Ralf Reski - Research

Research

Reski's main area of research with more than 180 scientific publications comprises the genetics, proteomics, metabolism, and cell development of moss plants, using the technique of homologous recombination for creating knockout mosses by gene targeting in a reverse genetics approach. Reski and his coworkers have identified hitherto unknown genes with biotechnological implication for agriculture and forestry. The cultivation of moss cells and their utilization for Molecular Farming is another main focal point of his research.

In 1998, Reski proposed the moss Physcomitrella patens as a model plant in biological research. Since then, he has contributed significantly towards mosses becoming a model plant in biological research on a worldwide scale. In 2004, Reski and colleagues from the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan successfully proposed the genome of Physcomitrella patens for complete sequencing at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), a facility of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The genome was released in December 2007, with the bioinformatic work spearheaded by Reski´s group and financed by the German National Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG). To date, the Freiburg Chair of Plant Biotechnology hosts an online database of Physcomitrella patens comprising the genomic sequence, annotated gene models and supplemental information. Due to its scientific and economic importance, the genome of Physcomitrella patens has been chosen as a “flagship plant genome” by the DOE JGI in 2010.

Also in 1998, Reski and coworkers generated a knockout moss by deleting an ftsZ gene and thus identified the first gene essential in the division of an organelle in any eukaryote. Based on the results of further research on the ftsZ-gene family, Ralf Reski coined the term "plastoskeleton", analogous to the term "cytoskeleton", in 2000 and presented a new concept in cell biology of how chloroplasts, the green cell organelles of plants, change shape and divide.

In 1999, the chemical company BASF invested more than 30 Mio. DM in a four year cooperation project with Reski to identify new genes which may be able to make crop plants more resistant to drought, cold and attack by pests. Plants with improved nutritional value (vitamins or polyunsaturated fatty acids) have also been in the research focus of their collaboration. In the same year, Reski invented the moss bioreactor and founded “greenovation Biotech GmbH”, a biotechnology company utilizing moss bioreactors for the production of pharmaceuticals. In 2011, Reski and coworkers produced recombinant, biologically active human factor H in a moss bioreactor.

In 2010, Reski established the International Moss Stock Center (IMSC), which stores and freely distributes moss strains, transgenics and ecotypes. The IMSC assigns accession numbers that can be used in scientific publications to facilitate identification and availability of the respective samples.

Also in 2010, Reski and colleagues discovered a new mechanism of gene regulation; the epigenetic gene silencing by microRNAs.

Reski is directly involved in Mossclone, a European project (7th Framework Programme, FP7) which started in 2012 and aims to develop an air quality monitoring tool by using devitalized moss clones.