Our new paper is out: we present a quantitative framework to assess how (bio)tech interventions in plant agriculture could meaningfully contribute to climate mitigation. This may be the most important paper I ever publish #SyntheticBiology #ClimateAction #Agriculture #Biochar doi.org/10.1093/plph...
Cool Preprint led by @mirbachh on comparing machine learning based engineering of a synthetic C1 fixation pathway vs the classic ALE based approach. ML allowed way faster pathway establishment and when combined with the evolved background improved growth by a factor of 3.🔥🎉
Beau Dronsella
Claudia Vickers
Multi-lab, Multi-enzyme Study Demonstrates the Versatility of Bacterial Microcompartment Shells as a Modular Platform for Confined Biocatalysis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.18.712704v1
Our work on #hornwort #pyrenoids is finally out in @science.org! 🎉 We uncovered how hornworts pack their Rubisco into pyrenoids and successfully recreated them in Arabidopsis. A key step toward engineering more efficient photosynthesis in crops @btiscience.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org
In many algae, photosynthesis is boosted by biophysical CO2-concentrating mechanisms, which pack the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco into liquid-like organelles called pyrenoids. Engineering C3 crops with a...
🔥🔥🔥 Friday Evening, Paper Out, Feierabend 🔥🔥🔥
When evolution and enzyme engineering team up, they can convince microbes to assimilate sustainable carbon substrates preparing them for a life in a circular bioeconomy.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ym...
Very excited to finally share my PhD paper, about advancing #chloroplast #synbio through high-throughput plastome engineering of #Chlamydomonas.
Huge thanks to the whole team!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This study reports a modular-cloning-based platform for high-throughput chloroplast engineering in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that allows large-scale characterization of genetic parts and prototyping o...
New preprint from our group! When we first started working with affordable, continuous-culture mini-bioreactors a few years ago, we realized they offered a unique solution for CRISPRi experiments, which rely on cell growth to dilute targeted proteins.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Newest preprint from our lab: a new family of promising synthetic CO2 fixation cycles that may outcompete the Calvin cycle and that Vittorio Rainaldi realized to a great extent in E. coli! Up to 11 heterologous enzymes in a cascade supporting CO2 fixation & growth! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Looking for a #PhDposition in #PlantScience ?
Our #IMPRS @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social and @unipotsdam.bsky.social is #hiring !
📅 Apply by 10 January 2026
More info:
👉 www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/IMPRS-PhD
Please share this post to plant it in the right feed 🌱 #PlantSciJobs
www.biorxiv.org
bioRxiv Synthetic Biology
Fay-Wei Li
Sebastian Wenk
René Inckemann
Nico Claassens
Stefano Donati
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology 🌱🧪
Turbo platform for plant research 🚀🪴
Extreme weather events due to #climatechange reduce crop yields. @reneinckemann.bsky.social & team led by Tobias Erb @synmikro.bsky.social has now developed a microalgae platform for fast and efficient tests of chloroplast gene variants s.gwdg.de/hznfNe
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and the Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) have developed a new microalgae testing platform. Using the single-celled gree...
Please check out our improved #preprint:
CRISPR/Cas9 targeted genetic screening in Physcomitrella identifies novel cell division genes
Thank you, Elena Kozgunova for taking the lead.
#Physcomitrella #celldivision
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Biological carbon fixation is currently limited to seven naturally occurring pathways. Synthetic carbon fixation pathways have the potential to surpass aerobic natural pathways in efficiency, but none...
The scale of plant agriculture can be used to mitigate climate change, and meaningful targets (synthetic biology and comparators) can be selected to increa
