Innate immunity and cellular reprogramming – Rodriguez group
Using a combination of cellular and molecular biology we strive to understand how cellular decision making is regulated in plants, with emphasis on immunity and development. We then apply our toolkit to distant model species to gain perspective on how these processes evolved in plants.
We explore how plant cells make decisions during development and in response to stress by combining cellular and molecular biology. Our research focuses on fundamental homeostasis mechanisms such as autophagy and mRNA decapping, revealing how they help cells sense and adapt to changing conditions. By studying both established and distant plant models, we uncover how these strategies have shaped the incredible diversity of the plant kingdom.
Our research focus can be subdivided into 2 main questions
- How do plants adapt to new conditions?
- How do cells reset their identity to form stem cells and new organs?
- Recycling mechanisms impact on cellular decision making
- Using beneficial microbes to improve plant productivity
- Leveraging homeostasis mechanisms to improve plant tolerance to flooding
- Yasin Dagdas, Group leader at GMI, Austria
- Miguel Moreno Risueño, Assistant Prof. GBPG, Spain
- Christian Hardtke, Full Prof. U. Lausanne, Germany
- Sjon Hartman, Jr. Prof. U. Freiburg, Germany
- Laura Moody, Associate Prof., U. of Oxford, UK
- Novonesis, Biosolution company, Hoersholm, Denmark.
- Mitsuyasu Hasebe, Group leader of Hasebe Lab, NINS, Japan.
- Luxán-Hernández et al, 2025, A moss N-Acetyltransferase-MAPK protein controls 2D to 3D developmental transition via acetylation and phosphorylation changes
- Ammitsøe et al, 2025, BZR1 promotes pluripotency acquisition and callus development through direct regulation of ARF7 and ARF19
- Ebstrup et al, 2024, NBR1-mediated selective autophagy of ARF7 modulates root branching.
- Zuo et al, 2023, The mRNA decapping machinery targets LBD3/ASL9 to mediate apical hook and lateral root development.
- Kanne et al, 2022, Overexpression of ATG8/LC3 enhances wound-induced somatic reprogramming in Physcomitrium patens.
- Rodriguez et al, 2020, Autophagy mediates temporary reprogramming and dediffernatiation in plant somatic cells.
- Rodriguez et al, 2018, DNA damage as a consequence of NLR activation. PLOS Genetics.
- Lolle et al, 2017, Matching NLR Immune Receptors to Autoimmunity in camta3 Mutants Using Antimorphic NLR Alleles.
- Roux et al, 2015, The mRNA decay factor PAT1 functions in a pathway including MAP kinase 4 and immune recptor SUMM2.
- Independent Research Fund Denmark – Independent green research (2025-2028) Flood Fighters: Leveraging cellular recycling to improve plant resilience to flooding. 3,150,746.00 DKK
- Independent Research Fund Denmark -FTP (2025-28) Overclocking lateral root formation: Can bacteria unlock the roots' intrinsic clock to maximize Lateral Root formation? 3,156,641.00 DKK
Group Members
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloe De Luxan Hernandez | Assistant Professor | +4535327711 | |
| Eleazar José Rodriguez Gomes | Associate Professor | ||
| Henry Anderson Culp | PhD Fellow | +4535327638 | |
| Isolde Felicia Nim Riis | PhD Fellow | ||
| Suksawad Vongvisuttikun | Laboratory Technician | +4535322125 | |
| Thomas Juel Ammitsøe | Postdoc | +4535321540 |