The Institute was created in 1962 from the Department of Plant Physiology and the Department of Phytopathology of the Institute of Biology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. In 1990, it was divided into two independent units: The Institute of Experimental Botany in Prague and Olomouc and the Institute of Molecular Plant Biology in Ceské Budejovice. The principal fields of scientific work in the Institute consist of plant genetics, physiology and biotechnology. In the field of genetic research, the Institute carries out work on induced mutagenesis and DNA repair, induction of genetic variability in tissue and cell cultures in vitro and the molecular genetics of pollen. Physiological subjects include adaptation and acclimation mechanisms of photosynthesis, hormonal and ecological control of plant growth and development, the mechanisms of action of growth regulators, physiology of plant viruses and plant pathophysiology.