Genome Research on Bacteria for Environmental Protection, Agriculture and Biotechnology

The German ministry for education and research (BMBF) has recently launched the »GENOMIK« program which funds research in bacterial genomes. Three distinct research networks called competence networks have been established. Each network is coordinated by a centre of excellence and focusses on specific groups of bacteria. Genome research covers (i) bacteria which are relevant as human or animal pathogens, (ii) an analysis of bacterial biodiversity and its use for the development of new production processes and, (iii) bacteria which are important for environmental control, in agriculture or in biotechnology. The Universities of Würzburg, Göttingen and Bielefeld were selected as centres of excellence to harmonize genome research in these three sections.

The network coordinated by Bielefeld University focusses on bacteria relevant in the areas Environmental Protection, Agriculture and Biotechnology. The network consists of 17 partners affiliated with universities, research instituts and industry.

• The area Agriculture is subdivided in two clusters covering plant growth promoting bacteria or phytopathogenic bacteria, respectively. Bacteria of the first category include for instance, Azoarcus, an N2 fixing endophyte of grasses. Its host range includes important crop plants such as rice. Thus, the organism has an enormous potential for use as an environmentally friendly agent in sustainable agriculture. Postgenomic analyses are done with Sinorhizobium meliloti and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Cluster two focuses on the plant pathogenic bacteria Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis as well as Xanthomonas campestris pvs. campestris and vesicatoria. All these organisms are responsible for a worldwide multi-billion dollar damage each year. We expect that the information gatherd in the genome research projects will contribute to the design of environmental friendly agrochemicals for controlling these pests.

  
  

• For the area Environmental Protection Alcanivorax borkumensis was chosen for genome research. A. borkumensis has a unique feature in that it uses crude oil as the sole carbon and energy source for growth. Elucidation of its metabolic potential will make a major contribution towards the design of strains capable for cleaning-up oil contaminated sites.

  
  

• Finally, the area Biotechnology is subdivided in three clusters. Cluster one deals with postgenomic analyses of Corynebacterium glutamicum, a Gram-positive organism which is used in the fermentative production of essential amino acids such as L-lysin. Cluster two focusses on Streptomycetes. Most antibiotics are produced naturally by actinomycetes and therefore, these organism are of enormous medical importance. The third cluster concentrates on the myxobacterium Sorrangium cellulosum. This organism synthesizes a wide range of important secondary metabolites. For instance, a compound called "epothilone" displaying cytostatic properties is currently in phase I clinical study. We anticipte that the genome research into these three organisms will yield results which ultimately enables exploitation of their true biotechnological potential. This includes enhancing the performance of C. glutamicum in amino acid production, combining metabolic pathways in streptomycetes to obtain novel antibiotics as well as identifying new therapeutics produced by S. cellulosum.

To facilitate technology transfer, an industrial platform will be established. German companies or foreign companies with German subsidiaries are invited to join the platform.

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