Breeding interferes directly or indirectly with the genetic material of plants. This is also true for genetic engineering methods and emerging biological techniques in plant breeding. The aim of our work is the risk-oriented evaluation of classical genetic engineering and of methods and techniques of new biotechnological processes in plants. In doing so, we analyze, among other things, the changes that occur and also compare these with the products of classical breeding.

We carry out basic research to understand genetic stability. To this end, we identify factors that play a key role in ensuring that a plant genome remains relatively stable but is still capable of changes, for example to adapt to constantly changing external influences. Many different genes and their corresponding proteins are involved in recombination and repair - also in the case of classical breeding. Genome modification by biotechnological methods uses these factors to introduce desired new traits into plants. In doing so, there is a risk of undesirable side effects. For example, the use of the "molecular scissors" CRISPR/Cas can lead to unplanned effects both at the target site and at other locations in the genome. The mechanisms involved are being investigated in order to assess the respective risk of effects and side effects.

Not only the DNA sequence can be actively or passively altered, but also changes in the external structure of the DNA have an influence e.g. on the reading of sequence information. These epigenetic changes can be heritable and affect the genome function such as gene expression during development. They can also arise in response to stress. To combat pathogens, plant epigenetics can be altered by a variety of methods. Our work aims to investigate unintended side effects.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural mechanism by which plants can control gene expression during development and respond to environmental factors. Using externally applied double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), the use of classical pesticides could be reduced, but risk assessment of such applications is lacking. We characterize dsRNA-based pesticides, identify potential hazards, and analyze exposure and their fate within the environmental.

Certain genome modifications can be used to produce recombinant proteins in plants for medicinal and industrial purposes. This process is known as molecular farming. We focus on the risk assessment of the methods used and the qualities of the products.