The mission of the TDCC NES is to build networks with a natural science and engineering domain-focus to stimulate collaborative projects that address digital competencies and strengthen digital research. It aims to address priorities identified by the community, and take direction from the community. Carrying out the coordination of this work is the TDCC NES office, established during 2022 - 2023. Through open communication and events, and with the guidance of a governing board, they will build a national expertise network that will collaborate on projects that address the challenges identified in the road map.

Many plant species defend themselves against arthropod and insect pests with multicellular glandular trichomes, which produce specialized defense metabolites. The effectiveness of this defense barrier critically depends on trichome density. Trichome density is regulated by phytohormones, including the defense hormone jasmonic acid (JA). Whereas the regulatory networks controlling the formation of the unicellular, non-glandular trichomes of Arabidopsis are well-known, knowledge about initiation of multicellular, glandular trichomes is limited. The current idea is that formation of the two types of trichomes is controlled by distinct regulatory networks that evolved independently in Rosids (Arabidopsis, cotton) and Asterids (tomato, petunia, tobacco).This proposal aims at identifying regulators of glandular trichome formation in tomato. The approach is to screen for proteins that interact with two of the putative regulators that are currently known. One of these regulators connects JA signaling to trichome density. Knowledge about glandular trichome formation is critical for breeding programs aiming at increasing trichome density in commercial tomato varieties that are currently poorly defended.

Improve the protein factory Soil fungi, such as Aspergillus niger, play a crucial role in nature in recycling plant remains. These remains are broken down by enzymes that are secreted by fungi. By genetically modifying Aspergillus niger, we can make specific enzymes in large quantities. Because the chemical industry is becoming increasingly dependent on biomass as a raw material, the need for certain enzymes is increasing sharply. In this project, an improved, high-producing Aspergillus niger host strain is designed to produce enzymes derived from Aspergillus or other organisms and bring them to market.

How we perceive sounds is strongly influenced by biases in our brain. For example, we all start hearing a beat in a continuous string of notes that never contained a beat. How did such biases evolve? To answer this question, I will study whether animals have similar biases. Biases that are shared amongst species, are most likely to have strong evolutionary roots.