Two starting grants and two research project grants from researchers at UPSC were approved by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet). The four projects from Peter Kindgren, Karin Ljung, Alizée Malnoë and Ove Nilsson will examine how non-coding DNA can influence transcription of coding DNA, how nitrogen affects the formation of lateral roots, how plants protect themselves against too much light and how the annual growth cycle of trees is regulated.
Peter Kindgren and Alizée Malnoë received starting grants to establish their research groups at UPSC. Peter Kindgren is currently still working at the University of Copenhagen but he will move in the end of 2019 to Umeå and then start setting up his own research group. He wants to understand how DNA that does not contain protein information (non-coding DNA) affects the transcription of protein encoding DNA, especially under stress conditions like cold. Alizée Malnoë started her research group at UPSC in January 2018. She is working on molecular mechanisms of photoprotection in plants, i.e. molecular processes that prevent the damage of a plant by an excess of light.
Karin Ljung and Ove Nilsson, both professors at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and group leaders at UPSC, got research project grants. Karin Ljung will examine how different sources of nitrogen affect the initiation and development of lateral roots and influence the structure of the root system. Ove Nilsson’s project addresses how bud set, bud break and flowering are regulated in trees like aspen. His focus is on the genetic mechanisms that control the annual growth cycle.
The projects:
Peter Kindgren:
ImPaCT – Implications of Polymerase Collision caused by Transcription
Karin Ljung:
Nitrogen modulation of lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis
Alizée Malnoë:
Molecular Mechanisms of Photoprotection in Plants
Ove Nilsson:
The Role of FT-like Genes in the Regulation of the Annual Growth Cycle in Trees
Link to the announcement from the Swedish Research Council:
https://www.vr.se/english/calls-and-decisions/grant-decisions/decisions/2018-09-06-natural-and-engineering-sciences.html
For more information contact the project leader or have a look on their homepage:
Peter Robert Kindgren
Section for Molecular Plant Biology
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
University of Copenhagen
Phone: +45 35 33 46 39
e-mail:
https://plen.ku.dk/english/employees/?pure=en%2Fpersons%2Fpeter-robert-kindgren(525289c6-db78-4032-8942-ade2c82c3792).html
Karin Ljung
Umeå Plant Science Centre
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Phone: +46 (0)90 786 8355
e-mail:
www.upsc.se/karin_ljung
Alizée Malnoë
Umeå Plant Science Centre
Department of Plant Physiology
Umeå University
Phone: +46 (0)90 786 5459
e-mail:
www.upsc.se/alizee_malnoe
Ove Nilsson
Umeå Plant Science Centre
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Phone: +46 (0)90 786 8487
e-mail:
www.upsc.se/ove_nilsson