Gregor Mendel Institute

The GMI turns 25! In 2025, we celebrate the institute’s 25th anniversary. Join us for an evening event with Jennifer Doudna in May, and a scientific symposium to celebrate “A Plant-astic Quarter Century”. We look forward to marking this milestone with you! Check the event page for more details – registration opens in late January. https://bit.ly/gmi25

Season’s greetings from the Gregor Mendel Institute.

2024 was a year full of discoveries at the GMI! Today, we take a look at some of this year’s research highlights. The Dolan group discovered that the gene MurA gives bryophytes an alternative route for amino acid synthesis, thereby conferring tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate. https://bit.ly/48VIzsJ The Nordborg group uncovered a plant-specific regulatory sequence which can finely tune gene expression in plant cells in a position-dependent manner. https://bit.ly/4ekqvKc The Ramundo group co-developed a new proteomics system to identify truncated protein isoforms and unexpectedly found a protein processing mechanism similar to proteolysis in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas. https://bit.ly/3X9fnd8 The Dolan group discovered the mechanism by which polarity arises in the plant spore. https://bit.ly/4iA5BK1 Zsuzsanna Mérai described the molecular mechanism by which seeds of the plant 𝘈𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘮 go dormant during the summer to avoid sprouting in harsh climate conditions. https://bit.ly/4bSENRb The Berger group identified the protein BCP4 as a key factor in the DNA repair machinery, completing the picture of DNA damage response in plants. https://bit.ly/4frsrkf The Mittelstein Scheid group discovered how plants’ genomic defenses fight an onslaught of transposon activity in plant stem cells. https://bit.ly/4iICKDd Read more about the innovative plant science happening at the GMI here: https://bit.ly/GMIresearch

In 2024, GMI's outreach initiatives made complex science accessible. Through public lectures, workshops, lab visits, and interactive opportunities, our scientists engaged with all ages, sparking curiosity and fostering understanding. On Daughters’ Day, GMI researchers introduced girls to careers in STEM fields through lab visits and hands-on activities in genetic engineering, plant phenotyping, and microscopy. At the Long Night of Research, GMI scientists highlighted the role of plant-derived products and how selection has shaped our crops. Over 3,000 visitors learned how CRISPR works through an interactive board developed by Open Science, exploring the impact of genetic editing on organic plant breeding and sustainable agriculture. At a Kinderuni Wien workshop, children explored how plants survive extreme conditions like heat, drought, and nutrient scarcity. Angelina explained her research on autophagy, and children set up their own plant experiments for at home.

In 2024, GMI's outreach initiatives made complex science accessible. Through public lectures, workshops, lab visits, and interactive opportunities, our scientists engaged with all ages, sparking curiosity and fostering understanding. On Daughters’ Day, GMI researchers introduced girls to careers in STEM fields through lab visits and hands-on activities in genetic engineering, plant phenotyping, and microscopy. At the Long Night of Research, GMI scientists highlighted the role of plant-derived products and how selection has shaped our crops. Over 3,000 visitors learned how CRISPR works through an interactive board developed by Open Science, exploring the impact of genetic editing on organic plant breeding and sustainable agriculture. At a Kinderuni Wien workshop, children explored how plants survive extreme conditions like heat, drought, and nutrient scarcity. Angelina explained her research on autophagy, and children set up their own plant experiments for at home.

As we count down to the new year, we continue our recap of 2024’s highlights at the GMI! Today, we’ll look at the achievements of the GMI’s group leaders in the last year. Yan Ma and Nick Irwin started new research groups at the GMI this year, bringing their exciting research on gall formation and horizontal gene transfer to our institute. Frédéric Berger received an Emerging Fields Grant and a Standalone Grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Congratulations, Fred! Liam Dolan (Ó Dubhláin) was elected Full Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, a great honor for scientists in Austria! Want to know more about what happened at the GMI in 2024? Check out our news here: https://bit.ly/newsGMI

2024 is coming to a close, and what a year it was for the GMI! As we recap this year’s highlights, let’s start with the biggest achievements by our Students and Postdocs in 2024. Congratulations to all PhD students and Postdocs at the GMI who received fellowships this year, including Marie Sklodowska-Curie and HFSP fellowships! At this year’s Vienna BioCenter PhD Symposium, Julia Kober at the GMI and Eva Kroetenheerd at the Max Perutz Labs Vienna received the "Out of the Box” Award for their original research approach. Interested in doing your PhD or Postdoc at the GMI? Check out the career options here https://bit.ly/gmicareers

We are hiring! Join the Scientific Training Unit at IMP, IMBA, GMI and the Max Perutz Labs as a Training and Career Development Manager. The right candidate will design and implement the training course portfolio for PhD students and postdocs on our campus. Apply at: https://bit.ly/3YS8X1J

At this year’s Vienna BioCenter PhD Symposium, recent PhD graduates and current PhD students of the Vienna BioCenter PhD Program were honored for their exceptional doctoral theses. Julia Kober, PhD student in the group of Silvia Ramundo at the Gregor Mendel Institute, received the “Out of the Box Award”, jointly with Eva Kroetenheerd, PhD student in the group of Thomas Leonard, at the Max Perutz Labs. The two young scientists proposed a highly original approach to investigate a long-standing question in kinase biology: _Can kinases autophosphorylate in cis? 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦: _https://bit.ly/3Z9eaCL Julia and Eva impressed the jury twith their highly creative and cross-institute collaboration, which has the potential to drive impactful discoveries. If successful, their proposed approach could be applied to investigate the mechanism of action of other important proteins that catalyze essential reactions in our cells. Congratulations, Julia and Eva!

New paper alert! Sam Caygill and Liam Dolan (Ó Dubhláin) have discovered how a large group of understudied plants - the bryophytes - are naturally tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate. Read more: https://bit.ly/48VIzsJ Growing enough food to feed the world is a herculean task. To increase yield, farmers need to use herbicides to get rid of weeds that compete with crop plants for sunlight, nutrients and space. However, increased use of herbicides increases the chances of resistant weeds evolving. The herbicide glyphosate inhibits an enzyme called EPSP synthase, which in turns disrupts amino acid synthesis and protein production in weeds. However, anecdotal evidence suggested that bryophytes were naturally resistant to glyphosate through an unknown mechanism. Caygill and Dolan proved that bryophytes can indeed tolerate glyphosate. What’s more, they showed that this tolerance stems from a protein called MurA which can replace the function of ESPS synthase to circumvent glyphosate toxicity. Understanding the mechanism through which some plants are naturally tolerant to herbicides gives researchers an important starting point for tackling the problem of herbicide resistance in agriculture. Learn more about the research at the Dolan Lab here: https://bit.ly/dolanlab