Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology

The research at MPI-TM broadly focuses on understanding the functioning of microorganisms at the molecular, cellular and community levels.

Firstly, they aim to understand how bacteria process information to generate appropriate output responses (e.g. changes in gene expression, changes in motility behavior).

He and his research group have developed new methods for manipulating nonribosomal peptide (NRPS) enzyme systems to produce natural products.

[11][12] The emeritus group "Biochemistry of anarobic microorganisms" at MPI-TM is headed by renowned biochemist and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize recipient, Rudolf K. Thauer, who was also the founding director of the institute when it was established in 1991.

Soil microbial metabolism plays an important role in the global cycling of matter and — through the formation of atmospheric trace gases such as methane and nitrous oxide — also influences the climate on Earth.

The department examined the role of soil microorganisms in carbon and nitrogen cycling, particularly in chemically well-defined processes such as the production and consumption of methane, the oxidation of ammonia, or denitrification.

[16] The inter-institutional research center, was founded in 2010 through the LOEWE excellence program of the State of Hesse and made permanent in 2019.