Peter Wenzl (Principal Scientist)
E-mail: p.wenzl 
DiversityArrays.com
I'm a molecular biologist with experience in abiotic-stress physiology, high-throughput genotyping and gene cloning. My main focus during the last few years has been to advance DArT from the proof-of-concept stage to a mature technology. I'm still involved in many aspects of technology development such as developing and testing new DArT methodologies, making things work from a technical point of view, analysing large sets of data and interacting with IT colleagues to improve DArT software. My long-term interest lies in the relationship between genotypes and complex phenotypes, an area which I believe could benefit from 'importing' fresh ideas from other areas of science.
I earned my PhD at Vienna University (Austria) through a research project at the "Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical" (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia, for which I secured a research grant from the Austrian Academy of Sciences. During my time at CIAT I discovered physiologically unique and very effective aluminum resistance mechanisms in the tropical forage grass Brachiaria decumbens (signalgrass). I also developed a method to screen brachiariagrasses for edaphic adaptation, which has been implemented in CIAT's breeding program.
In 1998, I moved to CAMBIA in Canberra, Australia, to initiate the development of a positive-selection system for plant transgenesis. I developed a method for preparing the selective agent (cellobiouronic acid; Cba) and cloned a range of microbial genes encoding Cba-metabolising enzymes, amongst them the first known fungal beta-glucuronidase genes. In parallel, I continued contributing to ongoing research on aluminium resistance at CIAT. In 2002, I joined the growing DArT P/L team.
Away from work, I enjoy being with my family, listening and dancing to Latin American music, photography, as well as reading books about "weird" topics such as complexity theory, the philosophical implications of quantum theory and consciousness.
