LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR PFLANZENBIOCHEMIE

Their core work

The Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) in Halle, Germany, is a publicly funded research institute focused on understanding the chemical biology of plants — how plants produce specialized metabolites and defend themselves against threats. Their H2020 work centers on applying new plant breeding techniques (CRISPR/Cas9, cisgenesis, intragenesis) to improve crops like chicory and tobacco for industrial and medicinal purposes. They also contribute to metabolomics infrastructure, providing analytical expertise for characterizing plant-derived compounds. Their research sits at the intersection of fundamental plant science and applied biotechnology, particularly molecular farming and functional food ingredients.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IPB's early H2020 engagement (2015-2018) combined metabolomics infrastructure work (PhenoMeNal) with applied crop improvement using CRISPR in chicory for food ingredients. By 2018-2022, their focus sharpened toward genome editing techniques across multiple plant species — moving from chicory to tobacco/Nicotiana for molecular farming, and into fundamental jasmonate signaling research. The shift suggests a deepening specialization in CRISPR-based plant engineering while expanding from food applications into pharmaceutical molecular farming and basic plant defense biology.

IPB is moving from analytical support roles toward leading its own genome editing research, signaling growing ambition in CRISPR-based crop engineering for both food and pharma applications.

How they like to work

IPB operates primarily as a specialist participant (3 of 4 projects), contributing deep plant biochemistry expertise to larger consortia. Their one coordinated project (SWEET JAZ) was a smaller Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship, suggesting they are building toward more leadership but currently function best as a technical partner. With 50 unique consortium partners across 16 countries, they are well-networked and comfortable in diverse international teams.

IPB has collaborated with 50 distinct partners across 16 countries through just 4 projects, indicating participation in large, broadly European consortia. Their network spans multiple EU member states with no obvious geographic concentration beyond their German base.

What sets them apart

IPB combines deep expertise in plant biochemistry with practical CRISPR/Cas9 application across multiple crop species — a combination that few institutes match. As a Leibniz institute, they offer long-term institutional stability and well-maintained analytical infrastructure that project-funded labs cannot guarantee. For consortium builders, they bring both the fundamental understanding of plant metabolites and the genome editing capability to engineer improved production of those metabolites in crops.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHIC
  Largest funding (EUR 469K) — applied CRISPR to chicory for dietary fibre and medicinal terpenes, bridging food science with plant breeding techniques.
• Newcotiana
  Developed tobacco species as molecular farming platforms using multiple breeding techniques (CRISPR, agroinfiltration, grafting) — high commercial potential for bio-manufacturing.
• SWEET JAZ
  IPB's only coordinated project — a focused MSCA fellowship on jasmonate signaling, showing their move toward independent research leadership in plant defense.