Primary focus of the Institute is research into crop plant species such as barley, wheat, maize, rapeseed and potato. In addition, fundamental questions of plant evolution, domestication, and the molecular underpinnings of plant traits are investigated in model plants. Research in four scientific departments is clustered around three topics:
- Conservation, development and utilisation of plant genetic resources,
- Plant genome dynamics and
- Integrative biology of plant performance.
A collection of about 151,000 different cultivars, land races and crop wild relatives from the temperate region are stored in the Federal ex situ Genebank. With about 800 different genera it is the largest genebank in Western Europe. The characterisation of plant material at various levels (genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome) together with the use of innovative phenotyping technologies deliver knowledge and resources for developing drought tolerant or disease resistant high-yielding crop plants.
Scientists from more than 30 countries build a stimulating multidisciplinary environment. Young researchers especially benefit from the recently established Leibniz Graduate School on yield formation with lectures, technical and soft skill courses.
