IBG-1 Biotechnology

News

New book on Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium glutamicum has developed to a major workhorse of industrial biotechnology. More than 2.9 Mio tons of L-glutamate, 1.9 Mio tons of L-lysine and several other products are currently provided by using this bacterium.

IBG-1 – an interdisciplinary team

Biologists, biochemists, chemists, computer scientists, physicists, and engineers form an interdisciplinary team with a common aim: the use of microorganisms or isolated enzymes for the synthesis of bio-products from renewable carbon sources.

Exploiting the natural capabilities of microorganisms

For thousands of years mankind has employed the metabolism of microorganisms, e.g. for the making of bread, cheese, wine, or beer. However, the enormous potential of microorganisms and enzymes for the synthesis of new bio-products, such as basic or fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and proteins, from renewables is exploited only to a small extent currently.

Sustainable products and processes

Research at IBG-1 aims at a detailed molecular understanding of microorganisms and enzymes which are used as biocatalysts and includes approaches of systems biology and synthetic biology. The resulting knowledge and technologies are used for the development of novel resource-efficient and sustainable bio-processes, thereby reducing our dependency on fossil carbon sources, in particular crude oil.