Matthias Langer: Plant Physiology First Author

Matthias Langer, first author of “Causes and consequences of endogenous hypoxia on growth and metabolism of developing maize kernels”

Current Position: PhD candidate at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, Germany

Education: BSc. & MSc. in horticulture at the Leibniz University Hannover, Germany

Non-scientific Interests: Music, hiking & spending time with family and friends

Brief bio: I started my scientific career with studies on pollen tube growth and embryonic development in crosses between parsley (Petroselinum hortense) and celery (Apium graveolens) in order to detect and overcome potential crossing barriers. Later during my MSc. degree, the study of the seed development became the focus of my work, where I studied the developmental programs of Cyclamen persicum with the final goal to optimize the somatic embryogenesis for in vitro culture. My PhD research focuses on investigations on maize (Zea mays) kernel development and the relevance of hypoxia in the endosperm. The maize kernel shows a severe oxygen deficiency during grain filling and the causes, the dynamic and the mechanisms of acclimation to the endogenous hypoxic state are minimally understood and therefore the central point of my studies.