Interdisciplinary PhD projects

PhD students in BioSC Core Groups have the opportunity to apply for interdisciplinary small-scale projects with a six-month duration across different BioSC partner locations and research areas. There are one or two calls for proposals per year.

Projects 2024:

Food4Root (F4F) - Polyphosphate and polyglutamate beads to deliver nutrients and promote root growth

Frederik Völker & Alexander Deitert, Applied Microbiology, RWTH Aachen
Molla Lulie, IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich

Funding period: 01.09.2024 - 28.02.2025

With Food4Root, we strive to contribute to the development of a more sustainable agriculture, addressing the pressing need for innovative solutions to enhance crop productivity while minimizing environmental pollution. The project focuses on the development of biodegradable gel beads utilizing polyglutamic acid (polyG) and polyphosphate (polyP), two biopolymers with promising potential as nutrient delivery systems for plants. The agricultural sector heavily relies on synthetic compounds derived from fossil resources, contributing significantly to environmental contamination and posing challenges to long-term food security. Recognizing this, Food4Root seeks to replace conventional fertilizers with low efficiency due to non-specific application on agricultural land with a slow-release system based on biodegradable gel beads. By encapsulating polyphosphate in a nitrogen-containing gel matrix, these beads offer a targeted and controlled approach to nutrient delivery, ensuring optimal plant growth while minimizing wastage and environmental pollution. In an interdisciplinary approach, we aim to optimize the production processes and the properties of the beads to fine-tune their efficacy and stability depending on the requirements for plant development. Testing the effectiveness of the gel beads involves comprehensive phenotyping of plant responses based on advanced imaging and analysis techniques. Building upon previous successful experiments with slow-release fertilizers like struvite, the project aims to demonstrate the viability and superiority of the biopolymer-based approach in promoting root development and overall plant health.