Synthetic Pathways

The scientists of the Area of Competence “Synthetic Pathways” use methods from synthetic biology to design new metabolic pathways and implement them in microorganisms. Their work aims to make it possible to produce inexpensive chemicals based on renewable raw materials. Microorganisms such as bacteria and yeasts are genetically modified in such a way that—when integrated into a biotechnological process—they produce the desired products products. Some of these products are already produced by chemical methods, but others are accessible via chemical synthesis only with great difficulty, if at all. In many cases, multi-stage production processes can be performed in a single bacterial cell, which is thus effectively a “microbial cell factory.” The activities of this competence area also include characterization of the physiology and phenotype of microbial cells, enzyme characterization and design, and metabolic engineering as a tool for generating microbial production strains.

Microbial physiology and phenotype characterization

• Design of metabolic pathways with high yield and selectivity for converting renewable raw materials into chemicals with high added value
• Implementation of synthetic metabolic pathways in microbial hosts 

Enzyme characterization and design

• Identification, characterization, and design of highly selective and efficient enzymes as integral components of whole-cell biocatalysts 
• Evaluation of microorganisms as production strains in various raw-material and bioprocess scenarios

Metabolic engineering

• Optimization of microbial production strains in terms of yield, selectivity, and productivity