Research Prof. Dr. Arp Schnittger
Meiosis in anthers (Photo: UHH/Prusicki)
A tight control of cell division is essential for all living organisms. Several conditions must be met to allow progression through the cell cycle, e.g. a cell must verify, whether the nuclear DNA is completely replicated, whether the DNA is damaged, and whether another division is foreseen by the developmental program.
Due to their fundamentally different life history compared to animals and yeasts, plants add key insights into the question how cell division was controlled in early eukaryotes. Our research aims for an understanding of the evolution of complex regulatory mechanisms. Conversely, the here-gained knowledge represents a solid base to explore new possibilities to boost yield or improve stress resistance.
Meiosis is a special type of cell division, which represents the base for sexual reproduction and is key to biological diversity. With this, meiosis is also key for genome evolution and has a major impact on speciation. For these reasons, a detailed understanding of and the possibility to modify meiosis is also of central interest for biotechnological applications.
However, in spite of its importance for the life cycle of many eukaryotes and its great potential for applications, many central aspects of meiosis and their underlying molecular machinery have not yet been unraveled. This is the starting point for our research, which aims at a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of meiosis and at the development of new breeding applications.