The University of Potsdam - A portrait
Profile
Plants - A Field of Innovation
Focus Area Plant Genomics/Systems Biology
Photo: K. Fritze
Plants are able to adapt to changes in their environment. What role do genes play in this? And how can the adaptation process be influenced? In light of rapidly progressing climate change, these questions are gaining increasing importance.
In the Focus Area Plant Genomics/Systems Biology, the molecular and cellular networks that steer processes in plants are decoded and translated into mathematical models. This allows for a better understanding of biological processes, facilitates the identification of key cellular elements, and supports the development of new biotechnological methods.
GoFORSYS, the center for systems biology, is part of the focus area and analyzes, for example, the connection between photosynthesis and biomass production. For now, the algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii serves as a model system. The knowledge gained about this single cell organism will later be used for higher plants, including cultivated plants. The goal is to be able to make predictions on plant growth and biomass production and to contribute scientific know-how to plant breeding.
Regionally, the university's focus area is tightly connected with the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam-Golm. Furthermore, there are intensive contacts with the Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops in Großbeeren and the Berlin universities as well as with leading centers of plant genomics and systems biology - in Germany and internationally.
The collaborative working group "GoFORSYS" consists
of researchers from the university and
the Max Planck Institute and has made Potsdam
a leading center in Germany for plant systems biology.
Prof. Dr. Bernd Müller-Röber,
Spokesperson for the Focus Area
Plant Genomics/Systems Biology
Photo: MPI
