Barbara Steiner

Barbara Steiner is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Crop Breeding and Genomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). Her research focuses on enhancing resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat through advanced genomic and breeding approaches, addressing critical food safety concerns related to mycotoxin contamination.

Her primary research interests encompass plant breeding, crop genomics, and the genetic dissection of Fusarium resistance in cereals. She investigates quantitative trait loci (QTL), the role of plant morphology in disease resistance, and mycotoxin detoxification mechanisms. Her work has pioneered the functional characterization of resistance genes like UDP-glucosyltransferases and the pyramiding of QTLs from wild relatives into cultivated wheat.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trend toward integrating multi-omics data (genomics, transcriptomics) for predicting FHB resistance and developing genomic selection tools. She has made significant contributions to understanding the genetic architecture of resistance in durum and bread wheat, with emphasis on practical breeding applications for reducing mycotoxin accumulation in grain.