Plant Development - PLANTDEV

Vision: Integrating Plant Development into the Core of Biodiversity Science
The diversity of plant form remains one of the most captivating subjects in biology. How do organs, tissues, and various architectures arise from (un)shared developmental processes? What genetic, molecular, and evolutionary mechanisms govern such processes? These are the questions that drive PlantDev. Our core focus is plant developmental biology: how organs and tissues are formed, patterned, and differentiated across a plant's life cycle, and what underlies this at the genetic and molecular level.

This developmental perspective extends in two directions. Towards functional ecology, we examine how structural organisation at the tissue and organ level shapes developmental adaptation, physiological performance, and ecological strategy — connecting developmental processes to functional traits and their application in biodiversity conservation and ecological modelling. Towards evolution, we draw on Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) to understand how developmental constrains shape trait variation across lineages and generate morphological diversity observed across species and environments.

Applied dimension
We also translate knowledge into practice. Understanding plant form and function at the developmental level provides a mechanistic foundation for species selection and functional performance assessment in the context of habitat and forest restoration. This is directly relevant to the implementation of the European Nature Restoration Regulation and to the scientific validation of nature-based solutions within the broader framework of EU biodiversity and climate policy.

Education and Outreach
We are committed to training researchers who work across the fields of molecular biology, plant anatomy and morphology, developmental genetics, with a strong bridging with plant systematics, ecology, and evolution. We also foster public appreciation of plant science and conservation of biodiversity by promoting seminars, interactive lectures, and outreach activities aimed at schools, educators, and community groups.