We can control every environmental parameter

University of Münster’s new plant research chambers provide prime research conditions

The University of Münster (WWU) in Westphalia, Germany recently commissioned six special plant research chambers to facilitate its molecular genetic and cell biology re- search. These state-of-the-art facilities put the Institut für Biologie und Biotechnologie der Pflanzen at the forefront of Germany’s plant research community. With the new plant research chambers, the biology institute’s research facilities have effectively tripled in size to six 12 m2 rooms. The old facilities, some of which dated back to the 1960s, were badly in need of replacement. They were cramped, and the environmental controls were outdated and unsuited to the precision standards required for today’s plant genetics re- search. Stefan Weinl, a researcher at the WWU’s Plant Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology research group, praises the new chambers. “These new research facilities will allow us to make strides in our studies of Arabidopsis, our main research project. We’re trying to take what we learn from this model plant and transfer it to commercial crops. This is fundamental research.