Department of Plant Breeding

Research

Current research interests of the JLU Giessen Department of Plant Breeding cover various aspects of genome analysis and molecular breeding of oilseed rape, wheat, sorghum and barley. The current research group comprises three senior scientists/group leaders, seven postdocs and 12 PhD students, assisted by numerous technicians, MSc and BSc students. The research is funded by grants from DFG, BMBF, BMEL/FNR, EU and GFPi along with additional private-public partnerships and scholarships.

The main research focus is on combining functional and structural genomics with field-based and controlled-environment evaluation of crop populations for analysis of complex quantitative traits. Target traits include seed quality, emergence and seedling development, nutrient use efficiency, biotic and abiotic stress resistance, pollen fertility, flowering time, heterosis and yield. Special emphasis is placed on the use of next-generation DNA sequencing technologies for SNP discovery, sequencing-based mapping, ultradeep global transcriptome analysis, population epigenomics and polyploid genome structure analysis. The group members are involved in numerous national and international research consortia with partners in Germany, France, Australia, UK, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and China.