Research Area 3
Synthetic and Reconstruction Biology
RA3 will utilize synthetic biology approaches to reconstruct plant signaling and metabolic pathways in orthogonal systems and obtain a quantitative understanding of pathway architectures within and between cells and their surroundings. These quantitative studies are technically challenging to perform on a cellular level in planta due to the molecular complexity of highly interconnected, often multicellular signaling and metabolic networks and pleiotropism. Reconstruction of plant pathways in heterologous systems enables rapid genetic permutation and testing of genetic diversity of cellular components and their directed evolution on a scale/throughput rate that is not possible in planta. RA3 will implement novel genetic, molecular, and imaging tools and approaches such as synthetic switches, promoters, regulatory modules, dynamic and programmable synthetic gene networks, quantitative biosensors, microfluidics, and 2D/3D tissue printing to accelerate scientific progress. These data will be integrated with mathematical modeling (RA4) to complement and inform the in planta studies proposed in RA1 and RA2.
RA3 will transition from the reconstruction of individual pathways (molecular modules) via multiple pathways within a cell (cellular modules) to interactions of a cell with its surroundings (cell-interface modules). In the future, this work will be extended with the development and deployment of printed cell clusters, tissues, and organoids for the study of functional and architectural features emerging from signaling and metabolic networks.
Coordinators
Prof. Dr. Matias Zurbriggen
Telephone+49 211 8115015
Institute of Synthetic Biology
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Prof. Dr. Markus Pauly
Telephone+49 211 8115680
Institute for Plant Cell Biology and Biotechnology
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Members
Prof. Dr. Ute Armbruster
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1, 3
Prof. Dr. Ilka Axmann
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 3,4
Linus Börnke
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 1,3
Dr. Cristina Marí Carmona
CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 3
Prof. Dr. George Coupland
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,3,4
Dr. John C. D'Auria
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,3
Dr. Craig Dent
CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 3, 4
Prof. Dr. Gunther Döhlemann
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3
Dr. Steven Dreissig
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,3
Prof. Dr. Oliver Ebenhöh
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4,5
Prof. Dr. Michael Feldbrügge
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 3
Dr. Pau Formosa-Jordan
Contributing Investigator, Research area 1, 3, 4, 5
Prof. Dr. Wolf B. Frommer
Dr. Rubén Garrido Oter
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4,5
Josepha Grewer
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 3
Dr. Thomas Hartwig
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,3,4,5
Dr. Götz Hensel
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1, 2, 3, 5
Dr. Alexander P. Hertle
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,3
Prof. Dr. Tatjana Hildebrandt
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,5
Prof. Dr. Andreas Houben
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 3
Dr. Tobias Jores
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 3,5
Prof. Dr. Stanislav Kopriva
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4,5
Stanislav Kopriva
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2,3
Dr. Steven Le Hung Cheng
CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 2,3
Prof. Dr. Martin Lercher
Dr. Inna Lermontova
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 3, 5
Dr. Eliza Loo
Group leader, Research Area 2,3
Dr. André Marques
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 3
Dr. Shizue Matsubara
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,3,5
Benjamin Menn
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 3
Dr. Hanna Mozghovska
CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 3,4,5
Prof. Dr. Jane E. Parker
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2,3
Prof. Dr. Markus Pauly
Dominic Schirmer
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 3
Prof. Dr. Paul Schulze-Lefert
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4
Amanta Seifried
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 1, 3
Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Simon
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,3,4,5
Dr. Jędrzej Jakub Szymański
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1, 3, 4, 5
Dr. Sebastian Triesch
CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 3, 4
Prof. Dr. Miltos Tsiantis
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,3,4
Nicolas Ullrich
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 3, 4
Dr. Uriel Urquiza
Group Leader, Research Area 3, 4, 5
Prof. Dr. Nicolaus von Wirén
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4,5
Dr. Agatha Alexandra Walla
Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Area 1, 3, 5
Prof. Dr. Andreas P.M. Weber
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,3,4,5
Prof. Dr. Alga Zuccaro
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4,5
Prof. Dr. Matias Zurbriggen
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4,5