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Protein Evolution - The basic building blocks of life

Director: Andrei Lupas

Proteins provide the chemical basis for all processes of life. We investigate their origin and the evolution of their folds and mechanisms of action by means of bioinformatics, biochemistry and structural biology.

Microbiome Science

Director: Ruth Ley

The Department of Microbiome Science is broadly interested in how interactions between humans and their gut microbiota influence metabolism and obesity. We explore how interactions between host genetic status and the microbiome influence host metabolic phenotypes.

Integrative Evolutionary Biology

Director: Ralf Sommer

How do developmental processes change during evolution? We take an integrative approach and try to link evo-devo with population genetics and evolutionary ecology by studying the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, which lives in a defined scarab beetle ecosystem.

Algal Development and Evolution

Director: Susana Coelho

The brown algae have been evolving independently of animals and land plants for more than a billion years. We exploit these organisms to understand the origin, evolution and regulation of sexual systems diversity and multicellular development across eukaryotes.

Molecular Biology - Adaption to changes

Director: Detlef Weigel

There is tremendous phenotypic diversity between and within species. Much of this is thought to reflect adaptation to the environment. Drawing on tools from high-throughput genomics to forward genetics, we are investigating the mechanisms responsible for adaptive variation.