Julia Bechteler

Prof. Dr. Julia Bechteler is a Professor for Plant Phylogenomics and Systematics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Faculty of Biology, within the Department of Systematics, Biodiversity & Evolution of Plants. She leads a research group focused on molecular phylogenetics, land plant evolution, bryophyte diversity, and plant adaptation to arid environments. Her research is conducted within the framework of the DFG CRC1211: Earth - Evolution at the Dry Limit, where she serves as Principal Investigator for project B07: Desert transcriptomics.

Dr. Bechteler's educational background includes:

• Doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) in Biology from the University of Munich (LMU) completed between 2014-2018
• First State Exam in Biology, Chemistry, and Educational Sciences (Gymnasium) from the University of Munich (LMU) in 2013

Her primary research interests focus on the genetic mechanisms underlying plant adaptation to arid desert environments and the evolution and ecology of epiphytic lifestyles in bryophytes (non-vascular land plants). Her work combines molecular phylogenetics, genomics, and ecological transcriptomics to investigate how plants have evolved to survive in extreme environments like the Atacama and Namib Deserts. She studies bryophyte diversity and evolution, particularly focusing on epiphytic lineages such as the Metzgeriaceae and Lejeuneaceae. Her research integrates both modern and fossil data to reconstruct evolutionary histories spanning hundreds of millions of years.

Dr. Bechteler serves as Principal Investigator for the DFG-funded CRC1211 B07 project "Desert transcriptomics: assessing the genetic basis of adaptation to aridity in desert dwellers." She is also an associated researcher in the DFG-funded CRC1211 B01 project on the biogeographic history of plant communities and the BMBF-funded FRAMe project focusing on Farmer Resilience and Melon Crop Diversity in southern Africa.

Her research group includes several scientists working on various aspects of plant evolution and adaptation:

• Emy Yue Hu
• Paloma Morales
• Anina Neumann
• Julia Simonis
• Camila Uribe-Holguin

Dr. Bechteler actively supervises BSc, MSc, and teacher training students, offering research topics in molecular biodiversity, trait evolution, biogeographical history, plant-environment interactions, and cultivation protocols for desert plants and bryophytes.