Research

The two major research lines in the lab:

1. Biochemical Strategies of Osmo- and Thermo-Adaptation in Hyperthermophilic Organisms with a focus on compatible solutes: biosynthetic pathways and regulation; physiological role; molecular basis for protein stabilization; development of microbial cell systems for the industrial production of thermolytes; and novel applications. This research line unfolded from our findings that hyperthermophiles accumulate unique ionic osmolytes with useful properties.

2. Metabolic Engineering of Bacteria with Industrial Relevance (Lactococcus lactis and Corynebacterium glutamicum) for acquisition of useful traits such as, increased resistance to acid, production of added-value compounds (butanediol, mannitol, erythritol). We use in vivo NMR to monitor the dynamics of intracellular metabolite and provide guidelines for engineering strategies.