Research projects

Research at the Department of Phytopathology:

To foster food security, new plant protection strategies are needed, which is also in line with EU policies on the replacement of chemical disease control by 2030 to enhance eco-/sustainability in crop production and to improve food and feed safety. At the Department of Phytopathology, we explore the organisation of immunity in plant roots and plant symbioses to identify new genetic protection traits against pathogens. In addition, we examine non-coding RNAs as a currently untapped resource for the development of environmentally friendly, non-chemical crop-protecting biologicals.

Research projects:

Beneficial effectors - symbiont-guided plant protection
– Patrick Schäfer

Regulatory organisation of root immunity at cell type resolution
– Ruth Schäfer

Functional root ecology –plant fitness and resistance priming
– Jennifer Thielmann

Non-coding RNAs for crop protection
– Karl-Heinz Kogel, Patrick Schäfer

• Non-coding RNA application and uptake mechanisms
  – Maria Ladera Carmona
• Role of non-coding RNAs in beneficial symbioses
  – Ena Šečić, Jens Steinbrenner
• Cross-kingdom RNA interference (RNAi) in in pathogen control
  – Bernhard Timo Werner

Networking, transfer and evaluation measure on the promotion of innovations in non-chemical plant protection methods in horticulture 
- Matteo Galli