P28 - vTI Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institut

Bundesallee 50
38116 Braunschweig
GERMANY
http://www.vti.bund.de/en/

The Institute, founded 1948, belongs to the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture and provides scientifically based results for political decision making. It carries out research on genetics of indigenous and exotic tree and shrub species as well as on associated insects and fungi. Focal points of the research are genome research, ecological genetics, resistance research and provenance research and tree breeding methods. The international scientific journal of forest genetics "SILVAE GENETICA", is edited at the institute.


The key persons involved in the NoE are:

Bernd Degen is director of the Institute and has 12 years experience in forest genetics with focus on population genetic, modelling and data analysis in temperate and tropical forest. He has 5 years experience as head of molecular lab in the tropical South-America. He participated and partly co-ordinated 9 international research projects. He is also the national co-ordinator of Germany for EUFORGEN. He has participated at more than 25 reviewed publications in scientific journals, and editor in Chief of the international journal Silvae Genetica.

Matthias Fladung has over 20 years experience in plant physiology, including 15 years in molecular genetics and gene transfer methods. He has now also 11 years experience in forest genetics. He is or was involved in more than 10 national and international projects, in part as project leader or project coordinator, and was responsible for two field trials with genetically modified trees in Germany. His publication list contains more than 50 reviewed publications in scientific journals. Outstanding papers have been published in Nature, Trends in Plant Science, and Plant Journal.

Florian Scholz is a wood scientist and biologist with focus on biochemistry and the head of the ecological genetics department. Research in: genetic effects of air pollutants on tree populations by isozyme markers and modelling; genetic variation of biochemical interaction between trees and fungi; role of regulatory genes on trait expression in quantitative traits; adaptability of tree populations to climate change; gene flow in fragmented landscapes; population genetics of hostinsect systems.

Heike Liesebach is a biologist with specialisation in plant physiology. She has 17 years experiences in forest genetics and forest tree breeding. Research in: stress physiology, population genetics of managed tree species by isozyme markers, geographic differentiation, molecular systematics of fungi, adaptation of markers to new species, gene flow in fragmented landscapes.