Monthly Archives: Dezember 2025

In our laboratory, we develop synthetic biology tools following a bottom-up approach. This strategy involves assembling artificial, nanoscale systems from individual molecular components such as proteins and lipids. A major challenge in the field is the development of molecular sensors that report on properties of their local environment. Compared to conventional measurement techniques, such sensors can provide exceptionally high spatial and temporal resolution.

Recently, we engineered a protein variant that can be employed as a molecular thermometer. The protein acquires colour upon binding a cofactor, and by introducing specific mutations, we rendered its absorption spectrum temperature-sensitive. As a result, pronounced temperature-dependent colour changes are readily observable by eye (Figure 1A). Moreover, the protein’s spectral properties are well suited for instrumental readout, enabling accurate transmission of temperature information from the sensor to the user.

With the generous funding from the UniBern Forschungsstiftung grant, we could acquire a Mettler Toledo UV5Bio UV-Vis spectrophotometer together with a CuveT thermostat. This instrumental setup enables fast, automated acquisition of spectral data at defined temperatures and time points. Importantly, the CuveT device allows rapid and accurate control of sample temperature via an integrated Peltier element. Data acquisition and instrument control are performed through a connected PC. The instruments were installed at our institute (Figure 1B) and are made available to all institute members.

The equipment financed by the UniBern Forschungsstiftung enabled us to reliably quantify the color changes of our sensor protein (Figure 1C). The high throughput and level of automation provided are crucial for further development of the sensor protein and for gaining a deep understanding of its molecular mechanism of action. The ultimate goal of our ongoing work is to create a temperature-sensing system that can be used in diverse environments, for example within living cells.

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Fotiadis

Institut für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin (IBMM)

Research on nutrient absorption, intestinal development, and immune function often depends on animal experimentation, making the ethical implications of animal sacrifice a significant concern, especially in those scenarios where induced animal suffering is required to mimic a specific pathological or inflammatory status. The development of cell culture models like organoids grown from stem cells in vitro offers an alternative platform for studying the (patho)-physiology of given diseases.

To ensure precision, reproducibility, and data integrity, it is essential to accurately quantify the number of cultivated cells (intestinal epithelial cells and immune cells). Up to now, we have relied on manual cell counting, a time-consuming and error-prone method that lacks digital traceability. This not only impacts efficiency but also introduces variability in results. With the financial support kindly provided by the UniBern Forschungsstiftung we could acquire an automated cell counting system. This instrument significantly streamlines workflows, reduces human error, and ensures consistent, high-quality data. Moreover, by minimizing handling time, the automatic cell counter improves cell viability, which is critical for downstream analyses.

Intestinal tissues from different species (e.g., swine, rabbit, horse) were successfully cultured and challenged with different inflammatory agents at concomitantly different substrate availability. Our research group aims at establishing a multi-species organoid repository, including healthy and diseased/inflamed tissues, particularly derived from different sections of the intestinal tract. Thus, we can study the persistence of inflammatory phenotypes, and the regulatory pathways involved in maintaining homeostasis and in shaping the mucosal immune response to compounds that may (or may not) promote tissue regeneration and health at a single-organoid level. We evaluate how nutrients, bioactive compounds and environmental pollutants are absorbed, metabolized, and transported within tissues. In the long-term, this platform has the potential to advance the development of more precise, species-specific therapies and nutritional interventions.

Dr. Dora Bordoni
Prof. Dr. Josef Gross

Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty

With support from the UniBern Forschungsstiftung, we acquired a luminescence plate reader, enabling the systematic optimisation and application of our human cell-free translation platform. This platform allows rapid, quantitative measurements of translation and has become a core technology in our laboratory.

Using this system, we performed a small-molecule screening that led to the identification of NT-2, a previously uncharacterised Fusarium-derived mycotoxin, as a potent and highly specific inhibitor of human ribosomes. Our study revealed an acute translation inhibition with a ribosome-preservation pathway not previously described for eukaryotic systems¹.