Dr. Andreas Küffner

Andreas worked on bio-molecular condensation for bio-catalytic reaction engineering during his doctoral studies at ETH Zurich. In 2022, he joined the MPI Marburg under supervision of Prof. Dr. Tobias Erb to unravel the function of the liquid-liquid phase separated pyrenoid matrix and design new-to-nature pyrenoid systems to improve carboxylation in vitro and in vivo. Nature evolved two types of biophysical carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCM): Carboxysomes and pyrenoids. While the carboxysome is a highly ordered icosahedral protein compartment occurring only in prokaryotic phototrophs, the pyrenoid is, at least partially, a liquid like condensate occurring in algae and hornworts. Andreas’s project addresses why nature evolved two different biophysical CCMs and how the core of the pyrenoid, the pyrenoid matrix can influence the fixation of CO₂ in the CCB-cycle.