Phytohormone Transport

We discover and study transporters to improve biological processes

We characterize transporters in the Xenopus oocyte model system and combine electrophysiology with LCMS transport assays to determine substrate specificities, kinetics, mechanism and stoichiometry. The knowledge gained, guides phenotypical analyses and localization studies in vivo to determine physiological roles and discover exciting applications.

Research themes

Unravelling Phytohormone transport in plants - the black box of phytohormone transport - who are the players and what is the physiological role of phytohormone transport? We believe that increased knowledge on phytohormone transport contains a key to developing novel approaches to improve plant performance.
Transport engineering in AgBiotech - the dynamic allocation of anti-nutritional defense compounds- Which transporter families are involved? What is the physiological role of the transporters involved? We believe that the knowledge gained can be used improving palatability and nutritional value of edible parts without compromising plant fitness.
Trophic conversion of microalgae – the subcellular partitioning of carbohydrate metabolism - Why are many microalgae unable to grow on extracellular sugar? We believe that the answer to this question can help establish high biomass-yielding microalgae cultivation for food production.
Transport engineering in Synthetic biology – realizing the emerging potential of transport engineering – how do we find transporters of plant specialized metabolism for synthetic biology? Which properties are desirable? We believe that establishing a transport engineering platform is a prerequisite for unleashing the potential of synthetic biology approaches aimed at mass-producing high value plant specialized metabolites.
Structure-function elucidation of NPF– A family with an enigmatically diverse substrate spectrum provides ideal model system to unravel molecular determinants of transport properties- how can a common overall structure accommodate transport of such a diverse array of substrate with different chemical structures? We believe that unlocking the structure function secrets of the NPF family will provide tools to engineer the properties of individual transport proteins to better serve our biotechnological needs.

Current research projects

Human Frontier Science Program , 2020 - June 2024 (10 mill. DKK) A funding program that supports pioneering international research projects which investigate complex mechanisms in living organism. Phytohormone transport in plants – Using a combination of functional and phenotypic screens we seek to unravel the phytohormone transportome in plants and characterize physiological roles.

Novocrops: Accelerated domestication of resilient climate-change friendly plant species - 2020 - 2025 (5,6 mill DKK)
Identification of transporters of antinutritional plant natural compounds in 3 crops to allow tissue specific removal without compromising plant fitness

Ascending Investigator, Novo Nordisk Foundation, 1 Sept. 2023 - 31 Aug. 2028 (10 mill. DKK). TRANSFORM - Unleashing the transformative potential of transport engineering in crop improvement.

Exploratory interdisciplinary synergy grant on Leveraging plant transportomics, Novo Nordisk Foundation, January 2024 – Dec. 2026 (4 mill. DKK)
Identifying ABCC6 transporter substrate preventing vascular calcification.
Establishing method for deorphanizing the ABCC6 transporter, which is the only causative gene associated with PXE - a rare genetic disease leading to calcification of elastic fibers.

Breaking the yield barrier in microalgae cultivation - Novo Nordisk Foundation, January 2024 – Dec. 2026 (3 mill DKK)
Using C.reihardtii as a case study, we seek to establish heterotrophic growth on external sources of glucose and understand why many microalgae are not able to grow on external sugar.

Carlsberg foundation infrastructure, 2023 (300.000 DKK)

Understanding molecular determinants of substrate specificity in the NPF – using the three glucosinolate transporters (GTR1-3) as model system we use bioinformatics and mutational analyses to understand the molecular basis for distinct substrate preferences.