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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Quantitative Biology junior research group at HHU
Over the next five years, a junior research group at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) will research how bacteria can be used to produce an eco-friendly pesticide. The active agent originates from a plant, the Dalmatian chrysanthemum. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt – BMFTR) is providing around €2.7 million in funding for the project within the framework of the National Bioeconomy Strategy.
Pesticides are of critical importance in ensuring global food security. Without them, we face the risk of a significant reduction in crop yields worldwide – losses of 30 – 80% are possible. This issue becomes all the more pressing in view of the fact that the global population is expected to grow to nine billion people – all of whom need to be fed – by the year 2050.
Although pesticides are essential for modern agriculture, concerns about their environmental effects are increasing, e.g. many are harmful to beneficial insects, including bees. In addition, commonly used synthetic pesticides are environmentally persistent and bio-accumulate in the food chain. Expanding agriculture will exacerbate these problems, resulting in an urgent need to find safer, ecologically sustainable alternatives.
The junior research group headed by Dr St. Elmo Wilken at the Institute of Quantitative and Theoretical Biology at HHU is working on one such alternative. His research group is concentrating on the Dalmatian chrysanthemum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium), also known as the Dalmatian pyrethrum. The flower produces natural biopesticides, so-called pyrethrins, which have already been in use since the 17th century. They exhibit low mammalian toxicity, rapid environmental decomposition and high potency against insect pests.
Dr Wilken: “Despite these advantages, less eco-friendly synthetic analogues are currently preferred, as the plant-based production of pyrethrin is significantly more expensive. Typically, only around 1 – 2% of the dry mass of the flowers of T. cinerariifolium contains the valuable pyrethrins. Accordingly, widespread agricultural use would require large-scale cultivation in sunny climate zones – a method that cannot compete with synthetic production on costs.”
The BMFTR-funded “PyreComm” junior research group at HHU is working to develop a scalable, semi-synthetic and sustainable bioprocess for producing pyrethrin compounds. The researchers are aiming to utilise a biotechnological process in which Vibrio natriegens bacteria are programmed to manufacture the compounds.
“However, we intend to spread the biosynthetic pathway of pyrethrin across multiple members of a bacterial community. This alleviates the metabolic burden of expressing the full production process in one cell, making the overall process more efficient and potentially increasing the economic competitiveness of the bioprocess,” says Wilken.
Using advanced metabolic modelling in combination with the latest measuring technology, we are aiming to design the communities to maximise efficiency. The communities will be cultivated in bioreactors using a wood-based feedstock. Wilken: “This enables us to close the loop between agriculture and biopesticide production.”
The PyreComm research project will receive around €2.7 million in funding to develop a cost-effective biopesticide. The researchers expect this pesticide to have a good chance of being approved quickly within the framework of the EU “Farm to Fork” strategy aimed at making food healthier and more sustainable.
Wilken: “Ultimately, PyreComm will contribute to expanding the tools available to bioengineers for designing and building scalable, economically viable bioprocesses. In concrete terms, our project will play a role in reducing the ecological damage caused by synthetic pesticides.
BMFTR funding within the framework of the National Bioeconomy Strategy
With the National Bioeconomy Strategy announced in 2020, the Federal Government is aiming to make the transition from an economy largely based on fossil raw materials to a circular economy, which is based more on renewable resources and makes more efficient use of raw materials. The guidelines and objectives of the Bioeconomy Strategy are oriented to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations. The bioeconomy plays a key role in the SDGs.
The aim of the “Creative Young Researchers for the Bioeconomy” funding initiative, which also finances the project headed by Dr Wilken at HHU, is to involve young researchers in identifying novel application areas and innovative applications for the bioeconomy, in which the concept of sustainability is given thorough consideration from the outset. The intention is to generate synergies between young and established researchers in order to support the junior research groups through organisational and thematic challenges.
Plantings of the Dalmatian chrysanthemum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium) in Rwanda in Africa.
Copyright: Martha Maria Carolina Wilken
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Plantings of the Dalmatian chrysanthemum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium) in Rwanda in Africa.
Copyright: Martha Maria Carolina Wilken
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