Summer 2017 Cebitec – Quarterly
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CeBiTec – Quarterly Summer 2017 In this Issue . Culture meets Science – Visit of members of the Bielefeld Theatre at the CeBiTec . Distinguished Lecture about plant immunity by Prof. Dr. Dierk Scheel . pplication of the sugar beet genome se!uence for identi"cation of a rhizomania resistance gene in a crop wild relati%e population of the wild beet Beta %ulgaris spp. maritima . ne$ research pro&ect started' (ulti)resistant Vitis rootstocks – de%elopment of inno%ati%e and internationally competiti%e rootstocks for northern $ine growing regions *(ureVi+, . Cosmetic -ngredients with a Twist – Team Bicomer from Bielefeld $ins .erman final of business plan competition . The /amilie)0sthushenrich)Stiftung supports a follow-up pro&ect of the CeBiTec Students cademy Synthetic Biology1Biotechnology for a further three years funding period . Science can be fun *sometimes, . CeBiTec Summer Party 2345 . +pcoming 6%ents Culture meets Science – Visit of members of the Bielefeld Theatre at the CeBiTec The Theatre in Bielefeld launched a Science dominated (usical premiere in mid)(ay on the discovery of the molecular structure of the D7 molecule in the 4893ies. The story Das Molekül also includes the race for the complete se!uencing of the human genome between a pri%ate +S company and a research team authorized by the +S government: forty years after the dis) covery of the D7 . -n this conte;t: the art director <ón Philipp %on Linden and members of the theatre ensemble %isited the CeBiTec in order to get a deeper and realistic impression about the scienti"c life in genome laborat) ories in the 24st century. This unusual but %ery successful coming together between e;perts in Culture and Science resulted in commitments for further follow-up acti%ities as part of the town Science festi%al .67- L6 2345 in ugust this year. Parts of the musical Das Molekül will be presented at the opening ceremony of the .67- L6 at the Stadthalle Bielefeld *Bielefeld Con) %ention Center, on ugust 4>: 2345: followed by a panel discussion consist) ing of town and uni%ersity representati%es including the Scienti"c Director of the CeBiTec. During the .67- L6 week: the CeBiTec will furthermore offer courses and acti%ities around the topic @D7 moleculeA at the uni%ersity campus and in the CeBiTec entrance hall. $$$.uni)bielefeld.de1geniale123451dna.html www.cebitec.uni-bielefeld.de 2 B C CeBiTec – Duarterly B Summer 2345 Distinguished ecture about !lant immunity by "rof. Dr. Dierk Scheel @(olecular mechanisms of plant immunityA $as the title of Prof. Dr. Dierk ScheelAs talk in the CeBiTec Distinguished Lecture Series. 0n the in%itation of Prof. Dr. Bernd Eeisshaar: Prof. Scheel %isited the CeBiTec on <une 42: 2345. Fe is director of the Leibni# -nstitute of Plant Biochemistry in Falle *Saale, since 488G. Fis research focuses on plant1pathogen interactions and defence mechanisms of plants against diseases. -n the plenary hall of the Centre for -nterdisciplinary Hesearch *Ii/, of Bielefeld +ni%ersity he reported about plant mechanisms to detect and recognize potential pathogens in their en%ironment %ia pathogen)associated molecular patterns. The signalling network of the plant results in a defence responses: $hich in turn can be attenuated by e?ectors of the pathogen. fter the lecture: Prof. Scheel answered !uestions of attendees and colleagues during the reception organised by students of the i.6( team of the CeBiTec. $!!lication of the sugar beet genome se%uence for identi&cation of a rhi'omania resistance gene in a cro! wild relative !o!ulation of the wild beet Beta vulgaris s!!. maritima -n a paper published recently in 7ature Communications: we described the use of a crop wild relati%e *CEH, population of less than 233 wild beets *B. vulgaris ssp. maritima, to identify the sugar beet *B. vulgaris ssp. vulgaris, resistance gene Rz2. The genotypes of the CEH population were sampled in their natural habitat: and phenotyped for rhi#omania resistance. The causal gene: which encodes a CC)7B)LHH protein: $as identi"ed by combining a modi) "ed %ersion of mapping)by)se!uencing *(BS, with direct mapping and a candidate gene approach. /or that: we generated a draft genome se!uence of the wild beet. Correct identi"cation of the Rz2 Hi#omania infected *left and middle, compared to control sugar beet *right, gene $as corroborated %ia H7 interference. 0ur results sho$ the importance of preser%ing CEH in situ and demonstrate the great potential of CEH for discovery of causal genes rele%ant for crop improvement. Hapid identi"cation of resistance genes as well as other agronomically important genes is of pi%otal interest for crop breeding. ccess to the D7 se!uence of Rz2 opens the path to improvement of resistance towards rhizomania not only by marker)assisted breeding but also by genome editing. The results were produced in a collaborati%e research pro&ect that in%ol%ed the colleagues from the Christian) lbrechts)+ni%ersitJt at Kiel as well as other academic and industrial partners. The contribution from CeBiTec $as focussed on (BS: optimization of the wild beet genome se!uence as a basis for mapping: and bioinformatics. Capistrano).ossmann et al.: 7at Commun. *2345, >'4953> +ni%ersitJt Bielefeld uni.aktuell *in .erman, L B C CeBiTec – Duarterly B Summer 2345 $ new research !ro)ect started* +ulti-resistant Vitis rootstoc#s – develo!ment of innovative and internationally com!etiti(e rootstoc#s for northern wine growing regions ,+ureVi-. .rape%ine is grown in Europa on rootstocks to $hich the %ariety of interest is grafted. .rafting is re!uired because European %arieties are all deri%ed from Vitis vinifera which is highly susceptible to phyllo;era. ims of the pro&ect are to improve rootstocks with respect to biotic and abiotic stresses: and to implement ne$ breeding methods into .erman rootstock breeding programs. These innovations should secure and support %iticulture in the traditional .erman $ine producing areas. The genotypes for molecular studies: i.e. mapping populations and selected rootstock %arieties: are provided to the group of Prof. Dr. Bernd Eeisshaar: $hich is partner with the (ureVi+ cooperation pro&ect: by the -nstitut fMr Heben) #Mchtung. The material will be characterised at the D7 se!uence le%el. Figh throughput technologies as well as bioinformatic analyses will be applied to generate sets of SSH (simple se!uence repeat, and S7P *single nucleotide polymorphism, markers for marker assisted breeding. The goal of the pro&ect part carried out at CeBiTec is to de%elop traits like ne$ phyllo;era or nematode resistance traits as well as draught tolerance towards an application in breed ) ing with rele%ant loci and genes. Cosmetic Ingredients with a Twist – Team Bicomer from Bielefeld wins /erman &nal of business !lan com!etition Biology students from Bielefeld +ni%ersity and CeBiTec won the .erman final of the international business competition @.lobal Biobased Business CompetitionA *.)B-B, held in Düsseldorf: <uly C: 2345. This international competition in%ited life science students from .ermany: the 7etherlands and Brazil to write a business plan for the production of an innovati%e biorene$able chemical or material and to increase their entrepreneurship skills. .)BiB is an initiati%e of the international Bio-nnovation .rowth mega)Cluster *B-.)Cluster,: a cross)border @Smart Specialisation -nitiati%eA aiming to transform EuropeAs industrial mega cluster in the /landers region of Belgium: The 7etherlands and the .erman state of 7orth Hhine)Eestphalia into the global leader of bio-based innovation growth. B-.)Cluster has been established by the three cluster organizations B6)Basic *7L,: CL-B2324 *D6,: and Catalisti *B6,. The Bicomer team of students from the faculty of biology and the CeBiTec accepted this challenge and de%eloped a business model for a biotech start)up. AEe will produce biobased novel components for the cosmetic industry: $hich are distinguished due to their novel properties in anti)aging and +V protectionA describes 7adja Fenke *PhD candidate in -ndustrial Biotechnology, the concept of Bicomer. @0ur high performance substances like sta;anthin will be produced in fermentation with Coryne a!" terium glutami!um. These compounds will lead to a ne;t generation of novel cosmetic products: e.g. for facial skincareA adds Tat&ana Ealter *(Sc candidate in .enome)based Systems Biology,. Besides the sci) enti"c de%elopment of the technology: economic aspects are essential for success. @+sing our platform technology we aim at a long)term analysis of the market to deploy ne$ productsA e;plains Boas Pucker *PhD candidate in .enome Hesearch and Bioinformat ) ics,. Team Bicomer *left to right,' Dr. Petra Peters)Eendisch: <annik <ilg: Tat&ana Ealter: 7ad&a Fenke: Boas Pucker and Christopher Fenke. G B C CeBiTec – Duarterly B Summer 2345 Dr. Petra Peters)Eendisch from the chair of .enetics of Prokaryotes at Bielefeld +ni%ersity is mentoring this business pro&ect. Various market e;perts and potential in%estors were contacted during business plan de%elopment. Supported by the .)B-B competition: Bicomer will attend dedicated e%ents for start)ups adding to their business e;periences and will present the product idea during biotech e%ents such as the CL-B2324 /orum on Figh performance -ngredients: where the team already introduced Bicomer to a broader biotech community. Bicomer aims to support biotechnology in Bielefeld: .ermany: and beyond. The international final of the .)B-B competition will be held in Campos do <ordNo: SNo Paulo: Brazil during the BB6ST 2345 conference and will provide Bicomer and the finalists from the 7etherlands and Brazil the opportunity to present their business plans to an inter ) national audience and an international e;pert &ury. $$$.bicomer.de $$$.facebook.com1bicomer2345 t$itter.com1bicomerOmicrobe $$$.be)basic.org1g)bib.html The 0amilie-1sthushenrich-Stiftung su!!orts a follow-u! !ro)ect of the CeBiTec Students Academy Synthetic Biology2Biotechnology for a further three years funding !eriod During the years 2342 through 2345 the CeBiTec organized a total of si; one)week courses of the CeBiTec Students cademy Synthetic Biology1Biotechnology.