Inspired by the multitude of oxygen sensing strategies found across biological domains, we combine sensory and signalling modules to create novel solutions to subjugate metabolism, growth and development to oxygen availability. At the same time, we aim at generating fluorescent and luminescent reporters for oxygen levels in plants.

The last decade has flourished with studies reporting the involvement of molecular oxygen availability in the control of developmental processes in higher plants. Moreover, proliferating and undifferentiated cells from different tissues often reside in endogenously generated hypoxic niches. We are interested in elucidarting the molecular mechanisms that control and integrate these signalling pathway.

Earth's atmosphere is uniquely rich in oxygen (21% O2 V/V). However, plants often experience hypoxia due to reduced oxygen availability do to their sessile nature in case of flooding, such as complete submergence or soil waterlogging. We study the strategies developed by certain species to cope with such unfavourable condition, and the possibility to transfer this to crop plants.

Oxygen concentration on Earth's atmosphere has risen from 0 to the actual 21%, with geological periods characterised by even higher levels, do the release of oxygen from water through photosynthesis. This exerted a tremendous impact on the physiology of living organisms, including plants. We compare oxygen sensing and adaptive mechanisms across biological kingdoms to understand how effectively different strategies accommodate specific developmental programmes and environmental requirements.