Research Portfolios
Plant Evolution and Systematics
An integrative phylogenetic approach to elucidate the evolution of plant diversity
Prof. Dr. Elena Conti, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Systematic Botany
The fundamental goal of my research is to understand the evolution of plant diversity. To achieve this goal, I integrate...
Crop Improvement
Cassava biotechnology research
Dr. Hervé Vanderschuren, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Cassava (<i>Manihot esculenta</i> Crantz) is an important starchy food crop in the tropics and subtropics. Our cassava...
Plant Biotechnology
Cereal biotechnology research for crop improvement
Dr. Navreet K. Bhullar, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Cereals, such as rice and wheat, are important source of food worldwide but they contain very low levels of bioavailable...
Genetics of Photosynthesis
Chloroplast biogenesis and light acclimation
Prof. Dr. Michel Goldschmidt-Clermont, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
Chloroplasts are organelles of the plant cell that specialize in photosynthesis. In this process, light energy from the...
Acclimation to Changing Environmental Conditions
Chloroplast signaling
Prof. Dr. Jean-David Rochaix, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
Plants and algae are constantly subjected to changes in light quality and quantity and need to adapt rapidly to maintain...
Molecular Genetics of Plant Development
Chromatin and transcriptome dynamics during sexual plant reproduction
Dr. Célia Baroux, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology
Sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves several cell fate transitions: (i) vegetative-to-reproductive...
Plant Genetics and Development
Crop breeding and genomics
Dr. Zerihun Tadele, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
Research in my group focuses on increasing the productivity of crops in order to contribute towards alleviating the...
Plant Developmental Genetics
Cytokinin's role in embryonic root stem-cell formation
Dr. Bruno Müller, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology
Despite the essential role of plants to support animal life on earth, our understanding of plant developmental processes...
Epigenetics
Epigenetic control of gene expression
Dr. Etienne Bucher, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Institute of Botany
Epigenetics encompasses a variety of highly conserved molecular mechanisms that provide an additional layer of...
Epigenetics in Plants
Epigenetics in plants
Prof. Dr. Jerzy Paszkowski, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
Our research focuses on the transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic information in plants and on the molecular...
Plant Evolutionary Genomics
Evolutionary genomics of plant adaptation and speciation
Prof. Dr. Christian Lexer, BeNeFri, University of Fribourg, Dept. of Biology
Understanding the genetics of adaptation, reproductive isolation and speciation has always been of great interest to...
Plant Evolutionary Ecology
Experimental and evolutionary ecology of plants in changing environments
Dr. Oliver Bossdorf, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
I am particularly interested in plant intraspecific variation, the different causes of this variation (phenotypic...
Forage Crop Genetics
Forage Crop Genetics
Prof. Dr. Bruno Studer, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
The implemented Forage Crop Genetics group mainly aims at developing genetic and genomic tools that can assist plant...
Plant Developmental Genetics
Genetic and epigenetic control of plant reproduction
Prof. Dr. Ueli Grossniklaus, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology
Our research centers on the genetic and epigenetic control of plant reproduction. We are interested in both sexual...
Molecular Genetics and Evolution
Genetics and evolution of the mycorrhizal symbiosis
Prof. Dr. Ian R. Sanders, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution
Our work focuses on the mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. The symbiosis occurs...
Plant Ecological Genomics
Genome dynamics and reproductive isolation
Dr. Christian Parisod, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
Our research is mainly focused on the impact of Transposable Elements - or jumping genes - on polyploid evolution (i.e....
Plant Evolutionary Genetics
Genome-wide patterns of nucleotide diversity and divergence in wild tomatoes (Solanum section Lycopersicon)
Dr. Thomas Städler, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Under a genealogical (coalescent) perspective, DNA sequence data obtained from many unlinked genes contain footprints of...
Plant Ecological Genetics
Grass endophytes
Prof. Dr. Adrian Leuchtmann, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Symbiotic associations between organisms are common in ecosystems, but mutual benefits may be conditional depending on...
Evolutionary Functional Genomics / Systems Biology
How genomic changes promote adaptation and speciation in Arabidopsis relatives and in tropical trees
Prof. Dr. Kentaro Shimizu, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
Darwin proposed the first conclusive theory to explain biodiversity with two principles: adaptation by natural...
Evolutionary Biology
Limits to the adaptive evolution process
Prof. Dr. Yvonne Willi, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
The process of adaptive evolution – in the simplest models – occurs as long as selection acts on the population and...
Molecular and Cellular Plant-Virus Interactions
Macromolecular trafficking and intercellular communication in plants
Dr. Manfred Heinlein, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Institute of Botany
Intercellular communication in plants plays pivotal roles in the orchestration of development and defence responses and...
MicroRNAs and siRNAs in Plant Development
Molecular analysis of plant small RNAs regulations
Dr. Franck Vazquez, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Institute of Botany
RNA silencing processes are recently discovered RNA dependent processes involved in controlling the expression and...
Plant Developmental Genetics, Hormone Signaling
Molecular genetic control of seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana
Prof. Dr. Luis Lopez-Molina, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
Land plant’s success to colonize different continental environments lies in part in their ability to produce seeds:...
Plant Photoreceptor-Mediated Signal Transduction
Molecular mechanisms of light-regulated growth and development in plants
Prof. Dr. Christian Fankhauser, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Center for Integrative Genomics
Both genetic and environmental factors influence growth and development of any living organism. Plant development is...
Plant Population Biology
Plant adaptation and genetic connectivity in the face of climate change
Dr. Andrea R. Pluess, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystems
Plants are expected to react to climate change with adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, migration or extinction. Given...
Functional Genomics
Plant genetic networks – from databases to computational modeling
Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Gruissem, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Using a systems biology approach, we are modeling biochemical pathways and regulatory processes that affect plant...
Plant Molecular Biology-Metabolic Pathways
Plant metabolic pathways and phosphate homeostasis
Prof. Dr. Yves Poirier, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Department of Plant Molecular Biology
There are presently three main axes of research within our laboratory. ...
Plant Molecular Biology
Plant molecular biology
Prof. Dr. Edward Farmer, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Department of Plant Molecular Biology
We work on the jasmonate pathway which controls plant immunity to herbivores. Jasmonates are lipid-derived molecules...
Plant Pathology
Plant pathology
Prof. Dr. Cesare Gessler, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Cesare Gessler has been active in plant pathology at ETH for 35 years. During 2003-2008 he also led a research centre in...
Plant Biochemistry
Plant primary metabolism - From basic research to crop productivity
Prof. Dr. Samuel Zeeman, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
The domestication of crops was a landmark in the development of human civilisation. Today, most of our food and many of...
Plant Systematic and Biodiversity
Plant systematic and biodiversity laboratory
Prof. Dr. Daniel Jeanmonod, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
From ecosystems to genes, the lab concentrates on the study of plants and fungi, as well as the biodiversity that they...
Evolutionary Genomics
Polyploidization and stress response in plants
Dr. Rie Shimizu-Inatsugi, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
Polyploidization is a frequently observed phenomenon in plant species. It has played an important role as a driving...
Plant Pathology
Population genetics and evolutionary biology of plant pathogenic fungi
Prof. Dr. Bruce McDonald, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Plant pathogens evolve rapidly to overcome the disease control strategies that are deployed against them. Resistance...
Plant Physiology
Protein import in choloroplast
Dr. Charles Andrès, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
The Chloroplast is the site of photosynthesis in plants. Most of the chloroplast proteins must be imported from the...
Molecular Plant-Microbe interactions, Plant Nutrition
Regulation of growth, nutrition, and symbiosis in plants
PD Dr. Didier Reinhardt, BeNeFri, University of Fribourg, Dept. of Biology
In symbiotic interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, the plant attracts the microbial partner with chemical...
Plant Molecular Biology
The cereal genomes: hidden treasures for evolutionary genomics and agronomy
Prof. Dr. Beat Keller, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology
We are studying the genomes of the grass species wheat, barley and rice to analyze genome evolution in cereals. Plant...
Molecular Genetics & Natural Genetic Variation
The molecular basis of plant growth & development
Prof. Dr. Christian Hardtke, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Department of Plant Molecular Biology
A central feature of plant development is the post-embryonic formation of the majority of plant organs in a reiterative...
Plant Molecular Physiology and Biochemistry
The role of carbon metabolism in drought stress tolerance
Dr. Diana Santelia, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology
Our lab is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of carbon partitioning (between starch and sugars) at...
Biodiversity and Evolution
Understanding plant speciation and diversification patterns
Dr. Yamama Naciri, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
I am interested in understanding speciation and diversification patterns of plants, questioning the role of adaptation...
Plant Ecological Genetics
Understanding the genetic basis of ecological and evolutionary processes
Prof. Dr. Alex Widmer, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Our work aims at understanding the genetic basis of ecological and evolutionary processes. To achieve this goal, we...
Plant Biochemistry and Physiology
Vitamin metabolism and its relations to environmental stress
Prof. Dr. Teresa Fitzpatrick, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology