The Institute of Microbiology has been under the direction of Professor Dr. Beat Christen since June 2023.
The Institute of Microbiology pioneers research in systems biology and synthetic biology to understand the molecular basis of bacterial life and develop novel, useful microbes.
We also study the formation and degradation of biopolymers (polyhydroxybutyric acid, polyphosphate, rubber) and the role of granules (from polyhydroxybutyric acid or polyphosphates) in the cell biology of bacteria.
The study of structure-function relationships is a common interest of all the enzymes studied (which also include various dioxygenases, microbial nitrilases and nitrile hydratases), which can be used for the stereoselective synthesis of valuable compounds.
