MENTOR brings together ten highly experienced and competent research groups with complementary expertise in distinct aspects of plant adaptation.
The specific PhD Projects studied in the different MENTOR groups are:

• Teige lab will study Targets of Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase and their role in Metabolic Adjustment and Stress Acclimation in Arabidopsis and potato.
• Bachmair lab will elucidate the cross-talk of SUMO conjugation and 14-3-3 protein-binding during salt-stress responses in Arabidopsis.
• Jonak lab will study the impact of GSK3 protein kinases on pathogen and abiotic stress tolerance in the oilseed crop Camelina sativa.
• Ibl lab investigates regulation of Components of the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Protein Transport (ESCRT) by the TOR kinase and its impact on grain filling in barley in response to abiotic stress
• Hauser lab addresses the role of the Receptor-Like-Kinase 1 family in the regulation of growth and cell wall remodelling during pathogen and heavy-metal stres.
• Wienkoop lab addresses how Protein Turnover is affected by pathogen- and heat-stress in pea using quantitative mass spectrometry and High-Throughput Phenotyping.
• Weckwerth lab aims at identification of regulatory networks and dynamic responses in the antagonistic interplay of the highly conserved SnRK1 and TOR kinases during heat- and drought-stress in pearl millet and wheat.
• Dagdas lab sets out to uncover the molecular underpinnings of chloroplast recycling via autophagy, a key process during senescence and stress.
• Schlögelhofer lab aims at uncovering the Interrelation of DNA damage and Pathogen Response Pathways

Associated PhD Projects:

• Nägele lab (LMU München, Germany) will resolve subcellular metabolic regulation during stress exposure and acclimation.
• Rampler lab will develop novel mass spectrometry-based tools to investigate the role of lipids and glycolipids in heat resilience of plants with a special focus on vitis vinifera.