General With its divisions of Molecular Biotechnology, Applied Ecology and Bioresources, the Fraunhofer IME is a strong partner for contract research in the areas of agriculture, chemistry, environmental and consumer protection, as well as pharmacy and medicine. Their interdisciplinary organisation allows them to process complex projects across departments and where appropriate, also focuses on cooperation with external institutes and partners. They work closely with basic research and are internationally networked. Their laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment and complex environmental simulation facilities allow them to offer a wide range of research and services as well as studies according to good laboratory practice (GLP). The Fraunhofer IME Molecular Biotechnology Division establishes tailored plants and microbes for applications such as the production of food and renewable raw materials, the manufacture of technical and pharmaceutical proteins, and the handling of anthropogenic pollutants including greenhouse gases, which we can exploit to produce valuable substances. Role in Photoboost The Fraunhofer IME will coordinate the PhotoBoost project develop a novel, photosynthetically active cell-free lysate as a flexible platform for the in vitro testing and engineer proteins and protein combinations to improve photosynthetic efficiency. Additionally, they will carry out the potato transformation, cultivation and analysis work and contribute to semi-field trials and carry out the detailed characterisation of potato plants. Contact Stefan Schillberg stefan.schillberg@ime.fraunhofer.de Selected publications Nölke G, Barsoum M, Houdelet M, Arcalis E, Kreuzaler F, Fischer R, Schillberg S (2019) The integration of algal carbon concentration mechanism components into tobacco chloroplasts increases photosynthetic efficiency and biomass. Biotechnology Journal 14, 1800170. https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201800170 Madduri K, Armstrong J, Etter A, Buntru M, Vogel S, Schillberg S, Fischer R (2018) Novel eukaryotic cell-free expression system that does not require an artificial energy regeneration system. WO 2018148530, US2018245087 Baysal C, Bortesi L, Zhu C, Farré G, Schillberg S, Christou P (2016) CRISPR/Cas9 activity in the rice OsBEIIb gene does not induce off-target effects in the closely related paralog OsBEIIa. Molecular Breeding 36, 108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-016-0533-4 Buntru M, Vogel S, Stoff K, Spiegel H, Schillberg S (2015) A versatile coupled cell-free transcription–translation system based on tobacco BY-2 cell lysates. Biotechnology and Bioengineering 112, 867–878. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.25502 Go to website |