Members

Synthetic microbial energy conversion

We study microbially catalysed reactions of the biogeochemical nitrogen and sulphur cycles. Our basic research addresses the physiology and enzymology of bacterial anaerobic respiration and the functional architecture of corresponding electron transport chains. A prominent example is our work on laughing gas respiration, in which we aim to understand the microbial conversion of this important greenhouse gas into dinitrogen gas at the molecular level. With regard to Synthetic Biology we aim to engineer electron transport chains and their dedicated maturation systems to generate physiologically improved bacteria for suitable applications.