Bioeconomy

Vaccination for plants - 23/01/2023

Dialogue instead of a chemical maze – new strategy for sustainable crop protection

Climate change creates stress. This provides an opportunity for pests to exploit plant weaknesses and reproduce. For the infested plant, this can be catastrophic and often fatal. But instead of continuing to protect harvest yields with toxic substances as before, the transnational DialogProTec project is now taking a completely new approach: researchers want to intervene in the communication between plants and pests to keep them healthy.

Phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge - 21/10/2020

Bacteria help to recycle phosphorus

Biotechnology for the bioeconomy: in something known as the P-bac process, sulphur bacteria extract phosphorus from sewage sludge ash. Phosphorus is one of the key building blocks of life and an essential nutrient for plant growth. When there is not enough phosphorus in the soil, farmers apply it via organic or mineral fertilisers.

New biomaterials developed at the University of Bayreuth eliminate risk of infection and facilitate healing processes. These nanostructured materials are based on spider silk proteins. They prevent colonization by bacteria and fungi, but at the same time proactively assist in the regeneration of human tissue. They are therefore ideal for implants, wound dressings, prostheses, contact lenses, and other everyday aids.

Article - 24/01/2019

Scientists to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wastewater

In Germany, around 1,500 tonnes of antibiotics per year are administered to humans and animals. As a result, more and more bacteria are developing resistance to common antibiotics. As part of HyReKA, a cooperative project funded by the BMBF, scientists led by Professor Thomas Schwartz from the KIT are investigating how antibiotic-resistant pathogens spread and how they can be prevented from doing so.

Article - 16/08/2016

Learning from wild grapevines

Grapevines are treated with pesticides more frequently than any other crop. Peter Nick from the Botanical Institute at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is pursuing an ambitious goal: sustainable viticulture rather than toxins. Sustainable viticulture takes into account plants’ natural capacities of resistance. Nick uses the European Wild Grape, the ancestor of cultivated grapevine varieties, for his research as the plant is able to…

Article - 06/06/2016

Natural genetic engineering

New plant breeding technologies, and the CRISPR/Cas technique in particular, are making headlines. For the first time in the history of agriculture, these technologies enable the quick and, in particular, precise modification of DNA at a predetermined locus. However, these methods provide authorities with an unexpected headache: are genome-edited plants genetically modified organisms or not?

Article - 01/02/2016

Phosphorus recycling – valuable materials from sewage plants

Modern agriculture relies on phosphorus in the form of chemical fertilisers to provide plants with vital nutrients. However, huge amounts of this valuable raw material end up in our sewage plants. Two new methods to recover phosphorus from wastewater could potentially contribute to the sustainable use of phosphorus in the not-too-distant future.

Article - 15/06/2015

Marja Timmermans: Humboldt Professor with a penchant for small RNAs

Molecular biologist Marja Timmermans has found out how plant cells can communicate with each other using mobile ribonucleic acid molecules. The use of small RNAs (sRNA) is a fundamental principle that applies not only to plant cells, but also to animal and human cells. These days, Timmermans' laboratory methods are used around the world. She has recently been awarded Germany’s most highly endowed international research award - the Alexander…

Dossier - 16/06/2014

Biotechnology as a tool for the production of food

Biotechnology opens up numerous opportunities for the food industry. The targeted use of biotechnological methods can, amongst other things, help reduce the quantity and number of unhealthy ingredients in foods as well as degrade allergenic substances. Genomic research and targeted breeding also greatly facilitate progress in agriculture. Food biotechnology therefore contributes significantly to saving resources, optimising harvest yields and…

Dossier - 02/06/2014

Bioanalysis – techniques for the characterization of biological material

Science constantly provides researchers with new challenges biologists and bioanalysts have to deal with and which come from sources as varied as the ever increasing number of resistant pathogenic bacterial strains or the famine conditions in Third-World countries. In the search for scientific truths bioanalysis is the development optimization and application of the entire range of analytical methods available. However we need to keep in mind…

Press release - 05/08/2013

greenovation Biotech GmbH – production of therapeutic proteins in moss

Plants can be genetically modified in a way that enables them to produce pharmaceutically active proteins for various indications. The small moss Physcomitrella patens is able to produce more complex molecules than bacteria. Moreover, moss is less expensive to grow and less susceptible to pathogenic contaminants than Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. greenovation Biotech GmbH, which has its headquarters in Heilbronn and a branch in Freiburg,…

Press release - 16/11/2012

GATC Biotech is partner in decoding the genome of the pathogen Colletotrichum

In collaboration with the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne GATC Biotech AG has decoded the genome of the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum higginsianum. The recently published results show that gene expression plays a decisive role in plant disease. With this knowledge the international project aims to improve plant protection from this pest.

Article - 15/10/2012

gerbion®: hunting down pathogens

Detecting viruses, bacteria or parasites in human, animal, food and environmental samples is routine for the staff of gerbion GmbH & Co. KG. The company has been using virological, microbiological and serological methods for many years, but is now also using cutting-edge molecular biology methods for detecting pathogens. The founders of the Kornwestheim-based diagnostics company have concentrated on own research work and the development of…

Article - 30/07/2012

How to prevent pathogens from developing antibiotic resistances

For bacteria, the environment is rather like a big market where they can give and receive new survival strategies if need be. A group of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Grohmann at the Freiburg University Medical Centre is investigating how microorganisms exchange antibiotic resistance genes. In a project involving two hospitals in Mexico City, the molecular biologists are also investigating whether pathogens, resistance genes and…

Article - 29/05/2012

David Schleheck: exploring the effective degradation of surfactants

David Schleheck biologist at the University of Konstanz focuses on the bacterial degradation of surfactants and LAS in particular. The results of his research are of huge importance for the recycling of grey water in areas including home sewage treatment systems for example.

Article - 14/05/2012

Making money with waste – biogas

At a time when energy crops are competing with food crops for agricultural land, the company n-bio GmbH is doing something positive by turning what is considered waste into bioenergy. This not only reduces waste disposal costs, but also protects the environment. The technically highly sophisticated waste fermentation plants manufactured by n-bio GmbH automatically remove packaging residues and are also able to cope with pralines. The company’s…

Dossier - 16/04/2012

Symbioses - effective communities of unequal partners

The interaction that can occur between two different types of species comes in different forms, ranging from relationships that can be beneficial for both or just one of the partners, or that can cause damage and in extreme cases lead to the death of one of the partners. Some symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes, for example, have economic uses while others can be used for analyses or as models for industrial applications.

Article - 19/03/2012

Soil bacteria to produce new antibiotics

An ever-growing number of genomes of soil bacteria of the genus Streptomyces are being sequenced. Using a method known as “genome mining”, researchers at the University of Tübingen are working on the identification of gene clusters that have the potential to be used in industrial biotechnology for the production of new antibiotics and other pharmaceutically active substances. To achieve this, the biosynthesis gene clusters are integrated into…

Article - 29/06/2011

Bernhard Eikmanns makes a soil bacterium fit for industrial application

Bernhard Eikmanns prefers not to get involved in research that will end up on bookshelves. So it was an easy decision for the biologist to drop the research he was doing into bacteria that are difficult to cultivate during his doctoral studies and concentrate instead on Corynebacterium glutamicum, a bacterial species that is much easier to cultivate. Corynebacterium glutamicum is an excellent object for scientific research and industrial…

Article - 20/12/2010

Invisible danger with long-term consequences

According to official figures mycotoxins which are toxic secondary metabolites produced by moulds are found in around of 20 per cent of the European crop harvest. Even the smallest concentrations of mycotoxins can have devastating toxic effects causing cancer or posing a risk to fertility and development. Alexandra Heussner from the University of Konstanz is investigating ochratoxins whose chronic effect represents a huge danger to human health.

Press release - 20/11/2010

BioNexGen: new membrane technologies for water treatment

All steam ahead for international research cooperation at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences: The “BioNexGen” project brings together eleven partners from Europe and the MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa) with the objective of developing membranes with new nanostructured functional layers for the treatment of wastewater. The consortium is led by Prof. Dr. Jan Hoinkis, Director of the Institute of Applied Research at the…

Article - 25/10/2010

A plant hormone and growth in the dark

All multicellular organisms including plants produce hormones. One of the hormones plants produce is the phytohormone jasmonic acid which has for a long time mainly been known as a second messenger substance that is released when plants are attacked by pathogens. Some years ago Dr. Michael Riemann from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT discovered that jasmonic acid acts as a major growth regulator of phytochrome-mediated responses in…

Dossier - 18/10/2010

New machines for the life sciences

Hardware and software applications have become an integral part of the everyday life of life sciences researchers, developers and service providers. It is impossible to imagine life science applications without effective hardware and software applications – from computer-assisted drug screening to the automatic production of biosensors for rapid, mobile, purse-size bacterial test devices. Trends such as automation and miniaturisation lead to ever…

Article - 18/09/2010

Empa Testmaterials: assessing the effectiveness of washing processes

Empa Testmaterials AG focuses on the research and development of test systems and materials that enable biofilm to be successfully removed from washing machines as well as controlling the level of hygiene of individual wash cycles. As a competence centre in washing and cleaning the company specialises in the assessment of washing and cleaning processes in terms of effectiveness energy efficiency damage and hygiene.

Press release - 07/06/2010

The dilemma of plants fighting infections

Scientists from Tübingen reveal an evolutionary dilemma: plants that are more resistant to disease grow more slowly and are less competitive than susceptible relatives when enemies are rare.