Van de Poel Lab
Welcome to the website of the Van de Poel lab.
We are a plant science lab, affiliated with the University of Leuven, focusing on plant hormone physiology, with a special interest in ethylene. We also perform translational research on innovations in horticulture. We use molecular genetics, biochemical and physiological experiments to perform basic and applied research in the emerging fields of horticulture and agriculture.
News
Congrats to Dr. Thomas Reher for obtaining a postdoctoral VLAIO innovation mandate.
Our lab was awarded 3 FWO PhD fellowships. Congrats to Julia Zalder, Zoë Scheerlinck and Niels Eerdekens.
New equipment:
A new LC-MS machine will aid us in plant metabolite identification and quantification.
New paper
Houben M., Vaughan-Hirsch J., Pattyn J., Mou W., Roden S., Roig M. A., Kabak N Elif, Rodrigues S., Polko A., De Coninck B., Kieber J. J., Voet A., Van de Poel B. (2026). 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase determines the fate of ethylene biosynthesis in a tissue-specific way. Plant Physiology kiag025.
New paper
Daems S., Van de Poel B., Ceusters J. (2025). PYRUVATE ORTHOPHOSPHATE DIKINASE (PPDK) as a putative key regulator of diurnal deacidification in CAM leaves across varying light intensities and photoperiods. Journal of Experimental Botany eraf500.
LATEST PAPERS
LATEST RESEARCH
We have developed a new plant stress sensor. Our wireless sensor detects leaf motion in real-time, and is able to detect subtle changes in leaf movements, that are linked to plant health and stress. We now aim to get our prototype ready for the markert
We use Marchantia polymorpha to study the origin and evolution of the plant hormone ethylene and it's precursor ACC. We are aiming to figure out how non-seed plants produce, sense and respond to ethylene and ACC.
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