Hydrosensing Project
Discovering How Plants Sense Water Stress
The Hydrosensing Project Team is on a mission to transform our understandingof how plants sense and respond to water availability. We aim to uncover the mechanisms plants use to perceive water stress, a key factor in their survival and productivity.
By combining cutting-edge genomics, structural biology, biophysics and imaging approaches, we strive to revolutionize crop resilience and pave the way for climate-proof agriculture.
Join us as we explore new frontiers in plant science, working towards a future where crops are better equipped to withstand the challenges of a changing climate.
Publications
Journal articles and preprints by the Hydrosensing project
Application of STEM tomography to investigate smooth ER morphology under stress conditions
Heinz, V., Rachel, R., & Ziegler, C. (2025). Application of STEM tomography to investigate smooth ER morphology under stress conditions. Journal of Microscopy, 299(3), 228-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmi.70020
Targeting redundant gene families: A multiplexed,tissue-specific CRISPR toolbox for Arabidopsisgenetic screens
Anfang M, Yahya RH, Caldararu O, Ben Yaakov S, Landau U, Berman A, Hu Y, Belew ZM, Crocoll C, Xu D, Nour-Eldin HH, Mayrose I, Shani E. Targeting redundant gene families: A multiplexed, tissue-specific CRISPR toolbox for Arabidopsis genetic screens. Cell Rep. 2026 Mar 9;45(3):117055. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117055.
The mechanical properties of Arabidopsis thaliana roots adapt dynamically during development and to stress
Luis Alonso Baez et al., The mechanical properties of Arabidopsis thaliana roots adapt dynamically during development and to stress. Sci. Adv. 12,eaeb0032(2026).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aeb0032
Transgenerational polarity axis inheritance during Ceratopterisembryogenesis
Woudenberg, S., Plackett, A. R., Hao, Z., Suzuki, H., Baez, L. A., Borassi, C., ... & Weijers, D. (2025). Transgenerational polarity axis inheritance during Ceratopteris embryogenesis. bioRxiv, 2025-08 https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.29.673061
News
Hydrosensing news
Thorsten Hamann Elected to Prestigious Norwegian Academy
Hydrosensing is proud to share that Thorsten Hamann, one of our Principal Investigators, has been elected as a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS).
HYDROSENSING after 18 Months: Growing Knowledge and Growing Impact
While still being at an early stage of our 5-year journey, the HYDROSENSING project is moving forward with strong momentum. Over the past 18 months, we have advanced our scientific understanding of how plants perceive and respond to water, while also contributing to broader discussions about foundational plant science, agriculture,…
StrawberryWalls: new research to help plants thrive in a warming arctic
We are very happy to share the good news that the Norwegian Research Council has awarded €2.1 million in funding to a new project led by Professor Thorsten Hamann, expanding on the work initiated through the ERC Synergy Project Hydrosensing.
