Project goals

For the cultivation of previously uncultivated microorganisms, our vision is the development of a bioreactor system that simulates habitat conditions as closely as possible and – controlled by biological measured variables – makes target organisms available for systematic isolation experiments in the long term.

Engineering-related project goals:

• Construction of a transportable bioreactor (“Multikulti Reactor”)
• modular system of main reactor and side reactors
• Controlling via biological measured variables (live sequencing, cell count, activity monitoring)

Science-related project goals:

• Cultivation of a physiological group of microorganisms relevant to the drinking water supply: Manganese-oxidizing bacteria from groundwater, organisms of Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) from drinking water
• an archaea phylotype with biotechnological application potential from a cold water geyser: Candidatus Altiarcheumsp.
• a ubiquitous group of microplankton with ecological / biogeochemical significance from the North Sea: MGII Euryarcheaota
• Cultivation of microorganisms for astrobiological and space research: Extremophile microorganisms from non-extreme habitats