The Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) is a member of the Leibniz Association. It is organised as a non-profit foundation under public law. According to its statutes, basic and application-oriented research on crop plants are among the Institute's tasks.

The scientific focus is on the development of new insights into the structure, function and evolution of genetic material, on the conservation, research and development of the hereditary diversity of important cultivated plants, their ancestors and wild relatives. The Leibniz Institute is one of the leading international scientific institutions in these fields.

The research work is dedicated to:

• the elucidation of fundamental principles of evolution and plant development,
• to improve the adaptability of important crop plants to changing environmental and climatic conditions, and
• the development of innovative approaches to knowledge-based maintenance, exploration and utilisation of crop plant diversity.

The research goals of the Institute are directed towards an efficient and sustainable supply of food, energy and raw materials and thus towards meeting global challenges. At the IPK, the conservation, research and utilisation of the genetic diversity of crop plants in the Federal Ex situ Gene Bank are combined with innovative research approaches in the fields of molecular genetics, genome research, molecular plant biology, systems biology, bioinformatics and modelling.

With a total inventory of more than 150,000 accessions from almost 3,000 species, the Gene Bank is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. The IPK PhenoSphere is unique in the world. With this facility researchers can study the productivity of crop plants under altered environmental conditions and thus specifically improve their properties.  The Leibniz Institute work contributes to the development of a plant-based bio economy and related social change.