Our group is studying plant systems biology. We develop methods for combining different omics data sources and apply them in practise to answer biological questions regarding evolution, speciation, adaptation and host-microbe interactions in plants. Currently our main focus is the Betulaceae family, where we are establishing silver birch (Betula pendula) as the model species. In addition to silver birch we are also assembling the black alder genome (Alnus glutinosa).

Our work on host-microbe interactions has so far concentrated in the analysis of human gut microbiota. It forms a relatively closed ecosystem which can be quantified with 16S based techniques and metagenomic sequencing, and the host genome is very well annotated, making it suitable for a model ecosystem. In the following years the methodological approaches developed in this work will be applied to study plant-microbe interactions.

The group is part of Finnish Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology of Primary Producers.