Fellow-Klasse 2025/26 Prof. Dr. Thomas Greb
Arbeitsvorhaben am Marsilius-Kolleg
Exploring the challenges and benefits of interdisciplinary participatory research on traditional crops for sustainable food systems
Introducing novel practices into global food production is key for maintaining biodiversity and ensuring sustainable nutrition of an ever-growing human population. Traditional crops, cultivated by small rural communities hold big promises in this regard as they often are exceptionally nutritious and resistant against environmental perturbations without the need of pesticides and additional fertilizers. However, modern agricultural practices are usually not adapted to their large-scale cultivation and knowledge of traditional communities is not integrated into their biotechnological and agricultural investigation. Here, we apply as a tandem to the Marsilius-Kolleg, to explore the challenges and benefits of participatory research on traditional crops for enhancing global food security. As an exemplary research object, we will focus on a project on Tropaeolum tuberosum (mashua), currently being supported at Heidelberg University by the Klaus-Tschira-Stiftung. By combining our expertise in Latin-American society and culture and in plant biology, we strongly believe that we are an ideal team for bridging societal and biological aspects within agricultural research and can make a strong multidisciplinary case in the context of the Marsilius-Kolleg and as an accompanying action of the envisaged excellence cluster GreenRobust.
FORSCHUNGSGEBIETE
Radial growth of plant shoots and roots is essential for the formation of wood and of large plant bodies, and thus for the creation of biomass on earth. Our lab uses this process as an example to reveal principles of growth and cell fate regulation in multicellular organisms at the interface between development and physiology. Questions we are asking are toward tissue patterning, cell fate specification and intercellular communication from the level of sub-cellular structures to whole organs.
Lebenslauf
Beruflicher Werdegang
- 2020-present: W3 Professor, Heidelberg University, Germany
- 2016-2019: Heisenberg Professor, Heidelberg University, Germany
- 2015-2016: Heisenberg Fellow, Heidelberg University, Germany
- 2012: postdoctoral lecturer qualification (Habilitation, Genetics), University of Vienna, Austria
- 2006-2014: Junior Group Leader, Gregor Mendel Institute, Vienna, Austria
Ausbildung
- 2003-2006: postdoctoral researcher, Prof. Caroline Dean, John Innes Centre, UK
- 1999-2003: PhD thesis, Prof. Dr. Klaus Theres, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
- 1993-1999: Studies of Biology, Cologne, Germany
Ausgewählte Publikationen
Tabelle
Wallner ES, Tonn N, Shi D, Luzzietti L, Wanke F, Hunziker P, Xu Y, Jung I, Lopéz-Salmerón V, Gebert M, Wenzl C, Lohmann JU, Harter K, Greb T (2023) OBERON3 and SUPPRESSOR OF MAX2 1-LIKE proteins form a regulatory module driving phloem development. Nat Commun 14:2128, doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37790-5 |
Lebovka I, Hay Mele B, Liu X, Zakieva A, Schlamp T, Gursanscky N, Merks RMH, Großeholz R, Greb T (2023) Computational modelling of cambium activity provides a regulatory framework for simulating radial plant growth. eLife 12:e66627 doi: 10.7554/eLife.66627 |
Shi D, Jouannet V, Agustí J, Kaul V, Levitsky V, Sanchez P, Mironova VV, Greb T (2021) Tissue-specific transcriptome profiling of the Arabidopsis inflorescence stem reveals local cellular signatures. Plant Cell 33(2):200-223. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koaa019 |
Shi D, Lebovka I, López-Salmerón V, Sanchez P, Greb T (2019) Bifacial cambium stem cells generate xylem and phloem during radial plant growth. Development 146:dev171355. doi: 10.1242/dev.171355. |
Brackmann K, Qi J, Gebert M, Jouannet V, Schlamp T, Grünwald K, Wallner ES, Novikova DD, Levitsky VG, Agusti J, Sanchez P, Lohmann JU, Greb T (2018) Spatial specificity of auxin responses coordinates wood formation. Nat Commun 9(1):875 doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03256-2. |
Wallner ES, López-Salmerón V, Belevich I, Poschet G, Jung I, Grünwald K, Sevilem I, Jokitalo E, Hell R, Helariutta Y, Agustí J, Lebovka I, Greb T (2017) Strigolactone and karrikin-independent SMXL proteins are central regulators of phloem formation. Curr Biol 27(8):1241–1247 doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.014. |
Agusti J, Herold S, Schwarz M, Sanchez P, Ljung K, Dun EA, Brewer PB, Beveridge CA, Sieberer T, Sehr EM, Greb T (2011) Strigolactone signaling is required for auxin-dependent stimulation of secondary growth in plants. PNAS USA 108:20242-20247 doi: 10.1073/pnas.1111902108. |
Agusti J, Lichtenberger R, Schwarz M, Nehlin L, Greb T (2011) Characterization of transcriptome remodeling during cambium formation identifies MOL1 and RUL1 as opposing regulators of secondary growth. PLoS Genet 7:e1001312. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001312 |
Suer S, Agusti J, Sanchez P, Schwarz M, Greb T (2011) WOX4 imparts auxin responsiveness to cambium cells in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 23:3247-3259 doi: 10.1105/tpc.111.087874. |
Greb T, Clarenz O, Schäfer E, Müller D, Herrero R, Schmitz G, Theres K (2003) Molecular analysis of the LATERAL SUPPRESSOR gene in Arabidopsis reveals a conserved control mechanism for axillary meristem formation. Genes Dev 17:1175-1187 doi: 10.1101/gad.260703 |
KONTAKT
Prof. Dr. Thomas Greb
Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg