Switch Contrast

Dr. Steven Dreissig

Research focus

My main interest lies in the genetic architecture and environmental plasticity of plant reproduction. We aim to improve our understanding of how genetic diversity and environmental factors shape quantitative variations in reproductive processes within and between populations, and to use this knowledge to improve plant breeding methods. We combine population genetics and molecular genetics, and use both computational and experimental approaches. Our research focuses on rye (Secale cereale L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Research picture Steven Dreissig

© Steven Dreissig

Most important publications

  1. Waesch C, Gaede N, Gao Y, Ehle M, Himmelbach A, Fuchs J, Johnston SE, Dreissig S (2026) Population-wide single-pollen nuclei genotyping in rye sheds light on the genetic basis and environmental plasticity of meiotic recombination. New Phytol 249(1):512-523. doi: 10.1111/nph.70656.
  2. Waesch C, Pfeifer M, Dreissig S (2024) Characterising the Genomic Landscape of Differentiation Between Annual and Perennial Rye. Evol Appl 17(10):e70018. doi: 10.1111/eva.70018.
  3. Schreiber M, Gao Y, Koch N, Fuchs J, Heckmann S, Himmelbach A, Borner A, Ozkan H, Maurer A, Stein N, Mascher M, Dreissig S (2022) Recombination landscape divergence between populations is marked by larger low-recombining regions in domesticated rye. Mol Biol Evol 39(6). doi: 10.1093/molbev/msac131.
  4. Dreissig S, Maurer A, Sharma R, Milne L, Flavell AJ, Schmutzer T, Pillen K (2020) Natural variation in meiotic recombination rate shapes introgression patterns in intraspecific hybrids between wild and domesticated barley. New Phytol 228(6):1852-1863. doi: 10.1111/nph.16810.
  5. Dreissig S, Mascher M, Heckmann S (2019) Variation in Recombination Rate Is Shaped by Domestication and Environmental Conditions in Barley. Mol Biol Evol 36(9):2029-2039. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msz141.