Plant Biotechnology

Research topics & objectives

The research goal of the Plant Biotechnology group is to decipher the molecular mechanisms by which plants manage to adapt to changing environmental conditions in the context of global climate change.

In particular, we investigate plant signaling pathways under flooding (hypoxia) and salt stress. The focus of our studies is on the characterization of early-acting stress components (primarily transcription factors) and the stress sensors connected upstream of them. In addition, we investigate how stress-induced reprogramming at the transcript level translates into metabolic adaptation. The knowledge gained is to be used in further biotechnological approaches to improve the stress tolerance of European crops - especially cereal crops such as maize, barley and wheat.