THE USADEL LAB

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The Usadel group turns plant omics big data into insight for crop improvement and a sustainable bioeconomy. We use comparative genomics and pangenomics of crops and their wild relatives – in particular Solanaceae (tomato, potato, eggplant), Brassicaceae (canola, camelina), berry crops such as blackcurrant and strawberry, tea, and emerging protein crops like faba bean – to uncover genes and mechanisms that drive abiotic stress resilience and the accumulation of valuable or health-promoting compounds.

Our research combines state-of-the-art long-read sequencing, genome assembly and phasing with integrative analyses of genomes, transcriptomes and metabolomes. By building high-quality reference genomes and pangenomes and linking them to detailed phenotyping, we can dissect structural variation and complex traits such as drought and disease tolerance, flavour and nutritional quality.

A second core pillar of the lab is automated genome interpretation. We develop widely used tools and ontologies – including MapMan, the Mercator functional annotation pipeline and the deep-learning gene finder Helixer, together with plant genome platforms such as PlaBiPD and PubPlant – to connect gene sequences to functions, pathways and quantitative trait loci at scale. In parallel, we contribute to national and international FAIR data initiatives (e.g. NFDI4Plants/DataPLANT), helping to ensure that plant research data remain findable, accessible and reusable for the community.