From 5 to 10 July 2026, researchers from around the world gathered in Málaga, Spain, for the 27th International Symposium on Plant Lipids (ISPL) — a leading forum for research on lipid biology in plants, algae, and related organisms. Representing SUN-PERFORM at the symposium was Nick Jacobebbinghaus, a researcher at Bielefeld University, who presented a poster on his group’s ongoing work with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a species of freshwater algae increasingly recognised as a promising “green cell factory” for sustainable production.
The poster, co-authored with Jacob Kneip, Thomas Baier, and Olaf Kruse, presented early results from reprogramming metabolic pathways involved in lipid storage. Some of the engineered strains showed enhanced lipid accumulation, though not without trade-offs. The work remains ongoing, with further strategies currently being explored to build on these initial findings.
It was exciting to present our work to an international audience and to exchange ideas with researchers working on lipid metabolism in plants. The discussions at the symposium gave us new perspectives on our results and on how we can further develop our engineering strategies. For me, it was also a great opportunity to show how our work on lipid storage connects to the broader goals of SUN-PERFORM and the development of microalgae as efficient platforms for sustainable production.
Bielefeld’s team role in SUN-PERFORM
This work sits within the broader contribution of the Algae Biotechnology & Bioenergy research group, spanning the Faculty of Biology and the Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec) at Bielefeld University. Within SUN-PERFORM, the Bielefeld team is responsible for developing molecular tools and light-harvesting regulation strategies to optimise solar fuel production.