Our research aims to gain a better understanding of the behaviour of plant metabolic systems and their interactions with the biotic and abiotic environment. The group uses computational approaches to analyse metabolic processes from the individual pathway to large-scale metabolic networks and works closely with experimental labs. Key topics include developing kinetic and flux-balance approaches to study plant metabolism at the cell type-, tissue- and whole-plant level as well as plant-environment interactions. We have also started to develop multi-scale models to better account for genetic, physical, and environmental influences on plant metabolism. On the technical side, we are developing open-source software packages for coherent and reproducible metabolic network curation. The gained knowledge will guide metabolic engineering strategies for improved crop plant productivity and quality.
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We are part of the Excellence Cluster on Plant Sciences – CEPLAS and embedded in Research Area 4, the CRC 1644: Plant phenotypic plasticity, the initiative Immunometabolism in Health and Disease (iHead), the Center for Data and Simulation Science, and the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS). We are also associated with the TRR 341.