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.

Borrowing plants’ recycling tricks to treat Parkinson’s disease
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
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

Buendia-Avila D, Barragan-Borrero V, ..., Mari-Ordonez A (2026) Transposon expansion is associated with reorganization of small RNA and DNA methylation landscapes in the morphologically minimal angiosperm Wolffia brasiliensis. bioRxiv:2026.02.27.708460.

Li X, Zhang H, Ma L, et al. (2026) A plant histone H3.3-specific amino acid safeguards the deposition of H3K36 methylation for proper development and stress responses. Dev Cell [epub].

Abdrakhmanov A, Ethier E, ..., Dagdas Y (2026) A lineage-specific selective autophagy receptor module mediates P-body turnover. Dev Cell [epub] preprint bioRxiv:2025.08.09.669463.

Wójcik AM, Buchcik WM, Verezunska V, et al. (2026) FANS uncovers WOX2-associated early regulators of auxin-induced somatic embryogenesis in Arabidopsis.BMC Plant Biol 26(1):404.

Berger F, Bhattacharya D, Cho CH, et al. (2026) Fascinating single-cell red algae: models for evolution and adaptation. New Phytol [epub].

Tautz D, Pallares LF, Andersson L, et al. (2026) Beyond Mendel: a call to revisit the genotype-phenotype map through new experimental paradigms. Genetics [epub].

Westbrook JW, Malukiewicz J, Zhang Q, et al. (2026) Genomic approaches to accelerate American chestnut restoration. Science 391(6786):730-5 preprint bioRxiv:2025.01.30.635736.

Goerg D, Smith F, Machalett K, et al. (2026) CAN1-mediated autophagosome size regulation fine-tunes phosphate starvation tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. bioRxiv:2026.02.12.705259.

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