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. Abdullah Altaher
Research Associate
Abdullah Altaher comes from Syria and his current research focuses on possible crosstalk(s) at molecular level between phosphate starvation response and the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in the model legume Lotus japonicus
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223
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. Leonie Weber
Research associate
Leonie Weber comes from Germany. Her research mainly covers the regulation of the establishment of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in the model legume Lotus japonicus. She is also interested in the infulence of various factors on the microbiome of the Arabidopsis rhizosphere.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222
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
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
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
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
Lina Pesch
Lina Pesch comes from Germany and is working on the impact of the mycorrhizal phosphate uptake pathway on the assembly of the maize-microbiome.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222
Katrin Sammet
Katrin Sammet comes from Germany and is interested in unravelling yet unknown functional roles of plastidial phosphate translocators in primary and secondary metabolism of Arabidopsis thaliana.
Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223
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
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