Until now, it was difficult to directly measure the occurrence of the signaling molecule phosphatidic acid (PA) in a certain tissues or organisms. Therefore, it remained unclear in which cells or in which parts of cells the substance was active and why its concentration is changing. The newly developed Sensor "PAleon" is able to change its fluorescent properties upon binding of bioactive PA and allows determination of cellular changes in phosphatidic acid concentration and distribution.

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High salt levels in the soil harm plant growth and limit crop yields. A salt-binding membrane lipid has been identified as being essential for salt perception and for triggering calcium signals that lead to salt tolerance.

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One year ago, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling on genetic methods in plant breeding: on 25 July 2018, the judges ruled that plants bred using modern molecular biological methods (CRISPR-Cas genome editing) fall into the category of genetically modified organisms. According to current EU legislation, these plants are to be strictly regulated - in contrast to plants that have been genetically modified using conventional methods, called mutagenesis.

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International honour for Prof. Dr. Jörg Kudla: The plant biologist at Münster University has been awarded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences as an outstanding scientist. Once a year, the Academy awards the title "Distinguished Scientist" to leading international researchers from a wide variety of disciplines and selects around 30 prize winners from more than 200 nominees.

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Research groups from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and the University of Münster have discovered a new switch that plants use to control their responses to iron deficiency. The findings from their research on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is published in the journal "Developmental Cell".

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Plant biologists, including Prof. Jörg Kudla from the WWU Münster have shown: A mechanical injury of plant leaves causes rapid stomatal closure. This closure process is initiated by the plant hormone jasmonic acid.

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Among the most cited researchers worldwide are three professors from WWU: According to the current citation ranking of the U.S. company "Clarivate Analytics," Frank Baumgartner, Frank Glorius and Jörg Kudla are honoured as "highly Cited Researcher"

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For the first time, researchers have created, within a single generation, a new crop from a wild plant – the progenitor of our modern tomato – by using a modern process of genome editing. Participating in the study was a team led by Prof. Jörg Kudla from the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Münster.

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Further reading:
Nature
EurekAlert!
Spiegel online
ntv-News
Süddeutsche Zeitung