The Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben (IPK) is a research center that deals with issues of modern biology, mainly by studying cultivated plant species. Pioneering research to uncover fundamental principles of plant performance and the development of enabling technologies are considered to be of paramount importance in understanding the genetic architecture and the evolution of crop plants at the organismic, the chromosomal and the DNA level. Knowledge-based strategies are developed to facilitate the targeted utilization of biological diversity for the sustainable production of food, feed and renewable resources. These efforts are complemented by the development of transgenic approaches to improve plant performance. The institute is structured into four scientific departments:
- Genebank
- Cytogenetics and Genome Analysis
- Molecular Genetics, and
- Molecular Cell Biology
The research program highlights three major themes: Crop plant diversity, dynamics of plant genomes, and integrative biology of plant performance. While fundamental questions are mainly studied using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, questions of applied science are investigated in a variety of crop species. In this regard barley (Hordeum vulgare) is of central importance due to its agronomic value and because its genome serves as a model for cereal species of the Triticeae tribe that also includes other important crops such as wheat and rye. To further promote research into the Triticeae, the institute heads an international consortium to physically map and sequence the barley genome. At the Plant Genome Resources Centre (PGRC) biological resources and enabling technologies are developed such as molecular markers and cereal transformation. A comprehensive program on bioinformatics is tightly interlaced with the experimental research programs to support research into structural and functional genomics and to foster systems-oriented approaches.As a leading center for plant research the IPK sustains widespread collaborations at the national and international level. In addition to their research IPK scientists are engaged in teaching undergraduate and graduate students at eight universities including the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences.
Conservation and Exploitation
of Crop Plant Diversity
The Federal ex situ Genebank in Gatersleben and its branches at the Baltic Sea mainly preserve crop plants of the temperate climate zone including cultivars, land races and their wild relatives. The collection presently comprises 148,000 accessions from about 3,000 botanical species and 800 genera. While the majority of accessions are maintained as seed at low temperatures, clonally propagated plants are preserved in fields, in vitro, or as cryo-cultures at -196°C in liquid nitrogen. Taxonomic reference collections serve as an international information center holding about 450,000 voucher specimen. Every year about 15,000 samples are distributed world-wide. An online information system is available (http://gbis.ipk-gatersleben.de/gbis_i/) for searching and ordering genebank material. The Federal ex situ Genebank refers to more than 60 years of experience in conservation management and stands for quality, reliability, transparency and accountability.
To ensure the continuous fulfilment of these goals, a quality management system has been established, complying with the DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 standards. Research into crop plant diversity ranges from the improvement of the collection management to crop plant taxonomy including speciation, adaptation and radiation of crop plants and their wild relatives. High throughput marker analysis and re-sequencing approaches are used to scrutinize the impact of domestication and adaptation on the diversity of crop plant genomes. Strong emphasis is put on the development of genomics-based strategies for an improved utilization of genetic resources. This includes identification and isolation of genes underlying agronomic traits, for instance, the response to biotic and abiotic stresses, plant architecture, and phenology as well as yield components. Knowledge on the structure and function of genes is applied to identify novel alleles from the Genebank collection through „allele mining“.
Dynamics of Plant Genomes
The traditional view of eukaryotic genomes as static entities is increasingly complemented by insights into the dynamic alterations that genomes display during development and evolution. In this context the IPK is a leading center for research on plant genomes bridging the levels of molecular genetics and cytogenetics. Major research topics in this field focus on structure, function, plasticity, and evolution of nuclear genomes at the DNA and the chromosomal level with emphasis on essential chromosomal domains such as centromeres, telomeres, nucleolus organizers, euchromatin, and heterochromatin. Genetic (polyploidization, interspecific hybridization, apomixis, mutagenesis, repair, recombination) and epigenetic (DNA methylation, post-translational histone modifications, RNAi) mechanisms, which are responsible for stability or variability of genomes, are studied as to their impact on gene expression. Transcriptome analyses, molecular/chromosomal marker techniques, forward and reverse genetic as well as bioinformatic approaches are applied to identify, map, isolate, and transfer genes of crop and model plants that are of economic interest and encode disease resistances or nutrition efficiency, or determine the mode of reproduction. Marker systems are developed and used for the identification and characterization of the genetic resources held at the Genebank. Special germplasm stocks (barley, field bean, and other crops) with gene and chromosome mutations are developed as tools to study various aspects of genome dynamics, and are maintained within the framework of the individual research programs.
Integrative Biology of Plant Performance
Another major focus of the Institute`s work is to understand and improve the performance of crop plants. We have chosen an integrative approach, which strives to generate a holistic understanding of specific aspects of plant performance such as storage activities during seed development, biomass production and plant strategies to cope with stress. Multidisciplinary investigations incorporating a strong component of bioinformatics provide the prerequisite for process modelling as part of a systems biology approach. Since seeds are the major source to feed mankind, several research groups are investigating fertilization-related processes in cereals, grain legumes, Arabidopsis and other species, including apomixis and the molecular genetics and physiology of seed development, with a focus on storage product synthesis. Regulatory networks including transcription factors, hormones, and other small molecules such as sugars and nitric oxide are investigated, and transgenic approaches used to, for instance, increase wheat grain protein content or improve plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Research on fertilization and seed formation is complemented by the investigation of vegetative biomass production using Arabidopsis as a model species and maize as a crop plant. Exploiting natural diversity subjected to genetic, physiological, biochemical, and developmental analyses, relations between genetic factors, metabolic status, and growth rate are investigated.
Molecular processes and genetic mechanisms such as heterosis, which are responsible for strong plant performance, are studied, and genes, genetic markers, and biomarkers that may serve as future tools to increase crop productivity are sought.
Resources and Platform Technologies
Research at IPK is characterized by interdisciplinary approaches including Plant Taxonomy, Molecular- and Cytogenetics, Plant Physiology, Biochemistry, and Bioinformatics. Experimental approaches are based on a broad spectrum of analytical platforms and enabling technologies as well as biological resources including molecular markers, BAC libraries, mutagenesis, population development, cereal transformation, DNA sequencing, metabolic profiling (HPLC, GC, MS), electron- and confocal microscopy.
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