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Prof. Dr. Thorsten Schnurbusch

Research focus

In the Plant Architecture Lab, we are undertaking a comprehensive exploration of natural variations and induced mutants of wheat and barley to unravel the genetic, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms underlying developmental traits, particularly variations in grain number per spike. To this end, we harness the state-of-the-art research facilities and cutting-edge analytical platforms at IPK.

Research picture Thorsten Schnurbusch

© Thorsten Schnurbusch

Most important publications

  1. Huang Y, Kamal R, Shanmugaraj N, Rutten T, Thirulogachandar V, Zhao S, Hoffie I, Hensel G, Rajaraman J, Moya YAT, Hajirezaei M-R, Himmelbach A, Poursarebani N, Lundqvist U, Kumlehn J, Stein N, von Wirén N, Mascher M, Melzer M, Schnurbusch T (2023) A molecular framework for grain number determination in barley. Science Advances 9(9):eadd0324. doi:10.1126/sciadv.add0324.
  2. Huang Y, Schnurbusch T (2024) The Birth and Death of Floral Organs in Cereal Crops. Annu Rev Plant Biol 75(Volume 75, 2024):427-458. doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-060223-041716. 
  3. Sakuma S, Golan G, Guo Z, Ogawa T, Tagiri A, Sugimoto K, Bernhardt N, Brassac J, Mascher M, Hensel G, Ohnishi S, Jinno H, Yamashita Y, Ayalon I, Peleg Z, Schnurbusch T, Komatsuda T (2019) Unleashing floret fertility in wheat through the mutation of a homeobox gene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(11):5182-5187. doi:10.1073/pnas.1815465116.
  4. Thiel J, Koppolu R, Trautewig C, Hertig C, Kale SM, Erbe S, Mascher M, Himmelbach A, Rutten T, Esteban E, Pasha A, Kumlehn J, Provart NJ, Vanderauwera S, Frohberg C, Schnurbusch T (2021) Transcriptional landscapes of floral meristems in barley. Science Advances 7(18):eabf0832. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abf0832.
  5. Youssef HM, Eggert K, Koppolu R, Alqudah AM, Poursarebani N, Fazeli A, Sakuma S, Tagiri A, Rutten T, Govind G, Lundqvist U, Graner A, Komatsuda T, Sreenivasulu N, Schnurbusch T (2017) VRS2 regulates hormone-mediated inflorescence patterning in barley. Nat Genet 49(1):157-161. doi: 10.1038/ng.3717.