Prestigious grant for research into how plants can feel

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28 March 2024

It has been known for more than 100 years, but not something you deal with every day. Plants have a sense of touch: they sense touch or wind. Blades of grass even sense when you walk on them and adjust their growth. But how is this possible? The GreenTE (Green Tissue Engineering) consortium will investigate this over the next ten years, thanks to a Gravitation grant of 22.8 million euros.

For this research there is collaboration with universities from Utrecht, Nijmegen, Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Eindhoven, Groningen and Leiden. Physicist and co-applicant Gijs Wuite is affiliated from VU Amsterdam. He 'receives' two PhD students and two postdocs spread over ten years.

Mechanical forces

All living organisms are subject to the laws of physics, and are exposed to mechanical forces. These included stresses caused by neighbouring cells, but also by pathogens that are trying to invade. The researchers will study how plant cells - with an internal pressure exceeding that in a champagne bottle - perceive mechanical forces, and how such forces control growth, development, and immunity. Armed with this knowledge, the consortium will develop new strategies for improving propagation and immunity in crops.

Gravitation premium

With Gravitation, the government encourages excellent research in the Netherlands. The programme is for scientific consortia that have the potential to rank among the world's best in their field. The programme is a form of direct government research funding. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has asked Dutch Research Council NWO to realise a selection procedure for Gravitation.