Bioeconomy

Lentil cultivation in a producers’ association - EIP-AGRI Rhizo-Linse project - 23/05/2022

From cultivation to market – lentils from the Swabian Alb

Complicated cultivation, fluctuating yields and complex cleaning: Leisa – as lentils are called in Swabian – are demanding. So to produce lentils economically, 130 farmers in the Swabian Alb have joined forces and set up the organic producers’ association Alb-Leisa. Their lentil harvests are processed and marketed by a company called Lauteracher Alb-Feld-Früchte.

Lentil cleaning - EIP-AGRI Rhizo-Linse project - 26/04/2022

Lentil cleaning in the Altdorf mill

The Altdorf mill, just under 7 km south of the city of Böblingen, has operated lentil cleaning facilities since 2019, the year that the Sessler mill in Renningen, 20 km further north, ceased all operations including lentil cleaning. After receiving a number of enquiries from farmers and local mills, brothers Karl and Jörg Ruthardt took a chance and launched a lentil cleaning operation in addition to their mill and farm shop business.

Lentil cultivation and cleaning on the farm - EIP-AGRI Rhizo-Linse project - 16/03/2022

Lentils return to the Heckengäu region

Lentils are among the oldest crop plants in Central European agriculture and were once a popular food in ancient Egypt, Persia and Mesopotamia. The legume was widespread in Germany until the mid-20th century, but has since disappeared completely from farmers’ fields. Over the past decade, lentils have reappeared as a crop grown locally and are cultivated in harmony with nature.

From field to socket - 03/02/2021

Energy park & Donau-Silphie: a symbiosis that benefits nature

Biogas plants that produce non-fossil fuels are very much in vogue at the moment. In the Swabian hamlet of Hahnennest, four family farms have joined forces to form an energy park and operate a local biogas plant, covering everything from substrate production to the sale of energy.

The “Rhizo-Lentil" EIP-AGRI project - 03/03/2020

University of Hohenheim wants to improve the conditions for lentil cultivation

Lentils were once considered poor man’s food, but in Germany demand for them has never been greater. And to satisfy this growing demand, more lentils need to be cultivated. This is why the University of Hohenheim is involved in the EIP-AGRI "Rhizo-Linse" project. The aim of the project is to find rhizobia strains that go well with lentil plants to increase yield and improve quality.

The "Protein Initiative” and the “Rhizo-Lentil" EIP-AGRI project - 31/01/2020

LTZ Augustenberg promotes regional protein production

In future, more lentils, soybeans, peas, field beans and lupins will be grown again in Baden-Württemberg farms. This is what Dr. Carola Blessing from the Agricultural Technology Center (LTZ) Augustenberg is working on. It therefore became clear very quickly that the LTZ Augustenberg needed to get involved in the "Rhizo-Linse" project that aims to further develop lentil cultivation.

EIP-AGRI project coordination - 12/12/2019

nadicom: “Rhizo-Linse” project – excellent small fertiliser factories

Lentil plants, rarely cultivated in Central Europe in the twentieth century, are making a comeback. The "Rhizo-Linse"1 EIP-AGRI project aims to reintroduce old lentil varieties and make them appealing to farmers. A company called nadicom Gesellschaft für angewandte Mikrobiologie mbH is working on the development of an ecological product consisting of nodule bacteria that can improve lentil plant growth.

Article - 01/06/2015

Cyanobacteria: real all-rounders – biofuel producers and climate savers

Prof. Dr. Annegret Wilde and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hess from the Institute of Biology III at the University of Freiburg have been using the versatile cyanobacteria for quite some time. The two researchers are part of the project "Cyanosys - Systems biology of cyanobacterial biofuel production", which aims to use cyanobacteria for the large-scale production of biofuels from sunlight and carbon dioxide.

Article - 30/03/2015

Nitrogenases: magicians that convert carbon monoxide into hydrocarbons

Rhizobia soil bacteria live in symbiosis with legumes and are masters of ammonia synthesis thanks to an enzyme called nitrogenase. Prof. Dr. Oliver Einsle from the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Freiburg is studying how the enzyme accomplishes this energy-intensive process and why it sometimes also converts other compounds with an amazing result. Einsle elucidated a mechanism by which the enzyme converts toxic carbon monoxide into…

Article - 03/09/2012

The Matryoshka principle of green symbiosis

Unicellular, aquatic dinoflagellates are masters of what is known as nested symbiosis. They engulf chloroplast-carrying organisms which enable them to photosynthesize sunlight. While this type of symbiotic relationship enables dinoflagellates to survive, the toxins produced by algal blooms, which typically involve dinoflagellates, can have a deadly effect on marine life. This in turn can also affect organisms that consume marine life – including…

Article - 16/04/2012

Symbiogenesis of mitochondria and plastids

The endosymbiotic theory, which holds that eukaryotic mitochondria and plastids arose from the engulfment and integration of a bacterium by another cell, has long been a matter of controversial debate, but growing evidence over time has led to the substantiation and universal acceptance of the theory. Recent genetic and biochemical analyses have provided detailed insights into the fundamental events that happened more than a billion years ago.

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.

Press release - 28/02/2011

"Sebacinales Everywhere" – fungi that live in special symbioses

Researchers have a created a specific type of endophytic symbiosis between fungi and plant roots that does not lead to visible mycorrhiza. In addition, a team of biologists from Tübingen along with international partners has discovered that Sebacinales (fungi) are ubiquitous endophytes of plant roots.

Article - 01/12/2009

Ralf Takors – a bio-engineer

Multidisciplinary talent, people who can combine biological knowledge in an outstanding way with engineering, is in great demand. Ralf Takors, who has been head of the Institute of Bioprocess Engineering (IBVT) at the University of Stuttgart since July 2009, is one such talent.

Article - 22/10/2009

On the track of fascinating diatoms

Diatoms make a considerable contribution to the production of oxygen and biomass in the worlds oceans and aquatic ecosystems. However up until now little is known about the molecular biology and chemistry of these eukaryotic algae. Prof. Peter Kroth and his team at the University of Constance are hoping to shed more light on these algae. The team has recently been involved in the deciphering of the Phaeodactylum tricornutum genome research that…