WP 3: Analytics and modelling of productive systems

Developing productive and sustainable biotechnological processes is tightly bound to the development of novel analytical and theoretical approaches for process understanding and control. Applying microbial systems as productive and efficient natural catalysts in a technical environment requires a thorough mechanistic understanding of function and regulation of cellular activity as a response to process conditions. This task poses a significant conceptual and analytical challenge in all stages of process development. In Work Package 3, we work on the development of topic-driven methodological solutions and capacity building for analysing and predicting productive biological systems. We establish a methodological framework that follows an interdisciplinary systematic approach to map relevant processes across the hierarchy from single cells to entire populations. For this, the UFZ maintains a number of methodological platforms such as the ProVIS Centre for Chemical Microscopy and the Isotope Fractionation Lab in the Department Isotope Biogeochemistry, the Inorganic Analytics for metal speciation and metallomics in the Department Analytics, the Single Cell Analysis Platform in the Department Solar Materials, and the Flow Cytometry and Biocalorimetry in the Department Environmental Microbiology, among others. With the obtained knowledge we generate and apply predictive models for the development of efficient and sustainable biological systems.

Guiding questions

  1. Which methodological developments in analytics and modelling are necessary to understand and establish sustainable bioprocesses?
  2. How can novel analytical methods be used to characterize and control biotechnologically relevant parameters from single cell to process scale?
  3. How can modelling be combined with experimental approaches to yield experimentally verifiable systems-level predictions?

Contact

Prof. Dr. Lorenz Adrian
Department Isotope Biogeochemistry
lorenz.adrian@ufz.de
Dr. Florian Centler
Department Environmental Microbiology
florian.centler@ufz.de
Dr. Christian Dusny
Department Solar Materials
christian.dusny@ufz.de