paik I, Huang X, Hoecker U, Deng XW, Huq E
  
• (2015) Functional overlap of the Arabidopsis leaf and root microbiota. Nature 528(7582):364-369
  Bai Y, Müller DB, Srinivas G, Garrido-Oter R, Potthoff E, Rott M, Dombrowski N, Münch PC, Spaepen S, Remus-Emsermann M, Hüttel B, McHardy AC, Vorholt JA, Schulze-Lefert P
  
• (2015) Genome expansion of Arabis alpina linked with retrotransposition and reduced symmetric DNA methylation. Nat Plants 1(2):14023
  Willing EM, Rawat V, Mandakova T, Maumus F, James GV, Nordstrom KJ, Becker C, Warthmann N, Chica C, Szarzynska B, Zytnicki M, Albani MC, Kiefer C, Bergonzi S, Castaings L, Mateos JL, Berns MC, Bujdoso N, Piofczyk T, de Lorenzo L, Barrero-Sicilia C, Mateos I, Piednoel M, Hagmann J, Chen-Min-Tao R, Iglesias-Fernandez R, Schuster SC, Alonso-Blanco C, Roudier F, Carbonero P, Paz-Ares J, Davis SJ, Pecinka A, Quesneville H, Colot V, Lysak MA, Weigel D, Coupland G, Schneeberger K
  
• (2015) Global Transcriptome Profiling of Developing Leaf and Shoot Apices Reveals Distinct Genetic and Environmental Control of Floral Transition and Inflorescence Development in Barley. Plant Cell 27(9):2318-2334
  Digel B, Pankin A, von Korff M
  
• (2015) Heterochrony underpins natural variation in Cardamine hirsuta leaf form. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112(33):10539-10544
  Cartolano M, Pieper B, Lempe J, Tattersall A, Huijser P, Tresch A, Darrah PR, Hay A, Tsiantis M
  
• (2015) Identification of the transporter responsible for sucrose accumulation in sugar beet taproots. Nat Plants 1:14001
  Jung B, Ludewig F, Schulz A, Meissner G, Wostefeld N, Flügge UI, Pommerrenig B, Wirsching P, Sauer N, Koch W, Sommer F, Muhlhaus T, Schroda M, Cuin TA, Graus D, Marten I, Hedrich R, Neuhaus HE
  
• (2015) Immune responses: Photosynthetic defence. Nat Plants 1(6):15079
  Göhre V
  
• (2015) Mathematical modelling of the diurnal regulation of the MEP pathway in Arabidopsis. New Phytol 206(3):1075-1085
  Pokhilko A, Bou-Torrent J, Pulido P, Rodriguez-Concepcion M, Ebenhöh O
  
• (2015) Metabolic connectivity as a driver of host and endosymbiont integration. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112(33):10208-10215
  Karkar S, Facchinelli F, Price DC, Weber AP, Bhattacharya D
  
• (2015) Microbiota and Host Nutrition across Plant and Animal Kingdoms. Cell Host Microbe 17(5):603-616
  Hacquard S, Garrido-Oter R, Gonzalez A, Spaepen S, Ackermann G, Lebeis S, McHardy AC, Dangl JL, Knight R, Ley R, Schulze-Lefert P
  
• (2015) Mutualistic root endophytism is not associated with the reduction of saprotrophic traits and requires a noncompromised plant innate immunity. New Phytol 207(3):841-857
  Lahrmann U, Strehmel N, Langen G, Frerigmann H, Leson L, Ding Y, Scheel D, Herklotz S, Hilbert M, Zuccaro A
  
• (2015) phenoVein-A Tool for Leaf Vein Segmentation and Analysis. Plant Physiol 169(4):2359-2370
  Bühler J, Rishmawi L, Pflugfelder D, Huber G, Scharr H, Hülskamp M, Koornneef M, Schurr U, Jahnke S
  
• (2015) Real-time dynamics of peptide ligand-dependent receptor complex formation in planta. Sci Signal 8(388):ra76
  Somssich M, Ma Q, Weidtkamp-Peters S, Stahl Y, Felekyan S, Bleckmann A, Seidel CA, Simon R
  
• (2015) Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112(28):8529-8536.
  Ort DR, Merchant SS, Alric J, Barkan A, Blankenship RE, Bock R, Croce R, Hanson MR, Hibberd JM, Long SP, Moore TA, Moroney J, Niyogi KK, Parry MA, Peralta-Yahya PP, Prince RC, Redding KE, Spalding MH, van Wijk KJ, Vermaas WF, von Caemmerer S, Weber AP, Yeates TO, Yuan JS, Zhu XG
  
• (2015) Structure and function of the bacterial root microbiota in wild and domesticated barley. Cell Host Microbe 17(3):392-403
  Bulgarelli D, Garrido-Oter R, Münch PC, Weiman A, Dröge J, Pan Y, McHardy AC, Schulze-Lefert P
  
• (2016) A mathematical model of nonphotochemical quenching to study short-term light memory in plants. Biochim Biophys Acta 1857(12):1860-1869
  Matuszyńska A, Heidari S, Jahns P, Ebenhöh O
  
• (2016) Adaptive evolution of complex innovations through stepwise metabolic niche expansion. Nat Commun 7:11607
  Szappanos B, Fritzemeier J, Csorgo B, Lazar V, Lu X, Fekete G, Balint B, Herczeg R, Nagy I, Notebaart RA, Lercher MJ, Pal C, Papp B
  
• (2016) CLAVATA-WUSCHEL signaling in the shoot meristem. Development 143(18):3238-3248
  Somssich M, Je BI, Simon R, Jackson D
  
• (2016) Energy efficiency trade-offs drive nucleotide usage in transcribed regions. Nat Commun 7:11334
  Chen WH, Lu G, Bork P, Hu S, Lercher MJ
  
• (2016) Evolution. Pathogen to powerhouse. Science 351(6274):659-660
  Ball SG, Bhattacharya D, Weber AP
  
• (2016) Insight into the evolution of the Solanaceae from the parental genomes of Petunia hybrida. Nat Plants 2(6):16074
  Bombarely A, Moser M, Amrad A, Bao M, Bapaume L, Barry CS, Bliek M, Boersma MR, Borghi L, Bruggmann R, Bucher M, D'Agostino N, Davies K, Druege U, Dudareva N, Egea-Cortines M, Delledonne M, Fernandez-Pozo N, Franken P, Grandont L, Heslop- Harrison JS, Hintzsche J, Johns M, Koes R, Lv X, Lyons E, Malla D, Martinoia E, Mattson NS, Morel P, Mueller LA, Muhlemann J, Nouri E, Passeri V, Pezzotti M, Qi Q, Reinhardt D, Rich M, Richert-Poggeler KR, Robbins TP, Schatz MC, Schranz ME, Schuurink RC, Schwarzacher T, Spelt K, Tang H, Urbanus SL, Vandenbussche M, Vijverberg K, Villarino GH, Warner RM, Weiss J, Yue Z, Zethof J, Quattrocchio F, Sims TL, Kuhlemeier C
  
• (2016) Pinpointing genes underlying annual/perennial transitions with comparative genomics. BMC Genomics 17(1):921
  Heidel AJ, Kiefer C, Coupland G, Rose LE
  
• (2016) Pipecolic Acid Orchestrates Plant Systemic Acquired Resistance and Defense Priming via Salicylic Acid-Dependent and -Independent Pathways. Plant Cell 28(1):102-129
  Bernsdorff F, Döring AC, Gruner K, Schuck S, Bräutigam A, Zeier J
  
• (2016) Regulation of Pathogen-Triggered Tryptophan Metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana by MYB Transcription Factors and Indole Glucosinolate Conversion Products. Mol Plant 9(5):682-695
  Frerigmann H, Pislewska-Bednarek M, Sanchez-Vallet A, Molina A, Glawischnig E, Gigolashvili T, Bednarek P
  
• (2016) Root nodule symbiosis in Lotus japonicus drives the establishment of distinctive rhizosphere, root, and nodule bacterial communities. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 113(49):E7996-E8005
  Zgadzaj R, Garrido-Oter R, Jensen DB, Koprivova A, Schulze-Lefert P, Radutoiu S
  
• (2016) StrigoQuant: A genetically encoded biosensor for quantifying strigolactone activity and specificity. Sci Adv 2(11):e1601266
  Samodelov SL, Beyer HM, Guo X, Augustin M, Jia KP, Baz L, Ebenhöh O, Beyer P, Weber W, Al-Babili S, Zurbriggen MD
  
• (2016) Survival trade-offs in plant roots during colonization by closely related beneficial and pathogenic fungi. Nat Commun 7:11362
  Hacquard S, Kracher B, Hiruma K, Munch PC, Garrido-Oter R, Thon MR, Weimann A, Damm U, Dallery JF, Hainaut M, Henrissat B, Lespinet O, Sacristan S, Ver Loren van Themaat E, Kemen E, McHardy AC, Schulze-Lefert P, O'Connell RJ
  
• (2016) The Cardamine hirsuta genome offers insight into the evolution of morphological diversity. Nat Plants 2(11):16167
  Gan X, Hay A, Kwantes M, Haberer G, Hallab A, Ioio RD, Hofhuis H, Pieper B, Cartolano M, Neumann U, Nikolov LA, Song B, Hajheidari M, Briskine R, Kougioumoutzi E, Vlad D, Broholm S, Hein J, Meksem K, Lightfoot D, Shimizu KK, Shimizu-Inatsugi R, Imprialou M, Kudrna D, Wing R, Sato S, Huijser P, Filatov D, Mayer KF, Mott R, Tsiantis M
  
• (2016) The Evolutionarily Conserved Protein Photosynthesis Affected Mutant71 Is Required for Efficient Manganese Uptake at the Thylakoid Membrane in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 28(4):892-910
  Schneider A, Steinberger I, Herdean A, Gandini C, Eisenhut M, Kurz S, Morper A, Hoecker N, Ruhle T, Labs M, Flügge UI, Geimer S, Schmidt SB, Husted S, Weber AP, Spetea C, Leister D
  
• (2016) The fungal-specific beta-glucan-binding lectin FGB1 alters cell-wall composition and suppresses glucan-triggered immunity in plants. Nat Commun 7:13188
  Wawra S, Fesel P, Widmer H, Timm M, Seibel J, Leson L, Kesseler L, Nostadt R, Hilbert M, Langen G, Zuccaro A
  
• (2017) Critical Assessment of Metagenome Interpretation-a benchmark of metagenomics software. Nat Methods 14(11):1063-1071
  Sczyrba A, Hofmann P, Belmann P, Koslicki D, Janssen S, Dröge J, Gregor I, Majda S, Fiedler J, Dahms E, Bremges A, Fritz A, Garrido-Oter R, Jorgensen TS, Shapiro N, Blood PD, Gurevich A, Bai Y, Turaev D, DeMaere MZ, Chikhi R, Nagarajan N, Quince C, Meyer F, Balvociute M, Hansen LH, Sorensen SJ, Chia BKH, Denis B, Froula JL, Wang Z, Egan R, Don Kang D, Cook JJ, Deltel C, Beckstette M, Lemaitre C, Peterlongo P, Rizk G, Lavenier D, Wu YW, Singer SW, Jain C, Strous M, Klingenberg H, Meinicke P, Barton MD, Lingner T, Lin HH, Liao YC, Silva GGZ, Cuevas DA, Edwards RA, Saha S, Piro VC, Renard BY, Pop M, Klenk HP, Göker M, Kyrpides NC, Woyke T, Vorholt JA, Schulze- Lefert P, Rubin EM, Darling AE, Rattei T, McHardy AC
  
• (2017) Defense against Reactive Carbonyl Species Involves at Least Three Subcellular Compartments Where Individual Components of the System Respond to Cellular Sugar Status. Plant Cell 29(12):3234-3254
  Schmitz J, Dittmar IC, Brockmann JD, Schmidt M, Hüdig M, Rossoni AW, Maurino VG
  
• (2017) Dissection of iron signaling and iron accumulation by overexpression of subgroup Ib bHLH039 protein. Sci Rep 7(1):10911
  Naranjo-Arcos MA, Maurer F, Meiser J, Pateyron S, Fink-Straube C, Bauer P
  
• (2017) Divergence of regulatory networks governed by the orthologous transcription factors FLC and PEP1 in Brassicaceae species. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114(51):E11037-E11046
  Mateos JL, Tilmes V, Madrigal P, Severing E, Richter R, Rijkenberg CWM, Krajewski P, Coupland G
  
• (2017) Fine mapping of a major QTL for awn length in barley using a multiparent mapping population. Theor Appl Genet 130(2):269-281
  Liller CB, Walla A, Boer MP, Hedley P, Macaulay M, Effgen S, von Korff M, van Esse GW, Koornneef M
  
• (2017) In vivo FRET-FLIM reveals celltype-specific protein interactions in Arabidopsis roots. Nature 548(7665):97-102
  Long Y, Stahl Y, Weidtkamp-Peters S, Postma M, Zhou W, Goedhart J, Sanchez-Perez MI, Gadella TWJ, Simon R, Scheres B, Blilou I
  
• (2017) Machine Learning Techniques for Predicting Crop Photosynthetic Capacity from Leaf Reflectance Spectra. Mol Plant 10(6):878-890
  Heckmann D, Schlüter U, Weber APM
  
• (2017) Quantitative trait loci controlling leaf venation in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Environ 40(8):1429-1441
  Rishmawi L, Bühler J, Jaegle B, Hülskamp M, Koornneef M
  
• (2017) Root microbiota dynamics of perennial Arabis alpina are dependent on soil residence time but independent of flowering time. ISME J 11(1):43-55
  Dombrowski N, Schlaeppi K, Agler MT, Hacquard S, Kemen E, Garrido-Oter R, Wunder J, Coupland G, Schulze-Lefert P
  
• (2017) Root-associated fungal microbiota of nonmycorrhizal Arabis alpina and its contribution to plant phosphorus nutrition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114(44):E9403-E9412
  Almario J, Jeena G, Wunder J, Langen G, Zuccaro A, Coupland G, Bucher M
  
• (2017) Structures of the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator frozen in a fully assembled state. Science 355(6330):1181-1184
  Snijder J, Schuller JM, Wiegard A, Lossl P, Schmelling N, Axmann IM, Plitzko JM, Forster F, Heck AJ
  
• (2017) Surveying the Oligomeric State of Arabidopsis thaliana Chloroplasts. Mol Plant 10(1):197-211
  Lundquist PK, Mantegazza O, Stefanski A, Stühler K, Weber APM
  
• (2017) The blue light-induced interaction of cryptochrome 1 with COP1 requires SPA proteins during Arabidopsis light signaling. PLoS Genet 13(10):e1007044
  Holtkotte X, Ponnu J, Ahmad M, Hoecker U
  
• (2017) The Plant-Dependent Life Cycle of Thecaphora thlaspeos: A Smut Fungus Adapted to Brassicaceae. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 30(4):271-282
  Frantzeskakis L, Courville KJ, Plücker L, Kellner R, Kruse J, Brachmann A, Feldbrügge M, Göhre V
  
• (2017) Variation in auxin sensing guides AUX/IAA transcriptional repressor ubiquitylation and destruction. Nat Commun 8:15706
  Winkler M, Niemeyer M, Hellmuth A, Janitza P, Christ G, Samodelov SL, Wilde V, Majovsky P, Trujillo M, Zurbriggen MD, Hoehenwarter W, Quint M, Calderon Villalobos LIA
  
• (2018) An apoplastic peptide activates salicylic acid signalling in maize. Nat Plants 4(3):172-180
  Ziemann S, van der Linde K, Lahrmann U, Acar B, Kaschani F, Colby T, Kaiser M, Ding Y, Schmelz E, Huffaker A, Holton N, Zipfel C, Doehlemann G
  
• (2018) AP2 transcription factor CBX1 with a specific function in symbiotic exchange of nutrients in mycorrhizal Lotus japonicus. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115(39):E9239-E9246
  Xue L, Klinnawee L, Zhou Y, Saridis G, Vijayakumar V, Brands M, Dormann P, Gigolashvili T, Turck F, Bucher M
  
• (2018) Auxin methylation is required for differential growth in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115(26):6864-6869
  Abbas M, Hernandez-Garcia J, Pollmann S, Samodelov SL, Kolb M, Friml J, Hammes UZ, Zurbriggen MD, Blazquez MA, Alabadi D
  
• (2018) Exometabolomic Profiling of Bacterial Strains as Cultivated Using Arabidopsis Root Extract as the Sole Carbon Source. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 31(8):803-813
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