Our Mission

The GMI is a research institute devoted to plant biology. Plants created our atmosphere and sustain life on earth. Our goal is to make fundamental discoveries that help us understand how plants function — discoveries that may be essential to address global challenges like climate change. Our research ranges from molecules to ecosystems, involving a wide variety of plants — all depending on the question. We believe in enabling researchers at all levels to pursue big questions in an intellectually stimulating, diverse, and collaborative environment. Key to our success are minimal hierarchy and bureaucracy, outstanding facilities, and core funding.

 

About us

The GMI is part of the Vienna BioCenter, a leading life science cluster comprising several research institutes, universities, and start-up companies and located close to the center of Vienna. The institute is owned and funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Research topics include basic mechanisms of epigenetics, cell biology, plant-pathogen interactions, developmental biology, and population genetics. The GMI provides a lively, international working environment with around 130 people, embedded in a campus with over 1700 people from more than 70 countries. The working language is English. We strive for a friendly, inclusive environment, and provide an on-campus child care center.

Unlocking a tiny plant’s big potential for research and biotechnology
How Plants Survive Heat: New Protein for Stress Resistance Discovered
Epigenetics: How plants keep genes silent
Plant Power: Electrical Forces Bring Ancient Plant Proteins Back to Life
Frédéric Berger Joins FWF Special Research Program "Meiosis"
In Memoriam – Hisashi Tamaru
Magnus Nordborg Awarded FWF Principal Investigator International Projects Grant
Boosting Protein Research with New Mass Spectrometry Technology

Katori M, Kobayashi TJ, Nordborg M, et al. (2026) Predicting mutation-rate variation across the genome using epigenetic data. bioRxiv:2026.01.30.702885.

Barragan-Borrero V, de Santana Lopes A, Rodrigues-Batista ED, et al. (2026) Strain, procedures, and tools for reproducible genetic transformation and genome editing of the emerging plant model Spirodela polyrhiza New Phytol [epub] preprint bioRxiv:2025.08.28.672806.

Shukla S, Axelsson E, Hisanaga T, et al. (2026) Chromatin state architecture governs transcription factor accessibility across plant genomes. PLoS Genet 22(1):e1012015 preprint bioRxiv:2025.07.12.664529.

Wallner ES, Edelbacher N, Dolan L (2026) De novo meristem development in Marchantia polymorpha requires light and an apical auxin signaling minimum. Curr Biol 36:2(278-89) preprint bioRxiv:2025.07.17.665278.

Ellis TJ (2026) How and why to quantify pairwise pleiotropy and genotype-by-environment interactions. biorxiv:2026.01.09.268568.
 

Fridrich A and Irwin NAT (2026) Cross-kingdom gene transfer as a driver of land plant evolution. Curr Opin Plant Biol 89:102850.

Birklbauer MJ, Buur LM, Kaser S, et al. (2025) Unified down-stream analysis of crosslinking mass spectrometry results with pyXLMS. bioRxiv:2025.12.18.695169.

Omenge K, Werner S, Deecke K, et al. (2025) LysM Receptor Proteins are Required for Ectomycorrhizal Symbiosis in Poplar. bioRxiv:2025.12.17.694584.

The GMI is part of the Vienna BioCenter, one of the leading international life science research centers worldwide that has established itself as the premier location for life sciences in Central Europe.

viennabiocenter.org