Research Group: Cell Wall Biology and Bioengineering
Understanding the function involves investigating the role of plant hormones in cell wall dynamics as well as the biophysical properties of cell walls. Cell wall architecture and polysaccharide biosynthesis are key topics for industrial exploitation of the plant cell wall.
A wide range of applications are pursued: Cell wall engineering for use as feedstock for biological jet fuel; development of new nano-materials inspired by cell wall architecture; use of algal oligo- and polysaccharides for anti-inflammatory agents, laundry detergent additives and new, functional food ingredients.
- Development of pretreatment technology for producing second-generation biofuel. Optimization is guided by inhibitor generation vis-à-vis saccharification yield as a function of energy input and genetic modification of the biomass
- Development of enzyme mediated release of nanocellulose from primary cell walls and the reassembly of the nanocellulose to novel materials
- The cell wall biology and evolution of the proteoglycan extensin
- Annotation of algal and land plant genomes with regard to the glycosyltransferase repertoire to infer on its evolution and set of activities
- Developing of new classes of carbohydrate-recognizing molecular probes including aptamers and oligosaccharide-based probes.Both a biology-driven and yeast two hybrid approach has been applied successfully.
- Application of carbohydrate microarray technology for probe specificity determination and for immuno-based high throughput profiling of various samples on carbohydrate content (CoMPP).
- Studying cell wall morphogenesis and compositional dynamics in relation to plant development and interaction with the environment. .
- Method development and implementation
- Transformation technology
- Rheology and biophysics
- Carbohydrate analytics
- Enzyme technology
- Microarrays
- Bioinformatics
- Bioimaging
Flabbergast, Innovationfoundation: FLABBERGAST A will focus on biological production of long chain alcohols from engineered lignocellulosic biomass. The goal is to develop a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and the project will work with established cell factories such as baker’s yeast and lactic acid bacteria, to achieve this aim.
ASSEMBLY, Innovationfoundation: Developing environmentally friendly methods for the from agricultural wastestream production and utilization of nano-cellulose.
Instant architect of the wall: Investigating our hypothesis about extracellular activity of the plant hormone auxin directly in the cell wall
Glycaptamers: Developing state-of-the-art DNA-based probes (aptamers) specific for plant glycans and elaborate molecular structures occurring in the plant cell wall.
TIPorNOT: The project aims to develop new imaging techniques to prove that delocalised cell wall formation patterns contribute significantly to the polar growth of root hairs.
XYLAN-2.0: Plant biomass is an important renewable resource. Elucidating its compositional complexity imposes a fundamental limit to its application. Our research shows that cellulose organization in the secondary cell wall is governed by the xylan component far more than currently thought. Determining the full function of xylan in cellulosic material is the challenge addressed by this project.
GræsProteinFoder: This project will focus on improving protein products by designing enzymatisk treatment of the plantmaterial to increase the digestability.
Elucidation of a novel regulatory circuit that controls photosynthetic light acclimation: This project will uncover a novel genetic circuit controlling the light acclimation process, which could be exploited to enhance crop productivity and light-driven synthesis of bioproducts.
PhD project: Characterisation of leaf succulence, CAM performance and xeromorphic adaptations across Crassula species from southern Africa and interpret them from an evolutionary and ecological perspective.
PhD project: Plant cell wall adaptive responses: evolution and defense.
PhD project: Production of cellulose nanofiber from vegatable waste using cell wall modulating proteins.
PhD project: Elucidating sugar metabolism in plants. Invertases and modulating starch is the target
Group members
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bent L Petersen | Associate Professor | +4535333379 | |
| Bodil Jørgensen | Associate Professor | +4535333466 | |
| Ellen Engquist | PhD Fellow | +4535320428 | |
| Emilie Louise Johansen | PhD Fellow | +4535337054 | |
| Frida Meijer Carlsen | Guest Researcher | +4535334073 | |
| Ida Westberg | PhD Fellow | +4535325457 | |
| Kathrine Victoria Ørnslund | Industrial PhD | ||
| Peter Ulvskov | Professor | +4535332580 | |
| Yongxian Chen | PhD Student |
Master Students
- Magnus Mustafa Fazli
- Victor Koch Olsen
Bachelor Students
- Sigrid Heegaard
Contact research group leader
Peter Ulvskov
Professor
M: ulvskov@plen.ku.dk
Ph: +45 35 33 25 80