Research activities of the Institute of Plant Molecular Biology

Mission statement

Institute of Plant Molecular Biology conducts complex research on plants at the molecular level – plant genome, structure and function of cells, compunds produced by plants, molecular principles of photosynthesis, biophysical and biochemical bases of processes in the plants, and microscopic pathogens of plants.

General information

The Institute of Plant Molecular Biology was founded in 1990 when several genetically oriented teams split from the Institute of Experimental Botany in Prague and moved to České Budějovice. The Institute is well equipped with instruments and facilities necessary for plant molecular biology, including air-conditioned greenhouses, climate chambers and rooms for plant tissue cultures. It is authorized to work with genetically modified organisms and quarantined plant pathogens. The Institute contributes significantly to national programs of plant biotechnology and provides expertise on the diagnosis of quarantined plant viruses to the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Phytosanitary Administration, and on genetically modified crops to the Ministry of the Environment.

An important part of the activities of the Institute is training in plant molecular biology and plant pathology, which is performed in close cooperation with the University of South Bohemia. In association with the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Agriculture and the Institute of Physical Biology, the Institute received accreditation for PhD programs in molecular biology, genetics and physiology, plant pathology and biophysics. Currently, the Institute hosts 38 Czech and foreign students, including 18 persuing a PhD. Nearly half of the scientist staff takes part in teaching classes. The University of South Bohemia, Charles University in Prague, and Palacký University in Olomouc are partners in joint research projects.

Research areas

• Sequence composition, molecular organization and evolution of plant chromosomes 
• Molecular basis of photosynthesis, carbon metabolism and gases exchange in plants
• Metal metabolism and photosynthesis regulation
• Functional genomics of hop, transcriptional factors, function and possible utilisation of plant nucleases as anti-cancerogenic substances
• Variability and evolution of plant viruses and phytoplasmas, methods of their detection and analysis of new viruses