Can we reconstruct one of the most fundamental processes in Nature: Photosynthesis?
The group of Tobias Erb at the MPI-TM is interested in understanding and applying the principles of metabolism. The Erb group uses genome mining, functional enzymology, protein engineering, cell-free biology, high-throughput screens and microfluidics to design novel enzymes and metabolic networks and implement them in natural and synthetic cells. A recent example is the successful realization of a synthetic pathway for the capture and conversion of the greenhouse gas CO2into multi-carbon compounds that is more efficient than the one of natural photosynthesis.