Soil is much more than dirt. It contains a slew of microorganisms, fungi and roots of a plethora of plants. All of which interact with each other and together, they make up the soil microbiome. Headed by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the University of Tartu in Estonia, an international research team for the first time conducted a study of bacteria and fungi in soil.

One of the main concerns of the bioeconomy is to sustainably replace fossil raw materials such as natural gas and crude oil with resources such as biogas. In recent years, the number of biogas plants in Germany has risen to around 9,000. A study carried out by the University of Hohenheim at the beginning of 2018 showed that their share of electricity generation is still low at up to 6%. For years, researchers have been working on upgrading biogas to natural gas quality in order to make the alternative energy source fit for the future.

The genome of the arguably most important crop worldwide, bread wheat, has been decoded. The results of the thirteen-year scientific endeavor of 200 scientists from 73 research institutions in 20 countries were published in the journal “Science”.

Wood is a versatile feedstock that has always been used both as a raw material and as an energy source. The bioeconomy in particular relies on the domestic resource as an alternative to fossil raw materials in order to realise the vision of a sustainable economy. Munich scientists are now presenting a study that illustrates how the raw material is coming under pressure from climate change.

On July 25, the European Court of Justice ruled that plants created using novel genome editing methods are to be classified as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They are therefore subject to the strict EU guidelines for GMOs.

Not only humans rely on photosynthesis by plants for the coveted oxygen. For plants themselves photosynthesis is an essential metabolic pathway. And for it to work well, they require chlorophyll – the green “blood” of plants. However, in order to produce enough chlorophyll, plants require iron, which in turn is often hardly soluble from the soil.

Plants get their nutrients from the ground via their root network. However, many nutrients are nearly insoluble or very rare. Therefore, many plants live in symbiosis with root fungi that facilitate the plants’ nutrient uptake and help them thrive under extreme conditions. In fact, more than 70% of higher plants establish an association with these fungi, so-called mycorrhiza, which are believed to be more than 400 million years old. The mutualistic association allows the plant to better absorb nutrients, such as phosphate – an especially important but rare nutrient.

Synthetic silk biopolymers developed by the German biotechology company AMSilk, headquartered near Munich, have found their way into many a industry application. Now, it will even become a part of future lightweight planes in an attempt to save fuels: Airbus and AMSilk have entered into a joint cooperation agreement to develop new composites for use in the aerospace industry.

In 2015, the United Nations formulated 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goals are intended to help end poverty, protect the planet and achieve prosperity for all. The Leibniz Association therefore hosted a one-day conference on this topic in Berlin on 14 September. Experts from politics and science were invited to present and discuss the current state of research regarding the SDGs and their implementation. Almost 200 participants came to the Leibniz Association headquarter.

Forests are extremely important for the implementation of the bio-economy. Here, the precious raw material wood grows, which has its uses both from a material as well as an energy standpoint. Moreover, forests are indispensable as suppliers of oxygen and for storing CO₂. The bio-economy therefore faces the challenge of protecting forests as a resource and minimising the conflict between nature conservation and resource use.