Published: | By: Ute Schönfelder
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The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a new collaborative research centre (CRC) at the University of Jena and extending an existing CRC/Transregional Collaborative Research Centre. Newly approved is »VirusREvolution: Decoding tools for virus research« at the University of Jena. In addition, the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 234, or CRC/TRR 234 for short, »CATALIGHT« at the Universities of Jena and Ulm is entering its third funding phase. Both collaborations strengthen central research fields at the University of Jena - from microbiology, infection research and Bioinformatics to photonics, innovative materials and sustainable energy generation.
With »VirusREvolution«, an interdisciplinary network is being created to develop new Bioinformatics, photonics and experimental tools for virus research. The aim is to provide computer-aided methods with which viruses can be detected more quickly, characterised better and virus outbreaks analysed more precisely.
Newly emerging and already circulating viruses continue to pose major challenges for healthcare systems worldwide. Researchers from the fields of Bioinformatics, Virology, Microbiology, Medicine, Chemistry and Photonics are therefore developing new analytical methods that can be used to efficiently analyse large amounts of viral data and better understand adaptation processes. »We are primarily developing computer tools that support virologists in their work«, says Prof. Dr Manja Marz, spokesperson of the CRC.
The CRC focuses on the question of how virus genomes, virus structures, interactions with host cells and adaptation processes can be analysed more precisely. The researchers are primarily developing new bioinformatics, AI-supported and photonic tools for this purpose. Initially, SARS-CoV-2 and vibriophage N4 will be used as scientific model systems to develop and test the new analysis tools. The methods will later be transferred to other DNA and RNA viruses. The fact that such a collaborative research centre is being established in Jena builds on the particular strengths of the location: The European Virus Bioinformatics Centre (EVBC)External link was founded here ten years ago. Today, Jena is internationally recognised as one of the leading Centres for Virus Bioinformatics and also has strong expertise in Bioinformatics, Photonics, Microbiology and Microbial Ecology in the Cluster of Excellence »Balance of the Microverse«.
In addition to the University of Jena and the Jena University Hospital (JUH), other Jena research institutes and partners from Leipzig, Braunschweig, Giessen, Munich, Münster, Greifswald and Berlin are involved in the new CRC. The network thus combines method development in Jena with virological expertise from leading partner sites in Germany.
The consortium of the new Collaborative Research Centre »VirusREvolution«.
Image: Maria SchreiberThe CRC/Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 234 »CATALIGHT—Light-driven molecular catalysts in hierarchically structured materials« will also continue to be funded by the DFG. The collaboration between the Universities of Jena and Ulm is researching how sunlight can be utilised for chemical processes using photosynthesis as a model. The aim is to produce environmentally friendly solar fuels, such as green hydrogen.
The researchers have already made some progress since 2018. They have been able to repair photosystems after damage or protect them with polymer materials, develop solar batteries and utilise more sustainable materials for sunlight-driven catalysis.
In the third funding phase, the light-driven catalyses, some of which have been developed separately to date, are to be efficiently linked together. The researchers want to understand the individual half-reactions in such a way that they mesh like cogwheels in a gearbox in the future. This is how the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen is to be achieved with the help of sunlight.
»We want to harness sunlight as an energy source for chemical catalyses in order to enable a sustainable future for our society«, says Prof. Dr Felix H. Schacher from the University of Jena, who, together with Prof. Dr Sven Rau from the University of Ulm, is the spokesperson team in the new funding phase.
In addition to developing sustainable catalysis processes, the network also wants to make its research accessible to the public. Formats are planned that promote dialogue with society, for example in collaboration with artists. In addition to the Universities of Jena and Ulm, the University of Vienna, the University of Mainz, the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications in Jena and the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology are involved in »CATALIGHT«. Researchers from the University of Oldenburg and Mercator Fellows from the USA and the Czech Republic are strengthening the network.
