Hidden teamwork: how plant root molecules interact with bacteria to unlock essential nutrients from soils

A new study, led by Paul Schulze-Lefert from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne in collaboration with Ricardo F.H. Giehl at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, revealed how Arabidopsis plants adapt their chemical communication with the bacterial root microbiota to maximise the acquisition of bio-unavailable iron from acidic or calcareous soils. The study is now published in Cell.

Ancient genome function persists despite frequent mutations
 

A research team led by Heinrich Heine University (HHU) Düsseldorf and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) in Cologne has investigated how mutations have shaped the DNA sequences of centromeres over time.

Sex without the shuffle – a plant that breaks the rules of inheritance

In a new study, now published in Nature, an international team, led by André Marques at the MPIPZ has shown that the Brazilian beak-sedge Rhynchospora tenuis reproduces sexually, but has completely lost the reshuffling of DNA between the chromosomes from each parent.

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.