Abiotic Stress Resistane

The competition and demand for plants as a raw material is increasing. Limited fertile soils are supposed to bring maximum harvests –whether for food, energy, feedstock or as a raw material source. But what are the consequences of climate change and extreme weather events such as prolonged drought and heavy rain periods? Will plants be able to adapt to such abiotic stress factors?

Consequently, investigations are required to understand how crop plants interact with/to other organisms and cope with changing abiotic environments. This basic information is the key to enhance sustainable plant production. Here we aim to identify plants with diverse genetic compositions and geographical origin that will still be able to guarantee maximum plant production under stress conditions –such as stress from prolonged drought and heavy rains. To identify the genes, plant compounds and proteins that react to abiotic stress, molecular analyses are being applied combining molecular biology, bioinformatics and biochemical analyses.