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A so-called multi-pipette in a high-throughput robot; the pipette tips contain a yellow solution and drops are hanging from them.

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.

A doctoral student from the IMPRS-µlife graduate school pipettes at a laboratory bench in a white coat.

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.

A hand is holding a microtiter plate with algae cultures in different sizes

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.

An enzyme on a blue background, with a plastic bag emerging behind it

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.

People are sitting on the Marburg town square, listening to a female soapbox speaker

Science meets City Life

On 6 September 2025, the university, city and Max Planck Institute transformed the market square into an open-air laboratory for the Cluster of Excellence Festival.

Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology

Life without microorganisms is simply impossible. Microbes were the first life forms on early Earth. They evolved the ability to capture carbon dioxide and nitrogen, providing life with energy and nutrients. Microbes also invented photosynthesis, brought oxygen to the atmosphere and gave birth to multicellularity and the evolution of higher life. Microbes are more numerous and diverse than all other living organisms and there is no ecological niche that is not covered by them. They live in constant interactions with their environment, affecting health, agricultural productivity, and the climate on a global scale.

Our mission is to understand the function, communication, and interaction of microorganisms with their environment, to describe them with mathematical models, and to modify them with synthetic biological approaches.
We specifically focus on the microbial metabolism of greenhouse gases, the synthesis and function of bioactive natural compounds, cellular communication and regulation networks, as well as their spatial and temporal organization. Our research scale ranges from the atomic level up to global ecosystems.

We currently employ over 300 people from more than 35 countries. Together with our two affiliated centers, and the , MPI-TM is one of Europe’s leading Institutes in the fields of Molecular and Synthetic Microbiology The Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology (MPI-TM), with its two affiliated centres (SYNMIKRO and the Microcosm Earth Center (MEC), is one of Europe's leading institutes in the field of molecular and synthetic microbiology.
As part of the newly founded Microbes for Climate (M4C) Cluster of Excellence, we are collaborating with the Marburg University to research microbial metabolic networks and optimize them in order to develop sustainable solutions for the fields of health, the environment, and biotechnology.