In nature, various different microorganisms form highly complex communities in which every species has a distinct role. One example are symbiotic associations of a phototrophic cyanobacteria or algae and a heterotrophic fungi – so called lichens. Our goal is the de novo design of a synthetic cross-kingdom community inspired by a lichen.

Large-scale, sustainable production of sesquiterpenes from cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria, photoautotrophic prokaryotes that inhabit vast niches of the Earth, are quickly gaining traction in applied research. With more knowledge and more tools becoming available, research is progressing to a point in which they are being considered more and more as a biotechnological chassis.

The development of cyanobacteria as host organisms for biotechnological applications has attracted increasing interest in recent years. Several production systems for compounds with low structural complexity such as alcohols, sugars and fatty acids have been established in cyanobacteria model strains. In our working group we conduct research on cyanobacterial host systems to produce high value components like terpenoids.

Diversity of cyanobacterial circadian clocks

Cyanobacteria use a circadian clock to control cellular processes in daily cycles. In our group we aim at understanding the role and complexity of clock proteins beyond the model organism Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942. Currently our work focuses mainly on Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

Establishment and development of bioreactors for long-term cultivation of heterotrophic and phototrophic microorganisms, with regard to co-cultivation and production of biotechnologically relevant organisms.

While cyanobacteria are becoming increasingly attractive for various research applications, robust transcriptional and translational regulatory systems are still limited. While many systems are available for established model organisms such as E. coli, these often fail to translate directly to nonconventional model organisms.