New Core Facility "Natural Product Isolation and NMR" at MPI-TM
The Core Facility, led by Drs Anna Wacker and Karsten Siems, specialises in extracting pure substances from microorganisms and providing high-resolution structural characterisation.
Spotlight on Formic Acid
Formic acid, or rather its salt formate, is a key resource in the production of many other raw materials in biotechnology. Using high-throughput methods, Dr Maren Nattermann's team has developed a synthetic enzyme that enables bacteria to grow on formic acid. This could pave the way for a future bioeconomy based on formate.
Our Graduate School Becomes Permanent
It is welcome news at the end of the year: From 2026 onwards, the Max Planck Society will provide long-term funding for the International Max Planck Research School 'Principles of Microbial Life' (IMPRS-µLife) at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and the University of Marburg.
Turbo Platform for Plant Research
Climate change is causing a decline in global crop yields. While synthetic biology can improve plant properties, working with complex plant systems usually takes several years. Now, a team led by Tobias Erb has developed a microalgae platform that simplifies and speeds up this process.
A microbial strategy for renewable plastics
An enzyme from Rhodospirillum rubrum could enable the sustainable production of ethylene for plastics manufacturing without generating CO2. A team led by Dr. Johannes Rebelein unravelled the structure of the enzyme, making an exciting discovery in the process.
