To spur the industrial application of microbial genome research, top companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical and nutrition industries have formed the Industrieverbund Mikrobielle Genomforschung (IMG). Among the member companies are BASF, Degussa and Wacker-Chemie. IMG will develop a variety of projects, including fermentation and enzymatic processes that are cheaper and less damaging to the environment than current processes. Supported by both the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and industry partners, IMG has a €42 million ($56 million) budget for the next five years.

Source: Chemical Week