Research collaboratives

The mission of the Research Training Group „Biota-mediated effects on Carbon cycling in Estuaries“ (BiCEst) is to provide Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers an outstanding platform for their career development and to systematically analyze the role of indirect effects of biota (IEB) on estuarine C cycling.

Despite the enormous importance of hybridization processes in biology, central questions on fundamental aspects of hybridization are still unknown. This project investigates selected characteristics and patterns of hybridization by using an interdisciplinary approach in which different areas of biology, from molecular biology to ecology, collaborate with climate research.

An essential consequence of multi-cellularity is the need for intercellular and tissue wide communication. As seen with animals, higher plants coordinate metabolic and developmental processes via signals transferred to different body parts. Plants use a dual vascular system consisting of phloem and xylem for long-distance transfer of metabolites and signalling molecules.

Systems-level approaches to explore molecular mechanisms and agronomic applications

The research focus of the DFG Research Unit 5116 is on the phenomenon of cross-kingdom RNA communication and RNA interference in plant-microbe interactions, including pathogenic and mutualistic biosystems. We aim to understand the mechanisms behind interorganismic RNA-based communication as a prerequisite for future applications in agriculture.

The major focus of PERICLES are biota-climate-feedbacks. These include relatively well-studied effects of climate and climatic change on biota, and the so far almost neglected effects of biota and their interactions on climate and climatic change. Our vision is to understand these complex interactions in ecosystems along the transition from marine to terrestrial regions in the Northern Hemisphere.