Our research focuses on how plants can survive under abiotic or biotic stress conditions. For this purpose, we isolated more than 2500 beneficial microbes and currently investigate their potential to help grow crops in arid regions of the world (www.darwin21.org). Our results show that microbes can improve crop yield and help crops to withstand diseases. But beneficial microbes also provide the human body with essential elements to establish a healthy gut microbiome. 

By using sophisticated techniques and bioinformatic programs, we try to identify specific functions of different microbial strains with respect to plant and/or human health. Although this research is just at the beginning, the overwhelming results promise a revolution in the food sector and human health care.