Groups A - Z

We study two major aspects of plant development: how it is shaped by spatiotemporal patterns of hormone signaling, and what are the ultimate cellular functions activated by hormones that lead to cell fates as disparate as proliferation, elongation or degeneration.

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We are performing comparative studies between the perennial Arabis alpina and the annual Arabidopsis thaliana to understand the molecular mechanisms that drove life strategy evolution within the Brassicaceae. [more]

We study the regulatory mechanisms that control the onset of reproduction in plants, how these are regulated by environmental cues and how they are modified with life history during plant evolution.

Our group uses and develops computational methods to investigate genome organization, genetic variation and trait diversity.

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In the Multitrophic Plant-Microbe Interactions group, we aim at understanding the fundamental mechanisms that underlie the structure and the functions of multi-kingdom microbial consortia colonizing plant roots. [more]

We investigate the genetic basis of phenotypic differences between the emerging model species Cardamine hirsuta and its relative Arabidopsis thaliana and examine the evolutionary processes underlying such differences. We focus on petal number variation and explosive pod shatter, which are traits found in C. hirsuta but not A. thaliana, and use parallel genetic studies to investigate the evolution of developmental processes controlling these traits.

SBP-box genes, which are the central interest of the group, code for transcription factors that are ubiquitous in photosynthetic organisms ranging from algae to trees.

The plant phyllosphere faces a broad range of harsh abiotic fluctuations such as strong radiation by sunlight, severe dryness alternating with raindrops hitting the leaves, wind and temperature fluctuations. [more]

Our research focuses on understanding the regulatory roles of three functionally interlinked RNAPII transcription regulatory modules that carry subunit homologs of TFIIH general transcription factor, SAGA transcriptional co-activator and spliceosome-activating NTC complexes in Arabidopsis. [more]

 

We’re interested in understanding how plants activate and fine-tune their innate immune responses. [more]

Our goal is to understand molecular basis of DNA repair and inactivation of repetitive DNA. To this end we use model species Arabidopsis thaliana and several other Brassicaceae [more]

The Protein Mass Spectrometry Service group performs large scale proteomic analyses for all research groups at the MPIPZ. [more]

Studies of the same process in different organisms reveal important basic features as well as adaptations to special functions. We focused on two model plants greatly differing in phylogenetic position [more]

Our main focus of our computational research group is combining algorithm development and integration of novel high-throughput technologies, with its actual application in plant biology. For this we explore the latest technologies in genomics, including long-read sequencing and genome mapping methods, develop methods and apply them to the current questions in plant genomics. Our main working models are Brassicaceae species - a plant family with a large variety of crop species and model organisms. [more]

Remarkably little is understood about plant-microbe interactions that are, at first glance, ‘symptomless’. These poorly studied plant microbiomes harbor an unknown reservoir of probiotic and plant protective associations. [more]

Our research uses mathematical and computer simulation techniques to investigate questions in plant development.

The plant innate immune system consists of two interconnected branches termed MTI (MAMP-Triggered Immunity) and ETI (Effector-Triggered Immunity) that initiate massive transcriptional reprogramming. [more]

We have focused our attention on the mechanisms controlling the initiation of lateral meristems. Our studies started with the characterization of two tomato mutants, lateral suppressor (ls) and blind (bl) [more]

We seek to address two fundamental questions in biology: how do biological forms develop and what is the basis for their diversity.

Plants sense molecules originating from pathogens and turn on a battery of immune responses. PAMP/pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) are well-defined modes of plant immunity against pathogens. [more]

Our group is interested in the regulatory mechanisms that control genes important in plant development. We are particularly interested in the development of new tools that are required to decipher the interconnections of transcriptional networks and chromatin in transcriptional control. [more]

The von Korff group uses natural genetic variation and quantitative genetics to unravel the genetic control of reproductive development in barley. [more]