General Information
Programme Summary
The central scientific objective of this Programme is to obtain fundamentally novel, comprehensive and increasingly predictive insights into the molecular solutions that plant species develop to match local environmental demands. This goal requires the elucidation of the genetic basis underlying adaptive traits and the integration of disciplines that traditionally work in isolation. By concentrating on the Brassicaceae family that exhibits remarkable ecological diversity, this Programme takes advantage of progress in the molecular understanding of the Brassicaceae model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and capitalizes on recent seminal advances in sequencing technology and bioinformatics. We propose to i) analyze and classify natural diversity in the Brassicaceae, ii) apply the highest standards in molecular genetics to dissect the molecular basis of diversified traits, iii) test their evolutionary relevance and iv) develop the infrastructure to maximize common benefits from genetic, genomic, ecological and systematics tools.