Cellular Networks in Focus - Focus Area Plant Genomics and Systems Biology

The scientists of the Focus Area Plant Genomics and Systems Biology both analyze how genetic information is translated into cellular functions and study their regulation. They want to know which genes are responsible for certain functions in an organism and how different genes have an effect in combination with others.

The results obtained in these research areas promise considerable progress in finding answers to pressing questions from all areas of our everyday life: The world population is growing rapidly. While the area under cultivation remains the same, more and more plants are necessary, not just for food but also for the production of energy and raw materials. Last but not least, climate change has a negative effect on the quantity of harvest in some areas. We need to breed new cultivar that can adjust to various local conditions more easily and can cover the increasing demand. For such new breeds of plants, a clear understanding of metabolic pathways in plants and genetic control mechanisms are indispensable. Analyzing the enormous quantity of data generated with the help of highly-developed genomic research technologies make it inevitably necessary to cooperate with Systems Biology. The results obtained are screened using bioinformatic procedures and are processed mathematically to simulate cellular and physiological processes. The aim is to generate a model that can predict plant growth. Such a systematic scrutiny provides also comprehensive findings about the reaction of cells and organisms to the administration of drugs. This can improve, for example, the therapies for diseases like cancer and AIDS.

"With the latest methods of biochemistry, genetics, and bioinformatics, we explore the secrets of life. New findings are introduced into plant breeding and increasingly important biotechnology."

Prof. Dr. Bernd Müller-Röber
Spokesperson for the Focus Area Plant Genomics and Systems Biology

Photos: Susanne Hollmann

The Focus Area Plant Genomics and Systems Biology rests on twelve professorships of the Faculty of Science of the University of Potsdam. In addition, it is an integral part of a network that includes numerous extramural institutions, such as the Max Planck Institutes of Molecular Plant Physiology and of Colloids and Interfaces, the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research and for Biomedical Engineering, the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops in Großbeeren and several others. Due to this close cooperation of the focus area, both internally and externally, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Union (EU) have funded research projects repeatedly and very successfully.

For more details please consult
Focus Area Plant Genomics and Systems Biology (Homepage)

back