Recent press releases

Host and resident bacteria join forces to control fungi in plant roots<br /> 
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) have discovered that diverse root-colonizing fungi can benefit plants, but only when they are kept in check by the host innate immune system and the bacteria residing in roots. [more]
Flowering of annual and perennial plants is delayed by changes in the position and number of <em>MADS</em>-box genes<br /> 
New study highlights the value of using genetic crosses and genomic comparisons between closely-related plant species. [more]
Accurate method for determining active genes<br /> 
The total DNA of an organism is significantly more extensive than the actual genome used. A consortium of German and U.S. researchers involving the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne (MPIPZ) and the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) developed a method in order to determine all regions of the active genome in a single analysis. They present their results using the crop plant maize in the current issue of the journal PLoS Genetics.
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Of oil, wine and friends, the oldest is the best: root-associated bacteria preferentially colonize their native host-plant roots
An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and the University of Åarhus in Denmark have discovered that bacteria from the plant microbiota are adapted to their host species. In a newly published study, they show how root-associated bacteria have a competitive advantage when colonizing their native host, which allows them to invade an already established microbiota. [more]
Belowground microbial solutions to aboveground plant problems
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) have discovered that signalling occurring from the response of plant leaves to light, and plant roots to microbes, is integrated along a microbiota-root-shoot axis to boost plant growth when light conditions are suboptimal. [more]
Identity of an induced protein complex linking pathogen-activated immune receptors to rapid mobilization of immunity
Scientists from MPIPZ in collaboration with the Sainsbury Laboratory (UK) find a long sought after complex between two conserved plant-specific protein families that connect pathogen-activated immune complexes to defence outputs. [more]
Plant-microbe homeostasis: a delicate balancing act
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have shown that the presence of both immune-suppressive and non-suppressive bacteria in the plant root microbiota is crucial to strike a balance between plant growth and plant defence. [more]
<p>The synaptonemal complex limits meiotic crossover and  imposes crossover interference</p>
A team in the department of Chromosome Biology at MPIPZ in collaboration with INRAE of Versailles France, explored the function of the synaptonemal complex. [more]
<em>MICRORNA</em> genes that promote flowering of Arabidopsis
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne have shown how individual members of the MIR172 gene family promote flowering.

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Plant homeodomain proteins promote synthesis of the hormone auxin to help leaves grow wide
Recent findings presented by Dr. Zhongjuan Zhang, Dr. Miltos Tsiantis and their colleagues offer important advances in our understanding of morphological diversity using plant leaves as an example [more]
A plant immune receptor: it takes four to tango
A collaborative study on a plant intracellular immune receptor from researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) also reveals some common operational principles with immunity proteins from humans. [more]
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