17. Sep 2025 Actualia (engl.) · Conference Report

Joint Section’s meeting for ECRs

The ECR group in front of the venue, the World Heritage Site of St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany, who took part in the first joint meeting of two of DBG’s Sections. Photo: Dietrich Ober
The participants in the conference room. Photo: Dietrich Ober
Break-time discussions in the monastery courtyard. Photo: Dietrich Ober
Participants in a guided tour to Hildesheim's market square. Photo: Dorothee Langel

From 1st to 3rd September 2025, the Early Career Workshop (early career researchers, ECR) of the DBG's sections Natural Products and Applied Botany took place at the Michaeliskloster Hildesheim, Germany. Over thirty doctoral students and postdocs from 16 institutions across Germany, as well as from the United Kingdom and Denmark, presented their current research work and used the forum for intensive scientific exchange. The two organisers, Prof. Dr. Dietrich Ober and Prof. Dr. Christian Zörb, report about the topics and research focuses discussed in the first joint meeting of the two Sections. 

As this was the first time the workshop had been held jointly by the two sections, the contributions represented a wide range of scientific topics, but had many points of contact, particularly in terms of methods. Natural products also often play an important role in the quality and stress management of numerous crops.

Scientific Topics 

The programme included contributions on plant stress responses to nematode infestation, drought, salinity and climate change, on the biosynthesis and regulation of specialised metabolites such as terpenes, phenols, glucosinolates and alkaloids, and on the role of various volatile compounds. Other focal points were enzyme characterisation, metabolic engineering and ecological integration perspectives. Many presentations highlighted the increasing relevance of climate-related issues and application-oriented research, particularly in the fields of plant-derived natural products, synthetic biology and enzyme engineering.

Emerging Research Focus 

Despite the very different project phases, the quality of the presentations was consistently impressive. In addition to lively discussions on the content, the workshop promoted networking and visibility among this group through a format specifically designed for young researchers. Overall, the event highlighted both the continuity of natural product research and new thematic emphases in stress physiology, biotechnological applications and ecological integration. Some pictures give an impression of the event.

The organisers, Prof. Dr. Dietrich Ober, University of Kiel, and Prof. Dr. Christian Zörb, University of Hohenheim, would like to thank all participants for their commitment to the event and everyone involved in the organisation, not least the team at Michaeliskloster in Hildesheim, who made it possible to run the event in a relaxed and professionally organised manner. They both also thanked the sponsors of this event, i.e. the German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG), and the companies Bionorica (Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany), and PhytoLab (Vestenbergsgreuth, Germany) for financial support.

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In September 2025

Prof. Dr. Dietrich Ober (Deputy Speaker Section Natural Products), head of the Botanical Garden and head of the research group Biochemical Ecology and Molecular Evolution, Kiel University, Germany

Prof. Dr. Christian Zörb (Speaker Section Applied Botany), Hohenheim University, Quality of Plant Products (340e) | Viticulture

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