It is estimated that 15% of the worldwide crop yield is lost to herbivory and damage by insects. Plants developed mechanisms to respond to local wounding events by triggering long-distance signaling responses in distal tissues leading to the activation of defense mechanisms.  The propagation of wound-induced signals is believed to occur as (a combination of) chemical, electrical and hydraulic waves, accompanied by the translocation of metabolites and signaling molecules, such as glutamate or calcium ions.
By means of genetics, biochemistry, sensor biology, microscopy and electrophysiology we try to identify new components (transporters, channels, ligands…) that are involved in this long-distance wound signaling process and how they are regulated.