...

Department of Comparative Development and Genetics at Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research

Besök webbplats

Om arbetsgivaren

Welcome to the homepage of our department that started its activities in 2013 with the relocation of the Director Miltos Tsiantis from the University of Oxford. We seek to address two fundamental questions in biology: how do biological forms develop and what is the basis for their diversity? To address these questions we first aim to elucidate how genotypes are translated into organismal forms through the process of morphogenesis. Secondly, we seek to conceptualize how the balance of conservation versus divergence in morphogenetic regulatory networks yields different organismal forms during evolution. We approach these problems using genetics, while also employing biological imaging, genomics and computational modelling. We believe that working at the interface of these areas will allow us to attain a predictive understanding of how biological forms develop and diversify.

Our research programme is empowered by the use of Cardamine hirsuta (Hairy bittercress), a common weed we developed as a model system for studies in evolution of development. C. hirsuta is related to the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Thale cress) and, like A. thaliana, is amenable to both forward and reverse genetics approaches, including efficient transgenesis. However, C. hirsuta and A. thaliana differ in key morphological traits, including leaf shape, shoot branching, floral structure and fruit development, so comparative studies between these two species can greatly enrich our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms driving evolution of form. The analysis of both induced and natural variation within this comparative framework, coupled with broader phylogenetically informed studies across seed plants, will help us to understand the genetic basis for evolutionary change.

Arbetsgivarplats

Liknande arbetsgivare

...
KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Sverige 107 lediga jobb
...
University of Luxembourg Luxemburg 100 lediga jobb
...
KU Leuven Leuven, Belgien 89 lediga jobb
...
Ghent University Gent, Belgien 69 lediga jobb
...
ETH Zürich Zürich, Schweiz 61 lediga jobb
Fler arbetsgivare

Intressanta artiklar

...
5 Reasons to Pursue Your PhD at EMBL European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) 4 min läsning
...
Deciphering the Gut’s Clues to Our Health University of Turku 5 min läsning
...
Understanding Users to Optimise 3D Experiences Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) 5 min läsning
...
Harnessing the Rhizosphere to Protect Our Soil Free University of Bozen - Bolzano 5 min läsning
Fler stories