Plant Evolution English Version
Note: this is a Master module, meaning, it does not start from scratch, but from a base laid down in our Bachelor courses. The fact that you were admitted for our Master curriculum does not mean that you have all the background you need to be successful. If you notice that there is knowledge, which we expect, but you did not get in your own country, it is your responsibility to make sure to get it. Please feel free to ask for advice. We are happy to help, but we will help only those that ask...
Rules
- Safety: once a year all lab members needs to go through the safety instruction. This is found on Ilias (BIO_Sicherheitsbelehrung_Nick_Lab in the current semester). Print your result and bring it as reference till the start of the lectures.
- Handover: at the end you need to hadn over lab space, samples, data to your mentor and the keys for your cupboard to Frau Williams. Details are here.
- Student cupboards: can be obtained in the secretary (Frau Williams), need to be returned at the end of the module.
- Details on the assignments and how they are scored are found here...
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Introduction into methods and concepts of modern plant evolution biology.
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Competence in interpretation of current methodology
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Deep understanding of these methods
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Practicing independent scientific thinking, critical approach with sources.
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Cellular aspects of plant development
Ablauf des Moduls (Organisation of the Module)
The module is offered in two versions in the block after the winter term.
- For Master students as Research Module for the subjects Botany, Developmental Biology, and Cell Biology, also as part of the Vertiefermodul Chemical Biology. Start Tue 22.04.2025, 10:00 (SR 506-507, Bld. 30.43).
- For Bachelor students as version of BA 07/ANG 07 Biologische Forschung, also for Chemical Biology. Next time February 2026.
The lecture Plant Cell Biology - Methods and Concepts is the same in both version (Dates and topics). The Group Exercises are also the same, but some other parts are partially different based on the different levels of experience. (Details can be found over the links given above). Final presentations and written exam are the same.
Date final presentations ue 20.05.2025, 10:00-12:00, 10:00-12:00 (around 20-25 min per team) - afterwards handover lab space, data, and samples
Date exam Fr 23.05.2025, 10:00-12:00 (SR 506-507)
Projects Spring 2026 |
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For whom? Bachelor, Master Where? Nick-Lab, Biotower 5. floor. Subgroup Applied Biodiversity. more... Supervision? Dr. Nathalie Hering. e-mail.... Background? November 1, 2025, our new cooperation project with teh Start-up Vertical Farm Tech and the Max-Rubner-Institute, funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Homeland, was launched. A precursor project, funded by the State of Baden-Württemberg revealed that aeroponics (spraying of roots with nutritive mist) can stimulate root growth to an extent never seen before. The new project will now valorise this discovery. Target are precious rhizome plants such as Ginger, Turmeric, or Wasabi. To prevent infection of the costly products by pathogens, we test a new technology, whereby the roots are pre-treated with root bacteria that have been discovered in our lab. These bacteria can stimulate plant immunity. Experiments with Ginger and Turmeric have already started, the third plant, Wasabi, is not only the most costly of those plants, but also the plant least known. There is evidence that most commercial products do not contain true Wasabi, but the similar (but much cheaper) Wasabi Ruke. Using genetic markers, and a HPLC-based analytics, we want to develop an authentication test, which can then be applied to commercial products. more... Start? Kick-off Master Mo 23.02.2026, 11:00, Bachelor We 04.03.2026, 11:45 (after the first lecture), Seminar room 506-507, Biotower How many people? 2 Master+2 Bachelor Extension options: Bachelorarbeit, P-Module or Master thesis |
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For whom? Bachelor, Master Where? Nick-Lab, Biotower 5. floor. Subgroup Stress Ecology. more...
Supervision? Dr. Islam Khattab, M. Sci. Aria Aghayan. e-mail.... Background? In the last years, we could show that the climate-change induced Esca disease of grapevien (the trunk dies off within a week, causing tremendous damage worldwide) is caused by a non-functional chemical communication between host plant and endophytic fungi. Looking for a therapy we were able to show that terra preta can "pacify" the endophytes. In frame of the project Microbes 4 Future we could then identify microbes that live in the rhizosphere and stimulate plant immunity. I a new EUCOR project, we are now using a phenotyping panel developed by us to systematically screen bacterial strains isolated from compost that can stimulate the immune system. We also can deduce their mode of action. more... Start? Kick-off Master Mo 23.02.2026, 11:00, Bachelor We 04.03.2026, 11:45 (after the first lecture), Seminar room 506-507, Biotower How many people? 2 Master+2 Bachelor Extension options: Bachelorarbeit, P-Module or Master thesis |
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For whom? Bachelor, Master Where? Nick-Lab, Biotower 5. floor. Subgroup Applied Biodiversity. more...
Supervision? Dr. Sascha Wetters. e-mail... Background? Evolution of Basil. more... In the last round, Jonathan Stürz could establish in his Bachelor thesis that some species have undergone a gene duplication of Eugenol-O-Methyltransferase (responsible for the scent Methyl-Eugenol). It is not clear, whether both copies are really expressed, and even less, what the meaning of that might be. The project is supposed to underpoin the phylogenetic and chemischal data with expression data to test, whether, depending on development and environmental signals, different volatile profiles are produced. Start? Kick-off Master Mo 23.02.2026, 11:00, Bachelor We 04.03.2026, 11:45 (after the first lecture), Seminar room 506-507, Biotower How many people? 2 Master+2 Bachelor Extension options: Bachelorarbeit, P-Module or Master thesis |
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For whom? Bachelor, Master Where? Nick-Lab, Biotower 5. floor. Subgroup Stress Ecology. more...
Supervision? Dr. Wenjing Shi. e-mail.... Background? In the last years, we could show that the climate-change induced Esca disease of grapevien (the trunk dies off within a week, causing tremendous damage worldwide) is caused by a non-functional chemical communication between host plant and endophytic fungi. This disease is spreading globally and meanwhile has also arrived in China. However, the fungi are different - their strategy is the same. Bioactivity-guided fractionation allowed identifying some of the manipulative signals. Targer of this project is the fungus Diaporthe eres, which seems to be the main villain in China. We suspect that phenolic compounds secreted by the fungus (candidates were already isolated) bind a plant receptor whose actual task is to trigger Programmed Cell Death. In the long run, we want to identify this receptor - to get there, we first need to clarify the structure-function relationship of the ligand and the signal chain triggered by this receptor. more... Start? Kick-off Master Mo 23.02.2026, 11:00, Bachelor We 04.03.2026, 11:45 (after the first lecture), Seminar room 506-507, Biotower How many people? 2 Master+2 Bachelor Extension options: Bachelorarbeit, P-Module or Master thesis |