MPIPZ Fascination of Plants Day

Open Minds scholarship holders visited the MPIPZ

As part of the international "Fascination of Plants Day", 60 Open Minds scholarship holders visited the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research for an exciting day centred around the fascinating world of plants and plant research.

After a brief introduction to the institute's main areas of research, the students had the opportunity to take part in various activities. In addition to a tour of the institute and greenhouse, our guests explored the many fascinating topics in our show garden and discovered several special plants and their unique characteristics.

The hands-on activities in our science barn and the various labs run by our PhD students and postdocs were particularly popular. The students isolated DNA from fruit, visualised the diversity of microbes living on plant leaves, examined explosive fruits using confocal microscopy and dissected flower buds from wild tomatoes. Our guests also learnt about carnivorous plants and the life cycle of the model plant Arabidopsis.

The scholarship holders impressed us with their curiosity and thirst for knowledge, which led to intense discussions.

It was a fantastic day and a unique opportunity to experience plant research at first hand.