The  Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural Crops of JKI covers in particular research areas between the global management of plant genetic resources (PGR), for example gene banks, crop wild relatives (CWR) trusts, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nature conservancy on the one hand and the commercial plant breeding and the cultivation on the other hand.

At the institute, the following species and their wild relatives are of interest with different intensity of research: carrot, parsley, celeriac and celery, caraway and fennel.

Evaluations are carried out for:

• Morphological and agronomical traits
• Amount and composition of secondary metabolites, resistance screening

Cooperation with gene banks:

• Federal ex situ gene bank of Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany
• All-Russian N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), St. Petersburg, Russia
• Warwick Genetic Resources Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Wellesbourne, United Kingdom
• Decentralized wild plants gene bank of Freie University Berlin, Germany and
• Institute for Breeding Research on Agricultural Crops, JKI

Both the national representative of Umbellifer Working Group of ECPGR and the national representative of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Working Group of ECPGR are situated at the institute.

Different research approaches are addressing the regulation of generative development of selected Apiaceae. They include topics of flowering transition, morphology of flowers, fertilization and seed setting. Particularly the development of systems for regulation of pollination based on cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) as prerequisite for development of F1 hybrid varieties is focused on carrot, celeriac /celery and fennel (MADS-box genes, cell nucleus – mitochondria interactions Humboldt University, Berlin, Institute for Biology; University at Osnabrück, Dep. Biology/Chemistry)

Molecular breeding research including studies on genetic distances, linkage map construction, QTL analyses, association studies and functional genome analyses are aimed at the development and application of (functional) molecular markers for both marker-assisted selection and the evaluation of plant genetic resources. In some selected species, for the first time a molecular characterization of intra-specific genotypic variability is being realized through molecular tools. Molecular-cytogenetic research is focused on mechanisms of centromer-mediated chromosome elimination processes, with the aim to develop a new haploidization strategy suited for the generation of double-haploid lines for carrot F1 hybrid breeding.

To select and assess new resistance donors for genetic investigations and the development of basic breeding material, efficient and reproducible phytopathological test systems and selection methods are developed. The main focus is on fungal pathogens and includes studies on resistance genetics, host-pathogen interactions, and the characterization of putative race structures. The most intensely studied pathosystems are:

Daucus carota
Alternaria dauci, A. radicina, A. alternata

Apium graveolens
Septoria apiicola

Petroselinum crispum
S. petroselini, Plasmopara petroselini, A. radicina, Erysiphe heraclei, Fusarium oxysporum and Celery mosaic virus (CeMV)

Foeniculum vulgare
Mycosphaerella anethi in cooperation with Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics (JKI).

The increasing knowledge about biochemical pathways of secondary plant metabolites known as VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and the availability of progressive analytical and biochemical methods allow targeted functional genomics approaches. As a prerequisite for this kind of complex multidisciplinary research, which has to consider a huge number of substances and their great chemical diversity, a tight collaboration with plant analysts has been set up (Institute for Ecological Chemistry, Plant Analysis and Stored Product Protection). Substance analyses and volatile profiles are produced mainly by GC-MS and HPLC for a large variety of carrot cultivars and breeding accessions, but parsley, fennel and caraway genotypes are also under study. The analytical methods themselves are an object of research, especially with the aim to establish holistic and non-targeted methods suited for large-scale automatic plant analyses.

With the goal to identify specific chemotypes improved for product quality, sensorial characteristics, but also with enhanced biotic stress tolerance, as for instance against herbivores such as nematodes or the carrot fly (Chamaepsila rosae) (Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests), the terpene synthase and lipoxygenase gene families are studied in detail. Knowledge of functional allelic diversity of identified key genes will be used for the development of functional flavor and stress markers.