Biodiversity of Crop Plants

Welcome to the Lüthje Lab!

Our research group studies oxidative stress in plants, ROS signaling and the molecular mechanisms of these reactions, with a focus on redox reactions and peroxidases of the secretory pathway. Our main questions are: What redox components are located in the cell membrane (plasmalemma, plasma membrane)? Do these act independently or together in an electron transport chain and what is their function? What is the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and what are the molecular mechanisms of their production and detoxification? How do plants respond to extreme weather, environmental pollution and multiple stresses?
We use a wide variety of techniques to address these topics, including molecular biology and genetics, biochemistry, proteomics, bioinformatics and imaging techniques, whole plant physiology and in vitro systems. Plasma membranes are the major system under investigation, with studies on its lipid and protein composition, alterations by different stressors and regulation of redox systems and other proteins. Most of our research is conducted using the genetic model plant maize, but we also have projects on other cereals, legumes, and the model plants Medicago truncatula, Arabidopsis thaliana and Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.

We are teaching in BSc/BA Biology, BSc Molecular Life Science, MSc Biology and MSc Molecular Life Science. We suppervise BSc and MSc theses of different  degree programmes and PhD theses within our research projects.