Molecular Plant Breeding

The Molecular Plant Breeding group deals with application-orientated aspects of crop improvement on the molecular biological level. Within AlPlanta - Institut for plant research the group mainly engages in research into 'Fruit Crop Diseases' and 'Epigenetics'. New strategies are tested in both model plants and in crops.

As an example, in an approach to engineer a multiple virus resistance the plant defence mechanism Post-Transcriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS) will be induced specifically in squash. The project entitled 'Characterisation of the transcription factor SPL3 in rapeseed' deals with induced early flowering by over-expression of the SPL3 gene under special consideration of the miRNA regulation level. The SPL3 gene is a member the SPL gene family which encodes for plant specific transcription factors, which are highly conserved in the plant kingdom. SPL genes are involved in the regulation of different stages of the plant development. In Arabidopsis thaliana the expression of the SPL3 gene is regulated by miRNAs on the translational level. Within this project we intend to evaluate the possibility of making use of the miRNA regulation level for the fine regulation of transgene expression. This project is promoted by the Stiftung Rheinland Pfalz für Innovation. At AlPlanta - IPR our group is establishing new techniques: we are evaluating a system of Homologue Recombination for use in plant biotechnology. Furthermore we are interested in optimising transgene expression regarding their predictability and strengths. Here the use of Matrix Attachment Regions and the specific inhibition of a particular pathway of the plant's own RNA silencing will be combined.



Rapsseed plantlet regenerated from a
disk leaf explant		 Southern blot analysis of transgenic
offsprings


Projects (Raps)

Projects (Zucchini)




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