August 24th and 25th 2021

We are happy to announce the 2nd International Plant Immunity Symposium organized by the International Research Training Group (IRTG) 2172.

The IRTG 2172 Plant Responses To Eliminate Critical Threats (PRoTECT) is a DFG funded collaborative training program for graduate students between research groups working at the University of Goettingen, Germany, and the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. After a successful first cohort, a very promising second cohort of doctoral students started in 2019.

The IRTG investigates plant-microbe interactions and their impacts on plant immunity with focus on three key areas: barriers, signal transduction and metabolites. Although, plants react differently to the attack of discrete stress factors and environmental changes, almost all reactions come along with adaptations of signaling pathways which finally lead to proteomic and metabolomics changes. To generate knowledge on pathways involved in defensive reactions like systemic acquired resistance, different model systems are analyzed on molecular, as well as macroscopic level.

The symposium is supposed to take place in Goettingen, Germany, but depending on the COVID-19 situation in summer 2021, we might be forced to switch to an online symposium.

We will keep you updated on this website.


During the symposium, the doctoral students and senior researchers of the IRTG 2172 will discuss their most important research findings. In 2018, with the participation of graduate students within and outside Germany, including the IRTG members, we heard some insightful research in the field of plant immunity. Following on the similar lines, we encourage graduate students internationally working in the field of plant immune biology to join the event and present their work in this symposium.

Leading scientists in the field of plant immunity will present insights in their ongoing work. In combination with the presentations of the IRTG 2172 scientists, this two-day symposium will provide the perfect platform to discuss about most recent research findings, new methods, and to get in contact with experts in that area of research.

Confirmed invited speaker are:

• Sébastien Duplessis - INRA, Nancy, France
• Aardra Kachroo - University of Kentucky, USA
• Regine Kahmann - MPI of Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
• Jacqueline Monaghan - Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada
• Ralph Panstruga - Aachen University, Germany
• Tina Romeis - Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle, Germany
• Anton Schäffner - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany
• Eva Stukenbrock - University of Kiel, Germany
• Bart Thomma - University of Cologne, Germany
• Guido van den Ackerveken - Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Mary Williams - Features Editor, The Plant Cell, American Society of Plant Biologists