Bridging bacterial population and single cell physiology - Acquirement of a fluorescence microscope enabling in-depth insights into bacterial adaptations

Microorganisms like bacteria are widely used in large-scale industrial processes for the production of chemicals, therapeutic proteins, enzymes, and bio-fuels. As a consequence of the huge volume of these fermentation processes the bacteria encounter stress resulting in a decreased productivity and cell to cell variations. In this project novel microscope techniques will be used to obtain deep insights into the intracellular mechanisms underlying these changes of the bacterial cells. Therefore properties of cells sampled from fermentations will be analyzed in the microscope by the use different fluorescent sensors proteins. Thereby obtained insights will be used to design optimized microorganisms and conditions for future sustainable fermentation processes.