Current research interests of the JLU Giessen Department of Plant Breeding cover various aspects of genome analysis and molecular breeding of oilseed rape, wheat, barley and sorghum. The main research focus is on functional genomics approaches for analysis of complex quantitative traits, including seed quality, emergence and seedling development, nutrient use efficiency, biotic and abiotic stress resistance, flowering time, heterosis and yield. Special emphasis is placed on the use of next-generation DNA sequencing technologies for SNP discovery, sequencing-based mapping, ultradeep global transcriptome analysis and polyploid genome structure analysis.