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.
We do research in the lab to better understand interactions at a molecular level.

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.

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 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.

Training and international collaborations are key features of our work.

We believe diversity and inclusion leads to the best science.

We believe diversity and inclusion leads to the best science.

Research News

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

Hidden allies

February 26, 2025
Endophytic fungi inside the leaves strengthen the chemical defenses of black poplars and influence the interactions between insect populations living on the trees
Preference for the smell of decay
Evolutionary adaptations have enabled the fruit fly Drosophila busckii to detect and thrive on toxic food sources

Current News and Announcements

Publications

Vu, H. A.; Caputi, L.; O’Connor, S. E.: Isotopic labeling analysis using single cell mass spectrometry. bioRxiv: the preprint server for biology (2025)
Szymczak, J.; Pinaud, S.; Rodriguez, I. R.; Walde, M.; Kayal, E.; Alves-de-Souza, C.; Bigeard, E.; Gallet, B.; Gachenot, M.; Le Panse, S. et al.; Jauzein, C.; Le Gac, M.; Decelle, J.; Pohnert, G.; Vallet, M.; Talman, A. M.; Guillou, L.: Two spore types in a marine parasite of Dinoflagellates. bioRxiv: the preprint server for biology (2025)
Calderini, O.; Kamileen, M. O.; Nakamura, Y.; Heinicke, S.; Alam, R. M.; Hong, B.; Jiang, Y.; Gutierrez, A.; Alagna, F.; Paolocci, F. et al.; Valeri, M. C.; Franco, E.; Mousavi, S.; Mariotti, R.; Caputi, L.; O’Connor, S. E.; Rodriguez-Lopez, C. E.: It runs in the family: Discovery of enzymes in the oleuropein pathway in Olive (Olea europaea) by comparative transcriptomics. bioRxiv: the preprint server for biology (2025)

News

Iulia Barutia, Eduardo Briceño, Dongik Chang and Fortesa Rama received the IMPRS presentation awards
Marianna Boccia received the Beutenberg Campus Prize for the best doctoral thesis
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.

Events and Seminars

Pengjuan Zu

Information Ecology: Decoding chemical communication between plants and insects at the community level
May 16, 2025 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Hybrid lecture (online via zoom & MPI-CE, A1.009 + A1.011)

Miya Qiawei Pan

to be announced
May 23, 2025 10:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
Hybrid lecture (online via zoom & MPI-CE, A1.009 + A1.011)

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)

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
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