During her PhD studies, Malita Nørgaard investigated how legumes form symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This partnership, known as root nodule symbiosis, allows legume plants such as peas, chickpeas and beans to obtain essential nutrients and grow without the need for nitrogen fertilizers.

Her research maps important steps in how this plant-microbe communication is activated inside the plant. By improving our understanding of this process, the work contributes to long-term efforts aimed at transferring these beneficial symbiotic traits to non-legume crops. Such advances could help reduce global fertilizer use while maintaining sustainable food production.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Wednesday, January 14^th 2026 at 13:00
Place: Building 1871 room 120, Nucleus Auditorium, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C
Title of PhD thesis: SYMRK-mediated signal transduction in root nodule symbiosis
Contact information: Malita Nørgaard, e-mail: malitamn@mbg.au.dk, tel.: +45 31424950
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Katharina Markmann, Department of Botany, University of Würzburg, Germany
Professor Jens Preben Morth, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Professor Daan van Aalten (chair), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor:
Professor Kasper Røjkjær Andersen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor:
Nikolaj Birkebæk Abel, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
 

Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English. The defence is public.