Department of Plant Molecular Ecophysiology

Research topics

The research conducted at the Department focuses on two main areas:

• Despite its tropical origin, many modern maize lines exhibit high tolerance to cold stress. Using a combination of physiological, genomic, and high-throughput phenotyping techniques, we aim to understand the mechanisms that have led to increased low-temperature tolerance in certain inbred lines of this species.
• Many cereal species, including maize and wheat, are under strong artificial selection aimed at increasing yield. This process involves the adaptation of plants to modern agricultural conditions, such as high planting density and the abundance of nutrients resulting from intensive fertilization. Using genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics approaches, we seek to identify which traits have been under selective pressure in maize and wheat, and how selection has shaped natural phenotypic and genomic variation.

Research projects

In search for traces of convergent evolution at the metabolic level in maize and wheat in the course of artificial selection, 2024 – 2029, NCN OPUS (2024/53/B/NZ9/00597), PI Marcin Grzybowski

Identification loci responsible for maize adaptation to cold condition at early stages of development, 2024 – 2027, NCN OPUS (2023/49/B/NZ9/00766), PI Marcin Grzybowski

In search of new mechanisms of corn adaptation to cool spring conditions, 2021 – 2025, NCN OPUS (2020/39/B/NZ9/00801), PI Paweł Sowiński

Chill tolerance in early-stage maize and sensitivity to light, 2018 – 2021, NCN OPUS (2017/27/B/NZ9/00995), PI Paweł Sowiński