Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
We investigate how organisms interact with chemical signals.
We do research in the lab to better understand interactions at a molecular level.
Photo: Anna Schroll
We do research in the glasshouse and in the field to better understand interactions and signals in their natural environment.
Photo: Anna Schroll
We support the Initiative “Weltoffenes Thüringen”.
We are committed to ensuring that people from different backgrounds live and work together in a respectful manner.
Training and international collaborations are key features of our work.
Photo: Anna Schroll
We believe diversity and inclusion leads to the best science.
Photo: Jürgen Scheere
Research News
Current News and Announcements
Engineering of insect juvenile hormone III biosynthesis in the plant Nicotiana benthamiana. Metabolic Engineering 88, pp. 77 - 84 (2025)
Enzymatic epimerization of monoterpene indole alkaloids in Kratom. bioRxiv: the preprint server for biology (2024)
Canonical terpene synthases in arthropods: Intraphylum gene transfer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121 (51), e2413007121 (2024)
The award recognizes her outstanding research in the chemistry and biochemistry of plant natural products, with particular emphasis on the detailed elucidation of metabolic pathways and the engineering of novel pathways and compounds for biomedical applications.
The medal recognizes his many years of world-leading scientific work in insect ecology.
The doctoral researcher from the Department of Insect Symbiosis gave an excellent talk about the temporal and spatial dynamics of symbiont lineages in a grain pest beetle.