Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR
We are Discovering the Plant World

We are a medium-sized laboratory consisting of nine scientists and a varying number of under- and post-graduate students. Our research is focused on the metabolic regulation of intracellular and extracellular cytokinin and auxin levels and the mechanisms regulating the uptake and secretion of these phytohormones. Our studies embrace intact plants, plant cell suspensions and tissue cultures expressing specific genes involved in the metabolism, transport and signaling by cytokinins and auxins, including genes encoding isopentenyltransferase, cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase, zeatin-O-glucosyltransferase, auxin binding protein 1 and auxin influx and efflux carriers. Attention is also paid to development of new methods for analysis of phytohormones (auxins, cytokinins, abscisic acid, and ethylene precursor), as well as the potential exploitation of research results for improvement of productivity of selected crop plants.