On the one hand, plants can be excellent vehicles for the production of recombinant proteins. Part of the research of the genome dynamics & gene regulation group is dedicated to optimizing production of pharmaceutical proteins in plant seeds. The research focus of this group is production of antibody fragments and antigens related to several diseases in seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana. They have generated expression cassettes for high seed specific expression of heterologous proteins, and work at optimization strategies to increase the stability of heterologous proteins in seeds.

On the other hand, plants synthesize an overwhelming variety of secondary metabolites with valuable biological activities. Yet, only a minute fraction of the enormous biosynthetic potential of plant cells is being exploited. The secondary metabolites group aims to create a novel and effective toolbox for metabolic engineering of plant cells by genetically characterising the molecular mechanisms driving plant natural product biosynthesis. The extensive genetic collections that are currently being built will serve as novel resources for plant metabolic engineering and for the establishment of plant cells as factories for high-value compounds. Research in this group was at the basis of the spin-off company Solucel, a biotechnology company that discovers and develops plant-based pharmaceuticals.