Head of the group
Prof. Dr. Marcel Bucher
Marcel Bucher comes from Switzerland and his research interests focus on how plants respond to nutrient limitation in the context of plant-microbiota-soil interactions in the rhizosphere. He enjoys witnessing how students, young scientists and associates take responsibility, develop their project(s), skills, and personality, and further their career. His teaching portfolio includes basic courses in plant anatomy and physiology, and advanced courses in plant molecular biology and plant genetics. From 2012-2015 he was a member of the executive board and the steering board of the Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences - CEPLAS (www.ceplas.eu). Within CEPLAS he is responsible for the outreach project „Research and Education: Knowledge transfer from research to schools“.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-2481
Secretary
Scientists
Dr. Esperanza Abril Sosa
Esperanza Abril Sosa comes from Mexico and is working on host genetic factors underlying plant-fungi beneficial interactions.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8224
Dr. Orarat Ginsawaeng
Orarat Ginsawaeng comes from Thailand and is interested in the transcriptional regulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in Lotus japonicus.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222
Dr. Rainer E. Häusler
Senior Scientist
Rainer Häusler is from Germany and his current interest is focused on mutants and transgenic plants with a lesion in or altered activities of plastidial metabolite transporters.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-2340
Dr. Mitzi Villajuana Bonequi
Coordinator
Dr. Mitzi Villajuana Bonequi comes from Mexico and co-coordinates the CEPLAS Research & Education project at the University of Cologne Center of Excellence CEPLAS. Her scientific expertise is on molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology and reproductive development.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-7326
Dr. Olha Zadorozhna
Research Associate
Olha Zadorozhna is from Ukraine and is currently working on signalling mechanisms in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in the model legume Lotus japonicus.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223
Doctoral students
Jan Gaertner
Jan Gaertner is from the Netherlands and is studying the genetic and molecular mechanisms by which Arabidopsis thaliana associates with its root endosymbiont Colletotrichum toefieldiae to better understand the interactions with Colletotrichum spp. and to develop a genetically accessible system for mutualistic plant root symbiosis
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222
Elena Gallina
Elena Gallina comes from Italy and is interested in the interactions between the plant-host genotype and microbial community dynamics in the maize mycorrhizosphere.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222
Chuanya Ji
Chuanya Ji comes from China and is interested in the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in citrus and Medicago truncatula.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222
Hang Lu
Hang Lu comes from China and is interested in the molecular architecture underlying the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and its potential towards reconstruction of mutualistic symbioses.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222
Isabelle Metzen
Isabelle Metzen comes from Germany and is interested in the nutritional and metabolic interactions between mycorrhizal roots and their microbiota as well as in their impact on soil quality.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223
Technical Assistance
Ulrike Hebbeker
Ulrike Hebbeker is from Germany. She has profound expertise in extraction of secondary metabolites and nucleic acids, DNA cloning, and plant production.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-7326
Stefanie Junkermann
Stefanie Junkermann is from Germany and is working on aspects of plant-fungus interactions. She is a specialist in multi-elemental analytics performed with the ICP-MS that is located in the Biocenter Mass Spectrometry Platform.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8224
Leia Mijatovic
Leia Mijatovic is from Germany and is working on aspects of plant-fungus interactions. She curates CORFU (COlogne collection of Root-associated FUngi) and the lab's seed storage.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-7326