Our research aims to gain a better understanding of the behavior of plant metabolic systems and their interactions. The group uses computational approaches that are centered around the analysis of large-scale metabolic networks and works closely with experimental labs. Key topics are the development of flux-balance methods to study tissue- and organ interactions, the curation and computational integration of specialized metabolism and the study of plant-environment interactions. The gained knowledge will guide metabolic engineering strategies for improved crop plant productivity and quality.

1. N Töpfer, T Braam, S Shameer, RG Ratcliffe, LJ Sweetlove (2020) Alternative Crassulacean Acid Metabolism modes provide environment-specific water-saving benefits in a leaf metabolic model. The Plant Cell, 32 (12), 3689-3705.
2. N Töpfer, LM Fuchs, A Aharoni (2017) The PhytoClust tool for metabolic gene clusters discovery in plant genomes. Nucleic Acid Research, 45 (12), 7049-7063.
3. J Szymański, Y Levin, L Maor-Chapell, U Heinig, N Töpfer, A Aharoni (2017) Label-free deep shotgun proteomics reveals protein dynamics during tomato fruit tissues development. The Plant Journal, 90 (2), 396-417.

4. L* Recht, N Töpfer*, A Batushansky, N Sikron, A Zarka, Y Gibon, Z Nikoloski, A Fait, S Boussiba (2014) Metabolite profiling and integrative modeling reveal metabolic constraints for carbon partitioning under nitrogen-starvation in the green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289 (44), 30387-3040. *authors contributed equally

5. N Töpfer, C Caldana, S Grimbs, L Willmitzer, AR Fernie, Z Nikoloski (2013) Integration of genome-scale modeling and transcript profiling reveals metabolic pathways underlying light and temperature acclimation in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 25 (4) 1197-1211.