Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
logo

The Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences (DCPS) is a research focus area of the Free University of Berlin that has existed since June 2009. The aim was to create an internationally active center in Berlin-Dahlem , a place with a long tradition in plant sciences. The Botanical Garden , one of the largest botanical gardens in the world, is also part of the Dahlem Center . Numerous disciplines of plant sciences are involved; interdisciplinary research collaborations are planned; Public relations , including information events for the general public, should be an important part of the location. The employees work in both research and teaching. Around 250 scientists and other employees work at the Dahlem Center .

History and goals

Already in the first decades of the 20th century there was an internationally important center for plant sciences in Berlin-Dahlem. The Dahlem Center builds on this historical foundation . The concentration of research and collections in the south-west of Berlin is unique in Germany. The Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences is supported with funds from the university's future concept, which was awarded as part of the Excellence Initiative. Research areas that have so far been working separately, such as molecular and cell biology , genetics , biochemistry , plant physiology , developmental biology , systematic botany , taxonomy , plant geography , ecology and pharmaceutical biology, will work together and new research fields will be developed. The research aims to contribute to a better understanding of plant diversity, to preserve it and to enable sustainable use. Sustainability is also an important concern when promoting young academics. Young scientists should be supported at the beginning of their careers. Seven independent junior research groups are currently researching here. Doctoral students are trained in the Graduate School Plant Sciences under the umbrella of the Dahlem Research School.

The DCPS is an important hub for regional, national and international networked plant research; it should make a name for itself internationally through the combination of molecular-biological and organism-oriented working groups and the cooperation with partner institutions.

Research priorities

The DCPS has two scientific leitmotifs: “Function and Diversity” and “Plant and Environment”. Research results from both areas should be made usable with regard to the sustainable use and protection of plant diversity. The spectrum ranges from the development of genetic resources (applied plant sciences) to the management of diverse ecosystems. Through public relations, the results are passed on to a wider audience in an understandable form. Research in the field of function and diversity is intended to generate new insights into the development of the morphological and functional diversity of plants during evolution . The evolution of new traits as well as the mechanisms of genome evolution are investigated by combining comparative genome research with phylogenetic, biochemical and molecular biological methods. Research topics are, for example, the origin and function of signal transmission processes in the plant cell, the role of numerous secondary plant metabolites , the uptake and utilization of nutrients and the development of morphological characteristics. The working basis is the rapidly growing information from genome sequencing . These meanwhile go far beyond the model plant foam cress ( Arabidopsis ), which has been the focus so far , and open up numerous new research approaches that will contribute to a better understanding of gene functions and the development of biological diversity. The close connection to the newly established Berlin Consortium for Genomics in Biodiversity Research plays a key role in the investigation of the sequence and structure of genomes.

Under the title “Plant and Environment”, plant functions and adaptive reactions will be investigated, which they have developed due to their sessile way of life and against the background of constantly changing environmental conditions. This complex topic requires a transdisciplinary approach to understand the context ( phylogeny , plant geography , ecology ) as well as the mechanisms ( physiology , biochemistry, molecular biology). Together with regional partners, the Dahlem Center has extensive research expertise. The study investigates the reaction of plants to abiotic stress factors such as strong light intensity, temperature extremes, lack of water availability and nutrient deficiencies as well as the biotic interactions of plants with other organisms such as insects or fungi . Working groups deal with topics as diverse as the reaction of plants to harmful organisms, the cellular memory of plants for environmental stress , the role of the root architecture in the colonization by fungi and its importance for the yield in agriculture and the strategies of neighboring plants to communicate with one another.

Structure and networking

The core of the Dahlem Center is made up of the plant scientists from the Institute of Biology, the central facility and working groups for pharmaceutical biology from the Institute of Pharmacy at the Free University of Berlin. The different subjects are all located on the campus of the Free University in Berlin-Dahlem. Experts from many other fields also work at the Free University of Berlin, so that interdisciplinary cooperation projects are quickly possible. The participation of geologists , lawyers and political scientists is essential, for example, in the implementation of environmentally relevant research projects. Without computer science and mathematics, the enormous amounts of data available can no longer be meaningfully evaluated.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Press release from 2010 , accessed on February 7, 2013

Coordinates: 52 ° 27 ′ 59 ″  N , 13 ° 17 ′ 59 ″  E