© Universität Bielefeld
Research topics & objectives
We study the mechanisms that control the activity of sets of genes which are together required to synthesize a specific bio-compound in plants.
The long standing research topics in plant biology are the analysis of (i) transcription factor gene families, (ii) transcription factor networks, (iii) structural and functional genomics of dicot plant genomes and (iv) translational genomics. The organisms we are working on are model plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) as well as crop plants (e.g. sugar beet, grapevine, rapeseed). We run several projects integrating molecular biology, high-throughput technology, genomics as well as postgenomics and applied bioinformatics.
The Chair was founded at Bielefeld University in 2003 with the designation "Genome Research" when the head, Prof. Dr. B. Weisshaar, moved to the Faculty of Biology at Bielefeld University from the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne. In 2018, the designation was updated to "Genetics and Genomics of Plants" (GGP).
Our projects use the strong technical infrastructure and the bioinformatics competence available at Bielefeld University. The chair is part of the CeBiTec (Center for Biotechnology - a "Zentrale wissenschaftliche Einrichtung") at Bielefeld University. With funding from various sources including the BMBF, the team includes about 25 people.
