24 November 2023 Tiny worms, big damage – KNAW funding for nematode research Back to news The group of Rik Korswagen, in collaboration with Wageningen University, receives funding from the ‘Onderzoeksfonds KNAW-instituten’ to study plant parasitic nematodes – roundworms that harm plants and thereby form a significant threat to world wide food security. Plant parasitic nematodes, such as root knot and cyst nematodes, form a significant threat to world wide food safety. In this project, researchers will try to find new methods to beat these plant parasites. They will use advanced technologies to look at the smallest building blocks of plants: the cells. By studying gene expression in individual cells they will try to unravel the secret host genes that the nematodes need to feed themselves and harm the plant. You can also read more about the other five projects that were funded by the ‘Onderzoeksfonds KNAW-instituten’ (in Dutch). Rik Korswagen is group leader at the Hubrecht Institute and professor of Molecular Developmental Genetics at Utrecht University.
