Van Aken  lab

Our lab focuses on understanding signal transduction pathways that regulate gene expression in response to environmental stress. As plants are sessile organisms, they have developed extensive molecular and physiological defence systems. Plants can thus respond to a range of stimuli such as touch, pathogen infection, water availability, changes in light intensity and temperature, etc. These signalling events often involve multiple cellular organelles including mitochondria, chloroplasts, plasma membrane and the endoplasmic reticulum. We are pursuing the detailed characterisation of recently identified transcriptional networks, with the aim of identifying key regulatory mechanisms and understanding the downstream effects.

In addition, we are also exploring how to use plants as 'bio-factories' for complex molecules such as insect pheromones