PlantMolecular Biology Reporter Volume 7(4)1989 pages297-301 Site Specifics Plant Molecular Biology at the Institute of Plant Physiology in Szeged A t the beginning of the seventies the Hungarian Academy of Sciences founded a new institution for interdisciplinary research in biology. Szeged, a medium size university town close to the Yugoslavian border, was selected as the place for the Biological Research Center because of its excellent tradition in medical and agricultural research. The five institutes of the Center (Biochemistry, Biophysics, Enzymology, Genetics, and Plant Physiology) representa unique combi- nation of wide-range expertise committed to basic research in various fields of molecular biology. The late Prof. G.L. Farkas, the first director of the Institute of Plant Physiology, initiated four main research projects including studies on early reactions in viral infection, algal metabolism, photosynthesis, and developmental physiology. Some of these projects provide the background for the present work in plant molecular biology. The Institute of Plant Physiology has 90 employees, of whom approxi- mately 25 are Ph.D.'s. Our scientists are actively engaged in international collaborative research and each year six to ten staff members work abroad, mainly in laboratories in Western Europe and the United States. Research is partly financed by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and additional support is provided by national granting agencies and industrial companies. The director of the Institute is D6nes Dudits. Out of nine research groups the following three laboratories have special interest in the molecular biology of higher plants: --Ferenc Nagy Biological Research Center Hungarian Academy of Sciences Szeged, Hungary Abbreviations: 2, 4-D; U-snRNA, uridylate-rich small nuclear RNA; U-snRNP, uridylate-rich small nuclear ribonucleoproteinparticle. 297