Track and trace members of the plant microbiome with DNA barcodes

28-Mar-2024 - A research team led by Paul Schulze-Lefert from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany, developed a modular toolkit for tracking bacterial strains colonising plant tissue in competition with other microbiome members. The study is now published in Nature ...

A bacterial toolkit for colonizing plants

Using a novel experimental approach, Max Planck researchers have discovered a core set of genes required by commensal bacteria to colonize their plant hosts

20-Dec-2023 - Plants are colonized by an enormous variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea and fungi, that form complex communities, or microbiomes, on their roots and organs. Although invisible to the naked eye, the importance of these tiny inhabitants should not be underestimated. They play a ...

Structure of wheat immune protein resolved

Important tool in the battle for food security

29-Sep-2022 - Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and the University of Cologne in Germany together with colleagues from China have unravelled how wheat protects itself from a deadly pathogen. Their findings, published in the journal Nature, could be harnessed to make important ...

Molecules boosting plant immunity identified

Harnessing these insights may allow to design molecules that make plants more resistant to disease

12-Jul-2022 - Two studies published in the journal Science by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany in collaboration with colleagues in China have discovered natural cellular molecules that drive critical plant immune responses. These compounds have all the ...

Self-restrained genes enable evolutionary novelty

22-Nov-2019 - Changes in the genes that control development can potentially make large contributions to evolution by generating new morphologies in plants and animals. However, because developmental genes frequently influence many different processes, changes to their expression carry a risk of “collateral ...

GATC Biotech is a partner in decoding the genome of the pathogen Colletotrichum

Detailed information about the transcriptome help to understand the disease mechanism of a fungal pathogen

16-Nov-2012 - In collaboration with the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne GATC Biotech AG has decoded the genome of the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola. The recently published results show that gene expression plays a decisive role in plant disease. With this ...

Bacterial community inside the plant root

Plants choose the soil bacteria that they allow into their roots

07-Aug-2012 - Soil is the most species-rich microbial ecosystem in the world. From this incredible diversity, plants specifically choose certain species, give them access to the root and so host a unique, carefully selected bacterial community from which they then benefit in a variety of ways. To achieve this, ...

Mildew-resistant and infertile

29-Nov-2010 - Mildew infections not only cause unsightly vegetable patches, they can also result in extensive crop failure. Interestingly, the processes involved in infections with this garden pest are similar to those involved in fertilisation. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ...