Torsten Waldminghaus

Prof. Torsten Waldminghaus is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany. His research focuses on molecular microbiology and synthetic biology, particularly bacterial chromosome biology and DNA replication mechanisms. He leads a lab developing synthetic secondary chromosomes in Escherichia coli to study chromosome organization and function. Key projects include analyzing Vibrio cholerae's natural secondary chromosome and engineering synthetic systems to understand DNA motif distribution effects on replication.

Research interests span bacterial chromosome maintenance, synthetic biology applications, and environmental stress responses. His lab employs techniques like motif-based machine learning (e.g., γBOriS software) to identify origins of replication and develop tools like the MARSeG sequence generator. Collaborative efforts include studying ultrafast-growing marine bacteria as synthetic biology chassis.

Publications highlight work on bacterial inactivation in water disinfection, fitness costs of molecular interactions, and the interplay between metabolic pathways and DNA replication. His research bridges fundamental microbiology with applied synthetic biology, aiming to engineer novel biological systems while uncovering foundational biology principles.