Ralf Reski (born 18 November 1958 in
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
) is a German
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of plant
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
and former
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of the
Faculty of Biology of the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...
. He is also affiliated to the
French École supérieure de biotechnologie Strasbourg (ESBS) and Senior Fellow at the
Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies
The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is the international research college of the University of Freiburg in Freiburg, Germany. The institute was initially part of the university's proposal for funding in the Excellence Initiative in ...
.
Biography
Ralf Reski studied
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
and
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
at the Universities of
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
and
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
.
He was awarded his doctorate in
Genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
in 1990 by the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...
and received his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in
General Botany in 1994.
From 1996 until 1999, he was a
Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a breakthrough paper. In the subsequent series ...
-Fellow of the
German Research Foundation
The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
.
He was appointed
Distinguished Professor
Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs.
In the United States
Often specific to one institution, titles such ...
and entitled Ordinarius at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...
in 1999, where he became Head of the newly established Department of Plant
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
. From 2001 until 2011, Reski was Director Plant Biotechnology at the Centre for Applied Biosciences (ZAB, University of Freiburg).
Also since 2010 he is elected senator and speaker in the academic senat of the university Freiburg.
Reski is founding
principal investigator
In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often us ...
(PI) of four Excellence Clusters: the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (bioss), the Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies (CIBSS), Living, Adaptive and Energy-Autonomous Materials Systems (livMATs), and of the
Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine (SGBM). Since 2011, he also is Senior Fellow at the
Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies
The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is the international research college of the University of Freiburg in Freiburg, Germany. The institute was initially part of the university's proposal for funding in the Excellence Initiative in ...
(FRIAS). SGBM, bioss and FRIAS are funded within the
German Universities Excellence Initiative
The Excellence Initiative of the German Council of Science and Humanities and the German Research Foundation (DFG) aims to promote cutting-edge research and to create outstanding conditions for young scholars at universities, to deepen cooperatio ...
. Furthermore, Reski is a founding PI of the Freiburg Initiative for Systems Biology (FRISYS) funded by the
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (german: link=no, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, ), abbreviated BMBF, is a cabinet-level ministry of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn, with an office in Berlin. The Ministry provi ...
(BMBF). Reski was one of the board members of the
International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) from 2009 to 2012. Since 2010, Reski is coordinator of QualFEEM, a
TEMPUS
Tempus is a Latin word meaning time and a Finnish, Swedish and German word meaning grammatical tense. It may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Television
*"Tempus, Anyone?", 1996 episode of ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Super ...
-project for the improvement of
Higher Education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
in the field of "environmental management and ecology" at the
Russian Universities
The following is a list of universities and other higher educational institutions in Russia, based primarily on the ''National Information Centre on Academic Recognition and Mobility'' webpage of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russ ...
in
Altai,
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...
,
Omsk
Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...
and
Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas indu ...
. In 2011 Reski was co-founder of the Trinational Institute for Plant Research (TIP).
In 2011 Ralf Reski was elected as lifetime member of the
Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (German: ''Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften''), established in 1909 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an assembly of scholars and scientists in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The Academ ...
(German:
Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften).
In 2012 he organized a Plant Biology Congress which attracted 1000 researchers from about 60 countries.
In 2013 Reski became senior fellow at the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
Institute for Advanced Study (USIAS).
In 2015 he became the project coordinator of the
Erasmus Programme "Trans-regional environmental awareness for sustainable usage of water resources" – in short TREASURE-WATER that addresses higher education and training for the sustainable management of shared natural water resources in the area of the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.
Research
![Bioreaktor quer2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Bioreaktor_quer2.jpg)
Reski's main area of research with more than 250 scientific publications comprises the
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
,
proteomics
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replication of DNA. In ...
,
metabolism
Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
, and
cell development
Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...
of
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
plants, using the technique of
homologous recombination
Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in cellular organisms but may ...
for creating
knockout mosses by
gene targeting
Gene targeting (also, replacement strategy based on homologous recombination) is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to modify an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene and modify ind ...
in a
reverse genetics
Reverse genetics is a method in molecular genetics that is used to help understand the function(s) of a gene by analysing the phenotypic effects caused by genetically engineering specific nucleic acid sequences within the gene. The process proce ...
approach.
Reski and his coworkers have identified hitherto unknown genes with biotechnological implication for
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
.
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
''Physcomitrium patens'', (synonym: ''Physcomitrella patens'' ) the spreading earthmoss, is a moss (bryophyte) used as a model organism for studies on plant evolution, development, and physiology.
Distribution and ecology
''Physcomitrella pat ...
'' as a
model plant
A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the working ...
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
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
successfully proposed the
genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...
of ''Physcomitrella patens'' for complete sequencing at the
Joint Genome Institute
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI), first located in Walnut Creek then Berkeley, California, was created in 1997 to unite the expertise and resources in genome mapping, DNA sequencing, technology development, and i ...
(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
The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
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
FtsZ is a protein encoded by the ''ftsZ'' gene that assembles into a ring at the future site of bacterial cell division (also called the Z ring). FtsZ is a prokaryotic homologue of the eukaryotic protein tubulin. The initials FtsZ mean "Filamen ...
'' 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
The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is compos ...
", in 2000 and presented a new concept in
cell biology
Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...
of how
chloroplast
A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it in ...
s, the green cell
organelle
In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell, that has a specific function. The name ''organelle'' comes from the idea that these structures are parts of cells, as organs are to the body, hence ''organelle,'' the ...
s of plants, change shape and divide.
In 1999, the chemical company
BASF
BASF Societas Europaea, SE () is a German multinational corporation, multinational chemical company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The ...
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
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
,
cold
Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...
and attack by
pests
PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...
. Plants with improved
nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...
al value (
vitamin
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...
s or polyunsaturated
fatty acid
In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, fr ...
s) have also been in the research focus of their collaboration.
In the same year, Reski invented the
moss bioreactor A moss bioreactor with '' Physcomitrella patens''
A moss bioreactor is a photobioreactor used for the cultivation and propagation of mosses. It is usually used in molecular farming for the production of recombinant protein using transgenic moss. ...
and founded "greenovation Biotech GmbH", a biotechnology company utilizing moss bioreactors for the production of
pharmaceuticals
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...
. In 2011, Reski and coworkers produced recombinant, biologically active human
factor H
Factor H is a member of the regulators of complement activation family and is a complement control protein. It is a large (155 kilodaltons), soluble glycoprotein that circulates in human plasma (at typical concentrations of 200–300 micrograms ...
in a moss bioreactor. In 2017 the first
clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
phase 1 was completed testing the
enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...
Alpha-galactosidase
α-Galactosidase ( EC 3.2.1.22, α-GAL, α-GAL A; systematic name α-D-galactoside galactohydrolase) is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that catalyses the following reaction:
: Hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing α-D-galactose residues in α-D ...
, which was produced in moss, to treat
Fabry disease
Fabry disease, also known as Anderson–Fabry disease, is a rare genetic disease that can affect many parts of the body, including the kidneys, heart, and skin. Fabry disease is one of a group of conditions known as lysosomal storage diseases. T ...
.
In 2010, Reski established the
International Moss Stock Center (IMSC), which stores and freely distributes moss strains,
transgenics
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
and
ecotype
In evolutionary ecology, an ecotype,Greek: ''οίκος'' = home and ''τύπος'' = type, coined by Göte Turesson in 1922 sometimes called ecospecies, describes a genetically distinct geographic variety, population, or race within a specie ...
s. 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
Regulation of gene expression, or gene regulation, includes a wide range of mechanisms that are used by cells to increase or decrease the production of specific gene products (protein or RNA). Sophisticated programs of gene expression are wi ...
; the
epigenetic
In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable phenotypic changes (known as ''marks'') that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix '' epi-'' ( "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "o ...
gene silencing
Gene silencing is the regulation of gene expression in a cell to prevent the expression of a certain gene. Gene silencing can occur during either transcription or translation and is often used in research. In particular, methods used to silence ge ...
by
microRNAs
MicroRNA (miRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21 to 23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals and some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miR ...
.
Reski is directly involved in
Mossclone
The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europea ...
, 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.
In 2016, Reski and colleagues identified a
homeobox
A homeobox is a DNA sequence, around 180 base pairs long, that regulates large-scale anatomical features in the early stages of embryonic development. For instance, mutations in a homeobox may change large-scale anatomical features of the full- ...
gene as
master regulator
In genetics, a master regulator is a gene at the top of a gene regulation hierarchy, particularly in regulatory pathways related to cell fate and differentiation.
Examples
Most genes considered master regulators code for transcription factor prot ...
for
embryo development
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
and a basic genetic toolkit for
stoma
In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bor ...
development and in 2017 they described that the moss
cuticle
A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...
was ancestral to
lignin
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity ...
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
.
In 2018, Reski and colleagues analysed the six
RecQ proteins in ''
Physcomitrella patens
''Physcomitrium patens'', (synonym: ''Physcomitrella patens'' ) the spreading earthmoss, is a moss (bryophyte) used as a model organism for studies on plant evolution, development, and physiology.
Distribution and ecology
''Physcomitrella pat ...
'' and in ''
Arabidopsis thaliana
''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land.
A winter a ...
''.
They found that
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
RecQ4, the
ortholog
Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a spec ...
of the human
Bloom syndrome protein
Bloom syndrome protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''BLM'' gene and is not expressed in Bloom syndrome.
The Bloom syndrome gene product is related to the RecQ subset of DExH box-containing DNA helicases and has both DNA-stimula ...
, acts as a
repressor
In molecular genetics, a repressor is a DNA- or RNA-binding protein that inhibits the expression of one or more genes by binding to the operator or associated silencers. A DNA-binding repressor blocks the attachment of RNA polymerase to the ...
of
homologous recombination
Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in cellular organisms but may ...
, protects the
genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...
from
mutation
In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...
s, and is pivotal for
embryogenesis
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...
and subsequent
plant development Important structures in plant development are buds, shoots, roots, leaves, and flowers; plants produce these tissues and structures throughout their life from meristems located at the tips of organs, or between mature tissues. Thus, a living plant a ...
.
In contrast, moss RecQ6 acts as a potent enhancer of
gene targeting
Gene targeting (also, replacement strategy based on homologous recombination) is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to modify an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene and modify ind ...
.
Scientific board memberships
*2003 – 2012
Supervisory Board
In corporate governance, a governance board also known as council of delegates are chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and fire the board of directors.
In civil s ...
of BioPro GmbH, an enterprise of the
federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
* 2004–2010
Advisory board
An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to th ...
BMBF
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (german: link=no, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, ), abbreviated BMBF, is a cabinet-level ministry of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn, with an office in Berlin. The Ministry provi ...
program ''Risk assessment in Plant Biotechnology''
* 2007–2010
Think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
on
Innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...
Policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
(German ''Innovationsrat'') headed by
Günther Oettinger
Günther Hermann Oettinger (born 15 October 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources from 2017 to 2019, as European Commissioner for Digit ...
, former
Minister-President
A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...
of Baden-Württemberg and now
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...
* 2008–2012 elected president of ''
Deutsches Nationalkomitee Biologie The Deutsches Nationalkomitee Biologie (abbreviated DNK, German National Committee of Biology in English) is a scientific non-profit and non-governmental organisation which represents German biologists on an international level. It is embedded in an ...
'' (DNK, German National Committee of
IUBS
The International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) is a non-profit organization and non-governmental organization, founded in 1919, that promotes the biological sciences internationally. As a scientific umbrella organization it was a founding m ...
and
IUMS within
ICSU)
* 2008–2012 Advisory board of German Life Sciences Association (''Verband Biologie, Biowissenschaften und Biomedizin in Deutschland e.V., VBIO'')
* 2009–2012
Executive committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
Member of the
IUBS
The International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) is a non-profit organization and non-governmental organization, founded in 1919, that promotes the biological sciences internationally. As a scientific umbrella organization it was a founding m ...
* 2016–2020 Advisory Board CeBiTec – Center for Biotechnology,
Bielefeld University
Bielefeld University (german: Universität Bielefeld) is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization a ...
Editorial board memberships of scientific journals
* 2002–2012
Plant Cell Reports
* 2004–2006 Plant Biology (Guest-Editor)
* 2008–2013 Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology
* 2009–2012 Plant Cell Reports, editor-in-chief
* 2010–2012 Biology International
Editorial board Biology International
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See also
* University of Freiburg Faculty of Biology
The Faculty of Biology is one of the eleven faculties of the University of Freiburg in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of a strong life sciences network including institutions such as the Max Planck Institute of Im ...
References
External links
The Reski Lab
Publications
Reski Lab on Twitter
News articles
* [http://www.biotechnologie.de/bio/generator/Navigation/English/Services/search,did=70910.html?listBlId=17574&listXY=1&listST=moss%20reski The first decoded moss genome: From all-conquering country dweller to producer of medicines]
An inconspicuous relative
* ttp://www.bio-pro.de/magazin/wissenschaft/archiv_2008/index.html?lang=en&artikelid=/artikel/01861/index.html The conquest of land by plants
Medicine from Moss: Bioreactor Technique May Offer Hope to People With Age-Related Blindness
"Tough as old moss"
– Ralf Reski explains in The American Scholar (magazine)
''The American Scholar'' is the quarterly literary magazine of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, established in 1932. The magazine has won fourteen National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors from 1999 to present, including ...
why the moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
''Physcomitrella patens
''Physcomitrium patens'', (synonym: ''Physcomitrella patens'' ) the spreading earthmoss, is a moss (bryophyte) used as a model organism for studies on plant evolution, development, and physiology.
Distribution and ecology
''Physcomitrella pat ...
'' survives in the cold
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reski, Ralf
20th-century German biologists
Cell biologists
German geneticists
1958 births
Living people
People from Gelsenkirchen
University of Freiburg faculty
University of Giessen alumni
University of Hamburg alumni
21st-century German biologists