Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

We investigate how organisms interact with chemical signals.

Research News

Sage-leaved alangium (Alangium salviifolium) and ipecac (Carapichea ipecacuanha)

Two plant species invent the same chemically complex and medically interesting substance

June 03, 2025
The elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway of ipecacuanha alkaloids shows how two distantly related plant species could develop the same substance independently.
more
Alcohol makes male flies sexy

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

February 26, 2025
Alcohol in their food increases the production of sex pheromones in male fruit flies, making them more attractive to females
more
Hidden allies

Hidden allies

January 21, 2025
Endophytic fungi inside the leaves strengthen the chemical defenses of black poplars and influence the interactions between insect populations living on the trees
more

Current News and Announcements

Publications

Vogel, H.; Rügen, N.; Wielsch, N.; Twyman, R. M.; Tonk-Rügen, M.; Vilcinskas, A.: Molecular basis of the explosive defence response in the bombardier beetle Brachinus crepitans. Royal Society Open Science 12 (5), 241823 (2025)
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Caputi, L.; O’Connor, S. E.: Flowers with bad breath: How an old gene acquired a new function to exploit an insect’s sense of smell. Science 388 (6747), pp. 586 - 587 (2025)
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Filella, A.; Cébron, A.; Paix, B.; Vallet, M.; Martinot, P.; Guyomarch, L.; Guigue, C.; Tedetti, M.; Grosso, O.; Turk-Kubo, K. A. et al.: Organic metabolite uptake by diazotrophs in the North Pacific Ocean. ISME Communications 5 (1), ycaf061 (2025)
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News

Excellent presentations at the 24th IMPRS Symposium

April 07, 2025

awards news
Iulia Barutia, Eduardo Briceño, Dongik Chang and Fortesa Rama received the IMPRS presentation awards
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Plants as biofactories

April 04, 2025

awards news
Marianna Boccia received the Beutenberg Campus Prize for the best doctoral thesis
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Sarah O'Connor is a new member of the Leopoldina

March 27, 2025

news
The natural product chemist and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena has been elected a member of the German National Academy of Sciences.
more

Events and Seminars

Markus Knaden

Sexuelle Kommunikation von Insekten im Anthropozän
Jun 5, 2025 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
Hybrid lecture (online via zoom & MPI-CE, A1.009 + A1.011)

Claudia Vickers

Choosing the right problems: How can our science meaningfully contribute to climate change and sustainability? - Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering as a case study
Jun 11, 2025 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Hybrid lecture (online via zoom & MPI-CE, A1.009 + A1.011)

Various MPI-CE and external speakers

International Chemical Ecology Course 2025
Jun 23, 2025 09:00 AM (Local Time Germany) - Jul 4, 2025 04:00 PM
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Room: Seminar room A1.009 and A1.011

Heejin Yoo, Talia Karasov

Talk 1: The metabolic code of plant immune signaling; Talk 2: Weaponized phages used for bacterial competition in the phyllosphere
Jul 10, 2025 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
Hybrid lecture (online via zoom & MPI-CE, A1.009 + A1.011)
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