The long-term goal

The indirect consequences of global warming include tremendous yield losses. Grain filling and germination is considered the most critical period for determination of the final yield in cereals. Our long-term goal is to produce stress resistant barley cultivars and to help to establish barley as future food grain. 

The ESCRT machinery as hub for protein trafficking in plant cells

During germination and grain filling, the endomembrane system undergoes dynamic morphological changes to accumulate and mobilize storage compounds. Unfortunately, the endomembrane system, specifically the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery, is strongly affected in response to abiotic stress. Within our group, we will make a step change in our knowledge concerning the function of the barley endomembrane system and ESCRT proteins with the aim to produce stress resistant barley cultivars and to help to establish barley as future food grain. 

As near as possible to nature

Plant performance is strongly affected by the environment conditions. Subsequently, results of controlled conditions of the lab are often not suitable to translate back to field conditions. Subsequently, we collect and analyze environmental parameter (soil temperature and water content in different depths, air temperature and light parameters during a field trail) to apply them to controlled lab conditions #asnearaspossibletonature.