The modularity and plasticity of plants provides endless opportunities to study developmental mechanisms and genetic circuits governing those unique properties. At the same time, much of what we eat – seeds and fruits – is produced by plants.

Plants are thus of enormous evolutionary and developmental interest but also of huge economic value. We are using molecular genetics, genomics and bioinformatics to study crop development and genetics. The focus of the lab is on hemp and cereal crops like barley and wheat. Our research will contribute to the development of improved crop varieties and to a better understanding of the evolutionary success of flowers.