Research Portfolios
Chemical Ecology
Chemical signals involved in plant-insect interactions
Prof. Dr. Ted Turlings, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
Plants under attack by herbivores initiate the production and release of volatiles that are attractive to the natural...
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...
Chloroplasts and Photosynthesis
Discovering how chloroplasts are made
Prof. Dr. Felix Kessler, 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...
Plant Population Ecology
Ecology and evolution in invasive plants
Prof. Dr. Heinz Müller-Schärer, BeNeFri, University of Fribourg, Dept. of Biology
Invasion ecology, the study of the distribution and spread of organisms in habitats to which they are not native, has...
Paleoecology and Vegetation Dynamics
Ecosystem and vegetation responses to climatic change, disturbance and land use
Prof. Dr. Willy Tinner, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
We use a long-term perspective to address questions about the ecological and societal consequences of climatic change....
Cell Biology
Establishment of membrane fences and local cell wall modifications in plants
Dr. Daniele Roppolo, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
<b>Biological context</b> ...
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...
Molecular Plant Physiology - Hormone Transport
Functional interactomics of auxin transport
PD Dr. Markus Geisler, BeNeFri, University of Fribourg, Dept. of Biology
Work in our group is concentrating on the individual roles of auxin catalysts – members of ABCB/PGP- and PIN families -...
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 Pathology
Induced resistance and priming against biotic and abiotic stress
Dr. Brigitte Mauch-Mani, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
Plants have evolved inducible defence mechanisms to protect themselves against biotic and abiotic stresses. Upon...
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 Plant-Pathogen Interactions
Molecular aspects of pathogenesis in plants
Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Métraux, BeNeFri, University of Fribourg, Dept. of Biology
<div>We are interested in the molecular determinants of fungal pathogenesis and their possible interactions with...
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
Molecular plant-microbe interactions
Prof. Dr. Felix Mauch, BeNeFri, University of Fribourg, Dept. of Biology
Our research centers on molecular aspects of the interaction between plants and the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora....
Plant Cell and Molecular Biology
Plant Cell and Molecular Biology
Prof. Dr. Jean-Marc Neuhaus, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
Plant Developmental Biology
Plant developmental biology
Prof. Dr. Cris Kuhlemeier, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
<b>Leaf development.</b> The vegetative shoot apical meristem consists of a small group of dividing cells, which give...
Systems Biology
Plant developmental modeling
Prof. Dr. Richard S. Smith, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
Our research uses mathematical and computer simulation techniques to investigate questions in plant development. Working...
Plant Ecology
Plant ecology
Prof. Dr. Markus Fischer, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
Most of our research is concerned with drivers and functional consequences of biodiversity change, with the ecology and...
Whole Plant Physiology
Plant nutrient dynamics and ecophysiology
Prof. Dr. Urs Feller, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
Nutrients and pollutants are taken up from the soil into the roots and distributed via the transpiration stream in the...
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...
Molecular Plant Physiology
Transport of organic nitrogen in plants and parasitic protozoa
Prof. Dr. Doris Rentsch, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
Nitrogen is one of the most limiting nutritional factors for plant growth and productivity. Therefore diverse and...
Tropical Rain Forest Ecology
Tree Ecology
Prof. Dr. David Newbery, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences