Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences

The Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences (DCPS) is a modern centre for plant sciences at Freie Universität Berlin. As a Freie Universität Berlin research department, it is supported by funds from the university’s future development strategy. The DCPS prioritizes interdisciplinary research. Fields include a wide spectrum of plant sciences such as molecular and cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, plant physiology, developmental biology, systematics and taxonomy, plant geography, ecology and pharmaceutical biology. The Berlin-Dahlem location was already the site of a plant science centre in the early 1900s. Research aims to play its part in a comprehensive understanding of plant diversity, preserving that diversity, and facilitating the sustainable use of plant resources. The DCPS also educates young scholars and early career researchers. Doctoral students study at the Plant Sciences graduate school under the umbrella of the Dahlem Research School.

DCPS projects focus on two major research areas: “Function and Diversity” and “Plant and Environment”. The research findings from both areas are transferred to practices supporting sustainable use and the protection of plant diversity. This involves the development of genetic resources (Applied Plant Sciences) to the management of varied eco-systems. Public relations and communication tools are also used to present the findings in a more accessible form to a broader audience. Function and Diversity research aims to produce new insights into the evolutionary development of the morphological and functional diversity of plants. The evolution of new traits and the mechanisms of genome evolutions are studied by combining comparative genomics with phylogenetic, biochemical and molecular techniques. The topics addressed include the evolution and function of signal transfer processes in plant cells, the role of the numerous plant secondary metabolites, the uptake and use of nutrients as well as the development of morphological features. This work is based on the rapidly growing information available from genome sequencing. These projects explore organisms beyond the model plant Arabidopsis to improve understanding of gene functions and the evolution of biological diversity. The close links to the newly established Berlin Consortium for Genomics in Biodiversity Research play a significant role in research into genome sequence and structure. In the Plant and Environment field of research, the focus is on plant functions and adaptive reactions in the context of constantly changing environmental conditions. The research concentrates on plant reactions to such abiotic stress factors as light intensity, extremes of temperature, lack of water and nutrients, as well as plant biotic interactions with other organisms, for example, insects or fungi. The research groups are working on such diverse themes as, for instance, the responses of plants to pathogens, plants’ cellular memory for environmental stress, the role of root architecture in fungi colonisation and its significance for crop yields and the mechanisms of communication between neighbouring plants.

• Homepage of Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences
• Homepage of the doctoral program Plant Sciences
• Publications of Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences