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Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research

At our institute we wish to determine whether and how a detailed understanding of molecular mechanisms defined in model plant species can be used to rationally manipulate selected traits in crop plants.
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CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences enters third funding round

There has been much rejoicing in Düsseldorf, Gatersleben, Jülich and Cologne today: the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science and Humanities Council (WR) announced that the joint CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence (“SMART Plants in Dynamic Environments”) has also been successful in the current funding round of the Excellence Strategy.
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For an Open and Tolerant Society
 

Statement by the Max Planck Institutes in Cologne

Press Releases

Flower
How centromeres enable a special form of reproduction
Scanning Electron Microscopy image
A study from the group of Hirofumi Nagakami at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research has shown how a versatile protein family may have helped plants colonize land. We sat down with Dr. Nagakami to learn more about this study and the work of his group in general. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
 
potato plant
Researchers from LMU and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research have reconstructed the genomes of ten historic potato cultivars and show that they already cover 85 percent of the total variability of modern European potatoes.
 MetaFlowTrain system
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research have developed an innovative system – called MetaFlowTrain – that allows the study of metabolic exchange and interactions within microbial communities under different environmental conditions. The study is now published in Nature Communications.
 

News

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Prof. Dr. Miltos Tsiantis, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and head of the Department of Comparative Development and Genetics, receives an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The prestigious funding will support his project CLONAL, aimed at advancing our understanding of clonal reproduction by root sucker formation.

Communications

Science stepped out of the lab and into the pub as the international Pint of Science Festival…
There has been much rejoicing in Düsseldorf, Gatersleben, Jülich and Cologne today: the German…

Girls' Day 2025

April 08, 2025

Exciting insights into plant research

Events & Seminars

Xuehua Zhong: Epigenetic regulation of development plasticity and environmental adaptation

Jun 25, 2025 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPIPZ, Room: Lecture hall

Dominique Bergmann: Flexible organ development for a changing world

Jul 2, 2025 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPIPZ, Room: Lecture hall

Offene Gartenpforte Rheinland / Open Showgarden

Jul 13, 2025 01:00 PM - 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
WissenschaftsScheune, Room: Schaugarten

Career

PhD Program
Together with our University partners in Cologne and Düsseldorf we train about 90 mostly international doctoral students and are inviting talented young researchers to apply for individual open positions and to our structured IMPRS programme.
Postdoc Program
Since 2019, all MPIPZ postdocs take part of a Career Development Program. This program aims to support them success in their careers.
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